HS: Winter SIMA FAB 50, Feb. 28

by Sheldon Shealer

February 28, 2017

Four Dallas-Fort Worth area teams have held the SIMA FAB 50 girls No. 1 ranking this season, and three remain undefeated and ranked 1-2-3. Highland Park, the lone team with a perfect mark, moves to the top this week, ahead of Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) and Coppell (Texas), each with a tie. As long as these three remain undefeated, they will stay in the top three spots.

Speaking of undefeated, Pleasant Valley (Chico, Calif.) wrapped up a fourth straight section championship last week and in doing so extended its undefeated run to 86 matches. Pleasant Valley's run is the nation's second-longest active undefeated streak, trailing Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.).

This week, the rest of the California sections are scheduled to crown their champions, and next up will be the Southern Regional Champsionsips, where many of those various section champs will go head-to-head.

BIG MOVERS: BOYS: Redlands East Valley (Redlands, Calif.). A five-spot move is not overly monumental, but in the case of REV, it puts the team in the running for the SIMA FAB 50 No. 2 ranking. No team will trump No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), which is now up to 11 seniors signed with NCAA Division I programs this year. However, REV's jump from No. 8 to No. 3 has this undefeated team in striking range of No. 2 -- a fellow California power, Godinez (Santa Ana, Calif.). ... GIRLS: Monterey (Texas). With a lineup bolstered by six seniors who have signed with college programs, Monterey is simply rolling through the Lubbock area. The real test for this team will be the postseason in Class 5A, which features three SIMA FAB 50 programs.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 24 Monterey (Calif.), No. 29 Montclair (Calif.), No. 33 [Valencia/Placentia ca-m] (Placentia, Calif.), No. 35 El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.), No. 38 Berkeley (Calif.), No. 49 Hueneme (Oxnard, Calif.) and No. 50 Trinity Christian Academy (Addison, Texas). ... GIRLS: No. 35 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 36 Troy (Fullerton, Calif.), No. 46 La Mirada (Calif.), No. 49 [Academy of Our Lady of Peace ca-w] (San Diego, Calif.) and No. 50 Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.).