Girls water polo: Sea Kings run out gas

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR - Apparently, there were no more stones left in the

Corona del Mar High girls water polo team’s slingshot Friday at CdM’s

pool. The Sea Kings, playing in a battle of unbeaten teams, lost to

powerhouse Foothill, 8-2, in a quarterfinal of the Newport Harbor-Corona

del Mar and Holiday Cup. The two-day tournament features 16 teams that

play at CdM and Newport.

CdM (6-1), which has wins over highly regarded Long Beach Wilson and

Back Bay rival Newport Harbor this season, was shut out through three

periods and 6:47 into the fourth by the Knights (6-0).

Foothill used a suffocating defense that caused 15 turnovers and goalie Emily Feher, who earned all-tournament team honors in the Junior

World Championships (20-and-under), stopped 10 shots.

Meanwhile, CdM went 1 for 7 on the player advantage, scoring on its

final such situation, a goal by junior Brittany Bowlus with 1:13 left.

CdM junior Christina Hewko scored with one second left on a penalty shot,

that came from a foul drawn by senior Hayley Sheetz. Hewko played while

battling the flu and Chaney said he had thought about keeping her out of

Friday’s action.

“Foothill is tough,” CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said. “If you were to ask

me before the season started that if our first loss would be to Foothill

after playing games against Wilson and Newport, I would take that.”

The Knights built a 5-0 lead before halftime, as the Sea Kings

struggled offensively.

“I think Hewko should have had a couple of calls (fouls on Foothill),”

said Chaney, who is also an NCAA water polo official. “But the refs

didn’t effect the outcome of the game. I don’t see Foothill losing this

tournament.”

Corona del Mar will face Santa Barbara today at 8:30 a.m. and the

winner will advance to the fifth-place game played at 1:55. A potential

Back Bay rematch could take place if the Sea Kings and Sailors win their

respective first games.

Before losing to Foothill, the Sea Kings broke away from a 2-2

halftime to defeat Sunny Hills, 8-4, in the first round. Daniela

DiGiacomo and Danielle Carlson scored one goal each in the game’s first

minute, and Hewko and Alexa Miller scored a goal each over the final

three minutes of the third period. The Sea Kings shut out Sunny Hills in

fourth, while gaining a goal from Hewko and another score by Carlson.

NEWPORT HARBOR-CORONA DEL MAR HOLIDAY CUP

First round

Corona del Mar 8, Sunny Hills 4

Sunny Hills 1 1 2 0 - 4

Corona del Mar 1 1 4 2 - 8

Sunny Hills - Stein 2, McEwen 1, Lim 1.

Corona del Mar - Carlson 3, DiGiacomo 2, Hewko 2, Miller 1.

Quarterfinal

Foothill 8, Corona del Mar 2

Foothill 3 2 0 3 - 8

Corona del Mar 0 0 0 2 - 2

Foothill - Domanic 4, Miller 1, Allison 1, Kraus 1, Card 1. Saves -

Feher 10.

Corona del Mar - Bowlus 1, Hewko 1. Saves - Wells 6.