Bishop’s water polo falls in CIF final

The girls water polo team from The Bishop’s School has appeared in the CIF San Diego Section Division II championship game all 13 years since it started in 1998. Unfortunately for the Knights, it has now been three years since they have won the game.

Bishop’s came up short this winter, falling, 10-7, to Coronado in the Feb. 27 title game. The school’s seven section crowns are still the most in D-II, but the Knights haven’t won a title in three seasons.

“Coronado is pretty strong,” Bishop’s coach Doug Peabody said. “They beat us three times this season. ... They were just a little bit better than us on (Saturday).”

In the championship game, Sammi Peck led the Knights with three goals, and Gabbi Stone made 10 saves. After a scoreless first quarter, Bishop’s fell behind, 6-3, by halftime and couldn’t catch up.

The Knights entered the playoffs seeded second, and beat Canyon Crest and Point Loma by a combined score of 38-4 in the first two rounds.

On Feb. 24, they toppled city and neighborhood rival La Jolla High School, 12-8, in the semifinals. Kirsten Siegel scored three goals for Bishop’s, Kristen Casey had two goals and four assists, and Stone made 12 saves.

La Jolla was seeded third entering the postseason and had beaten Valley Center, 15-4, and Valhalla, 17-7, to reach the semifinals.

Bishop’s finished 23-6, marking its 13th consecutive 20-win season.

“I’m happy with our season,” Peabody said.

“We did well — we just didn’t close the deal at the end. We played three great quarters and one not so great quarter. We’re obviously disappointed. The girls wanted to win really bad, because the seniors got to see only one CIF championship.”