Girls water polo: Eagles soar beyond past

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Whatever happened last year does not concern

first-year Estancia High girls water polo coach Bob Bandaruk. The Eagles

lost their coach, Michelle Spanley, before the season ended last year

because of disagreements between the players and the coach. The Eagles

were also winless in the Pacific Coast League.

However, with Estancia in its last season in the PCL, Bandaruk doesn’t

care about the past.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I need to change; I’m just going to

do it my way,” said Bandaruk, who coached the Estancia girls swimming

squad in the spring. “I don’t come in here with the knowledge of the

past. I’m going to enforce my rules.”

The Estancia coach, who also heads the Splash swim club in Costa Mesa,

simply asks for commitment, something he plans to show by example. Before

the season started, he asked a few players to choose between water polo

and cheerleading because they could not have both, not under Bandaruk.

“They need to be here,” he said. “They need to attend and put in the

effort. If they don’t want to, they don’t need to because they won’t

play. We have had a decent turnout so far. The pool put us behind a bit.”

Estancia’s pool was out of service due to mechanical problems, so the

Eagles used Costa Mesa’s pool. But the situation did not totally hinder

the Eagles’ progress. They opened with a 17-1 nonleague win over Bolsa

Grande Thursday, when senior Diana Kopasek led with five goals.

Kopasek, along with fellow senior Lauren Collier, have stepped up to

the role as leaders in the team’s practices, Bandaruk said.

In addition, the team features versatility, which come from

three-sport athletes, twin sisters Hanni and Jasmine Geider, both

seniors.

Juniors Laura Morton, who also played volleyball, Wendy Murillo,

Lihini Keenawinna, Jessica Fernandez, Jayme Fay, Lauren Calderon, Sara

Elizabeth Anaruma and Sarah Ahmed are focused on gaining the most out of

this season in preparation for the Golden West League next year.

ESTANCIA HIGH GIRLS WATER POLO

Sarah Ahmed Jr.

Sara Elizabeth Anaruma Jr.

Lauren Calderon Jr.

Lauren Collier Sr.

Jayme Fay Jr.

Jessica Fernandez Jr.

Courtney Fletcher Fr.

Hanni Geider Sr.

Jasmine Geider Sr.

Malinda Hallock Fr.

Magen Hunt Sr.

Lihini Keenawinna Jr.

Diana Kopasek Sr.

Hillary Larsen Fr.

Laura Morton Jr.

Wendy Murillo Jr.

Jennifer Patton Sr.

Britta Pitti So.

Marilyn Reich So.

Stephanie Reid Jr.

Farrell Roth So.

Coach Bob Bandaruk