Girls water polo: Rougher waters

Barry Faulkner

- Back Bay girls water polo teams from Corona del Mar and Newport

Harbor high schools, which defeated first-round opponents by a combined

27-1 margin, will undoubtedly face more challenging opponents in CIF

Southern Section quarterfinal contests today in separate divisions.

CdM (17-11), the No. 1 seed in Division IV, host Brea Olinda (18-8) at

3:15.

Newport Harbor (22-7), the No. 3 seed in Division I, visits El Toro

(21-6) at noon.

Sea Kings’ Coach John Vargas said he was pretty happy with the team’s

16-0 first-round trouncing of Cypress Friday. But he expects a tougher

test from the Orange League champion Wildcats.

“Hopefully, we can build from that (Cypress) game,” Vargas said. “I

think we have some momentum going now. The biggest thing for us, is to

think when we’re playing and have a plan. If we’re thinking and playing

with discipline, we should play well.”

The Pacific Coast League tri-champions are paced by sophomores

Danielle Carlson (73 goals and 78 steals) and Christina Hewko (53 goals

and 97 steals). Carlson had four goals against Cypress and Hewko added

three.

With a win today, CdM, last year’s Division IV runner-up, would face

either No. 4-seeded Laguna Beach (21-6) or Peninsula (15-10) in Friday’s

semifinal. The Artists have already beaten CdM twice this season.

Newport Harbor, eliminated in the first round last year, after winning

the Division I crown in 1999, polished off Esperanza, 11-1, in a

first-round home game Saturday.

The Sea View League champion Sailors, coached by Bill Barnett and

Brian Kreutzkamp, are led by junior Katherine Belden, a second-team

All-CIF selection a year ago who started for the CIF championship team as

a freshman.

Belden increased her team-high goal total to 52 with a team-best four

goals against Esperanza. She also leads the team with 31 assists and

around 80 steals.

Senior Jenna Booth has 48 goals and 26 assists for the Sailors. Senior

goalie Heather Deyden anchors the Harbor defense.

Should the Tars get past El Toro, which they defeated, 6-3, in a

nonleague game Jan. 5 at Newport Harbor, they would meet either No.

2-seeded Santa Margarita (18-7) or Los Alamitos (20-9) in Friday’s

semifinal.

The first Newport-El Toro meeting was tied, 2-2, at halftime. Newport

forged a 3-2 lead heading into the final period, before pulling away with

what both coaches deemed superior depth and conditioning.

Veteran El Toro Coach Don Stoll, however, figures to have his Chargers

in top shape for today’s rematch.