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The Sacred Heart Prep girls will be looking for their sixth straight Central Coast Section title in water polo while the Menlo-Atherton boys will be seeking their second ever after both teams posted impressive semifinals victories on Tuesday night.

The top-seeded Gators (20-8) got three goals from junior Caitlin Stuewe and 14 saves from junior goalie Kelly Moran in an 11-5 triumph over No. 4 Castilleja (12-14) in a Division II semifinal at Gunn High.

Stuewe converted a pair of penalty shots in the first quarter to help SHP roll to a 6-0 halftime lead. By the time Castilleja finally scored on a shot by Grace Arnold, it was 7-1 late in the third period. Camille Zelinger, P.J. Bigley and Malaika Koshy all scored twice for SHP while Arnold tallied three goals and Anna Yu two for Castilleja.

Sacred Heart Prep will face No. 2 St. Ignatius (11-14) for the title on Saturday at the George F. Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara at 10 a.m.

No girls team has ever won six straight CCS titles. Should SHP accomplish that, it will tie Menlo School for the most titles won (six) in section history.

Third-seeded Menlo-Atherton pulled the upset of the tournament by topping No. 2 St. Francis (13-15), 11-10, in a Division I semifinal at Serra High. The Bears (14-12) will face No. 1 Bellarmine (17-11), a 16-12 winner over Mountain View, in Saturday's championship match at 2:30 p.m.

Harrison Holland-McCowan scored six goals and Evan McClelland added three for the Bears, who will be making their first appearance in the finals since 2008 and in only their third title game.

M-A scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter for an 11-6 lead and held on from there behind goalie Peter Berquist while preventing a fourth straight Bellarmine-St. Francis matchup in the finals.

This will be M-A coach Dante Dettamanti's second appearance in a CCS finale. In his first, he guided Sacred Heart Prep to the Division II in 2003.

2012 CCS WATER POLO PLAYOFFS
GIRLS
Division I
First round
San Benito 9, Palo Alto 8
Pioneer 8, Homestead 7
Los Gatos 9, Evergreen Valley 6
Gunn 21, Carlmont 3

Quarterfinals
Menlo-Atherton 9, Los Gatos 5
Leland 21, San Benito 5
Mitty 10, Gunn 8
St. Francis 15, Pioneer 1

Semifinals
Wednesday at Gunn
No. 1 St. Francis (23-4) vs. No. 4 Mitty (16-10), 5:30 p.m.
No. 2 Leland (21-5) vs. No. 3 Menlo-Atherton (15-10), 7 p.m.

Championship
Saturday at George F. Haines International Swim Center, Santa Clara, 1 p.m.

Division II
First round
Soquel 11, Harker 4
San Lorenzo Valley 10, Aptos 9
Presentation 8, Monterey 4
Santa Catalina 7, Willow Glen 6

Quarterfinals
Presentation 11, Burlingame 8
St. Ignatius 16, San Lorenzo Valley 4
Castilleja 10, Soquel 8
Sacred Heart Prep 11, Santa Catalina 2

Semifinals
Tuesday's results
Sacred Heart Prep 11, Castilleja 5
St. Ignatius 9, Presentation 4

Championship
Saturday at George F. Haines International Swim Center, Santa Clara: No. 1 Sacred Heart Prep (20-8) vs. No. 2 St. Ignatius (11-14), 10 a.m.

BOYS
Division I
First round
Lynbrook 15, Monta Vista 14
Mountain View 14, Pioneer 9
Leland 18, Carlmont 4
Palo Alto 14, Los Gatos 6

Quarterfinals
Menlo-Atherton 12, Leland 4
St. Francis 23, Lynbrook 8
Mountain View 10, Serra 9
Bellarmine 11, Palo Alto 4

Semifinals
Tuesday's results
Menlo-Atherton 11, St. Francis 10
Bellarmine 16, Mountain View 12

Championship
Saturday at George F. Haines International Swim Center, Santa Clara: No. 1 Bellarmine (17-11) vs. No. 3 Menlo-Atherton (14-12), 2:30 p.m.

Division II
First round
Burlingame 10, Willow Glen 9
Carmel 15, R.L. Stevenson 7
St. Ignatius 13, Santa Cruz 8
Valley Christian 15, Sobrato 2

Quarterfinals
Los Altos 9, Carmel 4
St. Ignatius 8, Menlo School 7
Soquel 11, Valley Christian 9
Sacred Heart Prep 18, Burlingame 0

Semifinals
Wednesday at Serra
No. 1 Sacred Heart Prep (23-4) vs. No. 4 Soquel (22-6), 5:30 p.m.
No. 7 St. Ignatius (17-12) vs. No. 3 Los Altos (17-11), 7 p.m.

Championship
Saturday at George F. Haines International Swim Center, Santa Clara, 11:30 a.m.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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