DOWNEY - The Warren High School girls' water polo team is the 2012-13 San Gabriel Valley League champions. The Lady Bears finished their regular season with an overall record of 16-11 and a league record of 5-0.For their efforts, Warren has been seeded third for the upcoming C.I.F. Division V Championships. Crescenta Valley is seeded first, Riverside Poly is seeded second and Redlands East Valley is seeded fourth. Warren is the reigning back-to-back C.I.F. Division VI champions. For their recent success, the Lady Bears have been moved to Division V. The Lady Bears have played a difficult pre-season schedule to prepare themselves for what lies ahead. Warren won the Benson Tournament in December, placed 13th out of 32 teams at the America's Finest City (AFC) tournament in Coronado and most recently, placed 18th out of 32 teams in the SoCal Championships tournament in Irvine. The Lady Bears have played many ranked teams from higher divisions who play different styles of water polo in preparation for the Division V playoffs. Coach Cordero mainatins that the senior class of Graci Salinas, Star Meza, Alexis Huerta, Celeste Moreira, Alma Najera and Danielle Echeverria "are looking forward to leading the Lady Bears to another exciting run through the playoffs as they look to win a third consecutive title." Juniors Jocelyn Castro, Melanie Weyers, Kayla Casas and Destiny Hernandez will also provide depth and experience as the Lady Bears prepare to make their run. The Lady Bears opened their playoff run on Wednesday by beating Pasadena, 22-2, who defeated Nipomo (8-14) 4-3 in double overtime on Tuesday. Warren plays again Saturday. Coach Cordero and her team are excited for this opportunity and are looking forward to what lies ahead. The Division V quarterfinals are set for tomorrow, the semifinals are set for next Wednesday and the finals are set for next Saturday at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

********** Published: February 14, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 44