Hialeah girls and Miami Beach boys win GMAC water polo titles | Miami Herald

Hialeah’s girls’ water polo team hasn’t needed much game time to overwhelm its competition this season.

The Thoroughbreds gave another demonstration Tuesday afternoon by winning the GMAC championship with a comfortable 22-4 victory over Mourning at Miami-Dade College’s North campus pool.

The T-Breds’ lopsided win came shortly after the Miami Beach boys won their first GMAC championship since 2005 with a dramatic, 12-11 overtime win over Dr. Krop.

Both will next compete in the Ransom Everglades Invitational this weekend.

That’s where Hialeah hopes to continue its success against some of the state’s best this season.

Hialeah last made it to the state tournament in 2009 but lost a lopsided match to Ransom in the semifinals that season.

The T-Breds are hoping for much better results this time around.

Led by the trio of junior Ashley Luy, freshman Paola Dominguez-Castro and sophomore Alejandra Aranguren, the T-Breds (15-1) have secured victories over former state champions Ransom Everglades and Gulliver this season and appear to be a legit contender for this year’s state championship.

Luy sparked the rout with six goals, Dominguez-Castro had five and Aranguren had four. Dominguez-Castro, whose father, Nelson, once played for the Cuban national team, has helped elevate the program to a state championship-contention level.

Hialeah is the favorite to win its district and could face three-time defending state champion Ransom Everglades in the state play-in round.

“The girls have been playing together in club and live four blocks from each other, so now they get to play together on the high school team,” Hialeah coach Alexander Donis said. “I think we have a good shot down the line.”

Miami Beach is the last Dade boys’ public school to win a state title in 2004 — the year before it became a state-sanctioned sport by the FHSAA.

Nicky Fedotov’s goal 22 seconds into overtime lifted the Hi-Tides to the title.

Miami Beach (13-5) went back and forth throughout the match with the Lightning, which took an 11-9 lead into the final quarter.

David Matz, who led Miami Beach with six goals, scored his final two to help tie the score and send it to overtime. Krop missed a would-be tying shot as time expired in regulation.

Justin Hall also scored two goals for Miami Beach, which graduated eight seniors but has bounced back strong this season.

“A lot of the young guys have come in and been waiting their turn and they stepped it up,” Miami Beach coach Charlie Pilamunga said. “They felt like it was their time.”