Carroll girls water polo team favorites to win state

It is not unusual to learn that a Carroll sports team has won a state championship, but sometimes it happens in sports that do not get a lot of press.

Enter the Carroll girls water polo team, which won a state championship in 2015, and along with the boys is gearing up to host the TISCA Regional Water Polo Tournament starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the Carroll ISD Natatorium.

The Carroll water polo teams are coached by Joe Iglesias, and former coach and current swimming and diving coach Kevin Murphy said that upcoming tournament should be pretty stacked.

“There are about maybe 20 boys teams and 20 girls teams in North Texas,” Murphy said. “There will be 12 boys teams and 12 girls teams qualified at regionals ... our boys will probably be seeded second and the girls will be seeded first.”

The top four teams on each side will receive a first-round bye, and it is a double elimination tournament with the top four teams on each side advancing to the state tournament.

The Carroll boys team recently pulled off a major coup by defeating the St. Marks boys, whom Murphy said will likely be the top seed in the regional tournament by a score of 4-3.

“It was the first time in 15 years that a boys team from North Texas has beaten St. Marks,” Murphy said.

The Carroll swim coach said that the expectations for the regional tournament are to qualify for state on both sides and said he believes that their chances are pretty good.

“Our boys are probably one of the top four teams in the state, with nobody seeming to be an outright projected state champion,” Murphy said. “I’m pretty confident that he girls will win, because they are dominant, and they are probably the favorite to win state.

“With our boys, we are hoping that they will be first or second. We don’t want to be third, because we believe that three of the best teams are in North Texas, with us, Flower Mound and St. Marks. If we finish second, and say, St. Marks finishes first, we would not meet them until the state finals, with the way the brackets are set up.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Carroll girls water polo team favorites to win state."