The Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team fell behind in each of its final three games at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

In each game, the Sea Kings owned the fourth quarter. Now they have the championship hardware to prove it.

Corona del Mar rallied from a four-goal deficit to stun Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 10-8, in the TOC final Saturday night at Santa Barbara High. And, while the Sea Kings said it definitely felt good to beat the Sailors for the third time this season, winning the tournament meant more.

…Continue reading CdM emerges as champion

South said he made the decision Sunday, on Christmas Day. He was also considering UCLA and USC.

“I just felt like I was already a part of the team [at Cal] whenever I visited,” South said. “It felt like home.”

South was the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year this year for boys’ water polo. The Sunset League MVP scored a team-high 85 goals for the Sailors (25-2). He was also a first-team All-CIF Division I selection.

South said he called Cal Coach Kirk Everist on Sunday to let him know the news.

“I told him, ‘I have one more Christmas present for you – I want to become a Bear,’” South said.

South can sign his national letter of intent on Feb. 1.

Corona del Mar had won the first two games in overtime. This one was more important, as the traditional powerhouses played with the CIF Southern Section Division II title on the line.

Wilson Coach Tony Martinho figured his No. 3-seeded Bruins had more than an outside shot against the top-seeded Sea Kings.

The outside shot of junior Maxwell Irving was almost all Wilson needed to pull the upset.

Irving scored a match-high four goals and also made a key defensive play as the Sea Kings were stunned, 7-6, before a standing-room only crowd of about 1,500 at Woollett Aquatics Center.

…Continue reading Sea Kings denied CIF crown

Newport Harbor's Maddy McLaren will be a Bruin next year.

Newport Harbor High senior Maddy McLaren has verbally committed to play water polo at UCLA, she said Wednesday.

McLaren said she enjoys the team members and the coaches at UCLA. Two of the program members are her friends from Newport Harbor, freshmen Mary Rose Wight and Sarah Wilkey.

“I’ve visited them a lot,” McLaren said. “I really love everything about the school, so it’s a perfect fit for me.”

McLaren was the Newport Harbor girls’ water polo team’s leading scorer last year as a junior, with 60 goals scored. She earned first-team All-Sunset League and All-CIF Southern Section Division I honors, and was a member of the Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team.

She’s a versatile player who is also a standout defender. She said she was also considering Cal and USC.

McLaren can sign with the Bruins during the national letter of intent early signing date, which begins Nov. 9 for women’s water polo.

It was the first win for Vandeweghe, 19, in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. She had lost in the first round of her previous six Grand Slam appearances.

Vandeweghe, ranked No. 112 in the world, plays No. 9-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia in Wednesday’s second round. Vandeweghe and Stosur are scheduled to be the third match on court at Louis Armstrong Stadium, where play starts at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Sage Hill graduate Devyn Billingsley is one of two area players who will continue with Cal State Fullerton. Photo by Scott Smeltzer/Daily Pilot

Recent Sage Hill School graduate Devyn Billingsley and Corona del Mar High graduate Kalika Slevcove are both continuing their respective tennis careers at Cal State Fullerton.

Billingsley would be the second Sage Hill program alumna to continue her career at a Division I college. The first was former Lightning standout Julia Blakeley, who now plays at George Washington University.

Billingsley was the Sage Hill Female Athlete of the Year last year for Sage Hill. Playing at No. 2 doubles with Lauren Hsu, she helped the Lightning girls reach the CIF Southern Section Division III championship match before losing to rival St. Margaret’s.

Slevcove played at No. 1 doubles for CdM with partner Morgan McVey. Put together as a team midway through the season, they had a 17-3 record as they helped CdM reach the Division I semifinals, before the Sea Kings fell to top-seeded eventual champion Campbell Hall.

Cal State Fullerton finished 7-17 last spring, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Big West Championships.

Sarah Wilkey won gold with HBWPC on Sunday at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. Photo courtesy of Jason Beebe.

IRVINE — Talking to Sarah Wilkey last summer at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics, she had a sort of quiet confidence.

Wilkey was about to start her senior year. She was stepping into the starting goalie role for the Newport Harbor High varsity girls’ water polo team, an especially important position for the Sailors and their renowned press defense.

“I had to jump into it really quickly,” Wilkey said at the time. “I really don’t have that much experience, so it’s been kind of hard to adjust, but I think we’re doing a good job all together.”

Wilkey has worked hard to become a known quantity. Just a year later, all eyes were on her on Sunday evening at a near-capacity Woollett Aquatics Center. She was the starting goalie for Huntington Beach Water Polo Club in the championship match of the girls’ 18-and-under platinum division at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics.

Just “a good job” probably wasn’t going to get it done this time. Wilkey and her teammates had Kiley Neushul firing shots at them. They needed to play outstanding to beat Santa Barbara Water Club.

Wilkey turned 18 last week. She showed everyone in attendance her game is all grown up, too.

She had 11 saves and two steals as second-seeded Huntington Beach “Blue” stunned top-seeded Santa Barbara “A,” 6-5, to capture gold.

The UCLA-bound Wilkey has been known for making lists of goals to achieve. This one had to be way up there on the list.

“I’m ecstatic,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to win this ever since I started water polo.”

It was a huge achievement for Wilkey and Huntington Beach, which went a perfect 7-0 in the tournament. She started off the tournament sharing time in goal with La Habra graduate Morgan Klingfus, but with Klingfus nursing a hip injury Wilkey had the opportunity to step up.

She usually makes the most of those.

“She’s an absolute superstar,” said Huntington Beach Coach Natalie Benson, the former UCLA standout and two-time Olympian. “We are privileged to have her on our team. She fits in so well with us. This is her first year with us here, because with the Newport system they usually play through with the high school team. As seniors, they move on, so they can prepare their incoming classes for the next year.

“[Wilkey] was kind of displaced and homeless, so we took her in, and it’s been a lot of fun getting to know her. She’s a great person, as well as a great player.”

She continually showed it in the championship match, which was back and forth. The score was 3-3 at halftime but Huntington Beach took its first lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter, when Erica Beebe scored from the outside. Beebe added another goal with eight seconds left in the third to give Huntington Beach a 5-3 advantage.

Santa Barbara had several golden chances early in the fourth quarter, maintaining possession for an extended period of time and getting four shots off. Wilkey had two blocks – including one on a one-on-nobody – and Huntington Beach finally got out of the jam when Kodi Hill’s shot went just wide right.

“Huntington dodges a four-shooter, not just a bullet there,” said announcer Matt McLaren.

The Stanford-bound Neushul scored bar-in from mid-tank midway through the quarter, pulling Santa Barbara within a goal. Then Santa Barbara’s Kelsey O’Brien was on-target on a power play, tying the score.

But Huntington Beach’s Eike Daube scored the game-winner with 3:40 left. Huntington Beach dodged one last Santa Barbara opportunity on a field block.

HBWPC had plenty of those, as Santa Barbara went just one for nine on its power play.

Beebe, the former Long Beach Wilson standout who will join Wilkey at UCLA, was named MVP.

“I told all of them, I know this is a super coach cliché, but they’re all my MVP,” Benson said. “They really did this all as a team. They picked the perfect time to pick the best game they’ve ever played, collectively. Sarah really saved our butt numerous times in that game and others. She was also very deserving of the MVP, but I can only give one.”

It’s fine with Wilkey. She was all smiles after securing that gold medal. She had 10 saves in Sunday morning’s 6-4 semifinal win over Diablo.

“We gained confidence as we went, and then we just executed,” Wilkey said. ”I’m so proud of [Beebe] and I’m so excited to have four more years with her.”

HBWPC gathered for a big team picture which included HBWPC “Orange” team member Kailyn Obenauer, another former Newport Harbor standout who helped the “Orange” team win first in the 18U gold division. She said she couldn’t be happier for Wilkey.

“She’s always had a really strong work ethic,” said the LMU-bound Obenauer. “She’s always pushed herself. She’s very self-disciplined; I’ve never met a harder worker than Sarah.

“She always sets goals for herself, and she always achieves them.”

A third recent Newport Harbor graduate, Catherine Carpenter (Stanford), scored a goal as SOCAL “Black” defeated Diablo, 7-5, for third place. SOCAL “Black” had lost to Santa Barbara, 10-6, in the other semifinal.

*CdM Aquatics finished ninth in the 18U girls after defeating 680 Drivers, 7-5, Sunday at Santa Margarita. Cassidy Papa had team-highs of four goals and three steals. Diana Murphy added two goals and Genevieve Weed also scored. Alex Musselman made 11 saves.

*The Newport Water Polo Foundation 18U girls finished 13th after defeating Los Angeles Water Polo Club “Red,” 7-4. Maddy McLaren scored twice and Presley Pender, Elissia Schilling, Carly Christian, Allyson Hall and Sophie Leveque all scored single goals.

Kathryn Manderino

Newport Harbor High product Kathryn Manderino, playing college water polo for Concordia, has been named honorable mention Division I All-American by the Assn. of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches.

Manderino, a sophomore two-meter player, was second on Concordia with 87 goals. Manderino led the Eagles with 45 ejectons drawn.

Manderino and teammate Lybov Tchougounova, who was also an honorable mention, are the first All-Americans in Concordia program history. Coach Steve Carrera’s Eagles finished their season 19-20. The 19 wins are also a single-season program record.

Manderino previously attended San Francisco State, which does not have a women’s water polo program.

Newport Beach (4-9) received particularly strong play from its women’s players, Anne Keothavong and Marie-Eve Pelletier. They combined to win in women’s doubles, and Keothavong won in singles.

The Breakers end their season Thursday at 6 p.m., at home against Boston. Tickets are still available.

Two points later, Marie-Eve Pelletier kicked a tennis ball into the club seats to her right.

It was only early in the second set of Saturday night’s World Team Tennis match, but already the Newport Beach Breakers were way behind the Sacramento Capitals. If the tight WTT schedule hasn’t made the team weary, a six-match losing streak might do the trick.

The sixth straight loss was the 22-11 overtime setback to the Capitals at The Tennis Club Newport Beach. It dealt a big blow to the playoff hopes of the Breakers, who need to finish in the top two in the five-team Western Conference to advance to the conference finals July 23 in Charleston, S.C.

With four matches left in the regular season, Newport Beach (3-7) fell to last place, three matches behind first-place Sacramento (6-4). Kansas City (5-4), St. Louis (5-5) and Springfield (4-6) are also ahead of the Breakers.

…Continue reading Breakers’ skid not over.