Point, counterpoint

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR -- Easy does it. That’s what was supposed to be the

scenario for the Newport Harbor Water Polo Foundation ‘A’ team, which

grabbed two victories to advance to the semifinals of the Senior

Nationals at Corona del Mar High Saturday.

However, Newport A proved to be hardly conservative. Ted Newland’s

band of talented water polo players scored seemingly simple victories

over Golden Bear ‘A’ (UC Berkeley), 11-4, and then a 12-4 win over

Malibu Waves (Pepperdine).

Newport will face Stanford in the semifinal today at 10:30 a.m. at

CdM, which means the pupil, former CdM High and current Stanford

Coach John Vargas, will face the teacher, Coach Newland.

Vargas, hardly a student, coached the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team and

success has followed him wherever he roams. His Stanford squad gave

Senior Nationals defending champion New York Athletic Club ‘A’ all

that it could handle Friday, and Stanford collected two wins

Saturday.

Coaching at Vargas’ side will be assistant Brian Kreutzkamp, the

former Newport Harbor High coach.

“We are friends,” Newland said of the matchup against Vargas. “He

lived at my house and he put in his time for the Foundation. We’ll

bang our heads out there and we’ll see what happens in the end.

They’ll probably try to counter the hell out of us.”

New York AC A will face Malibu in the other semifinal. New York AC

A carries five U.S. National Team Members, while Newport boasts five,

including Jeff Powers, who will be a senior at UC Irvine in the fall.

Stanford will feature three U.S. National Team members today in Peter

Hudnut, Tony Azevedo and Jeff Nesmith.

Powers and U.S. National teammate Ryan Bailey ruled the waters

against Golden Bear ‘A’. Powers scored five goals, while fellow

two-meter man Bailey contributed four goals. Robert Lynn and UCI

assistant men’s water polo coach Marc Hunt added one goal each.

Goalie Genai Kerr recorded seven saves, as Newport played without

Newland, who watched over his Newport B squad made up of current UCI

players. Newport B lost twice.

Newland arrived moments after the opening sprint in Newport’s A

game against Malibu. Malibu shut out Newport A in the first quarter,

1-0, but Newport roared back, outscoring Pepperdine, 9-0, over the

next two quarters. Newport posted three goals in the second and then

went on a 6-0 run in the third, scoring on counterattacks and using

Bailey to keep Malibu off balance.

Bailey led with a six-goal performance. Powers added two goals,

while U.S. National Team member Dan Klatt contributed one goal, as

did Hunt and Mike Evans, the three-time Olympian.

“I just told (Newport) to slow down and be patient,” Newland said

of his squad’s breakout from a zero-point first quarter. “They know

what they have to do. It’s not a secret and there’s no reason to

panic.”

Today’s schedule

7 a.m. -- New York Athletic Club ‘B’ vs. Bruin; 8:10 -- Sunset vs.

Golden Bear ‘A’

Semifinals: 9:20 -- New York AC ‘A’ vs. Malibu; 10:30 -- Newport Harbor ‘A’ vs. Stanford

Seventh-place game -- 11:40 a.m.

Fifth-place game -- 12:50 p.m.

Third-place game -- 2 p.m.

Championship game -- 3:15 p.m.