Girls water polo: Sailors ready to make their move

Steve Virgen

The road back to championship status has been a treacherous one for

the Newport Harbor High girls water polo team. Sure, last year the

Sailors won the Sea View League crown, but in their quest to bring back a

CIF Southern Section Division I title they failed and lost in a

heartbreaker.

In fact, two years removed from their 1997-98 CIF Division I title,

the Sailors have had unfortunate exits in the playoffs.

This year, Newport is using past experiences as motivation.

“A lot of the girls didn’t like the way we finished last year,”

Newport Coach Bill Barnett said of the Sailors’ 7-6 loss in five overtime

periods to El Toro in the CIF Division I quarterfinals. “This year there

is just more maturity. I also like their camaraderie. They all work

together. That reflects to how they play in the water.”

Senior captain Katherine Belden, who played on the CIF championship

team as a freshman, leads by example and will be expected to ignite the

defense, Barnett said.

Belden, bound for UCLA, returns after a season that included Sea View

League Player of the Year honors, and for the third straight year, she

earned All-CIF status with a first team selection. She led the Sailors

with 53 goals and 34 assists and on defense, she collected 85 steals.

“She’s always been a very hard-working player with a lot of leadership

qualities,” Barnett said of Belden. “She’s a great defensive player. My

main expectation of Katherine is her leadership, to get the team together

and focus on winning. She’s certainly capable of doing that.”

With the loss of three key players to graduation, Belden’s role is

even more important. Gone are Jenna Booth, a CIF second-teamer and Sea

View first-teamer who amassed 29 goals, and Erin Ball, who also earned

first team All-Sea View status and third team CIF laurels. Also, the

Sailors will be without first team All-Sea View League goalie Heather

Deyden, who helped Orange Coast College win a state championship in the

fall.

This year, senior Leah Grocki will take over the duties in the cage.

Barnett said the maturity of the returners should refrain from a

rebuilding-type season. Juniors Jenna Murphy and Annie Wight, who earned

second team All-Sea View League laurels, are among those whom have

matured and are anxious to make the 2001-02 season a memorable one.

Sophomore Jessica Ball, Erin’s sister, was the only freshman on last

year’s squad and has benefited from the varsity experience. Juniors

Ashley Parole, Paige Lansing and Raelyn Ritchie were on the 23-0

frosh-soph squad from two years ago with Wight, and are familiar with the

championship trend.

Seniors Nicky Probert, Amber Braly and Amanda Moss will also be looked

to for leadership, while sophomores Katie Erickson and Tiffany Manderino

will be expected to learn quickly.

“They all have improved together,” Barnett said of his thoughts after

scrimmages with Marina and Santa Barbara. “We still have a lot things to

work on to improve though.”

The Sailors open the season Friday against Long Beach Wilson at

Belmont Plaza.

NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH GIRLS WATER POLO

Leah Grocki Sr.

Jessica Ball So.

Katie Erickson So.

Katherine Belden Sr.

Jenna Murphy Jr.

Annie Wight Jr.

Paige Lansing Jr.

Amanda Moss Sr.

Ashley Parole Jr.

Amber Braly Sr.

Raelyn Ritchie Jr.

Nicky Probert Sr.

Tiffany Manderino So.

Coach: Bill Barnett