Artie Dorr

Steve Virgen

Champions find success because they constantly create challenges.

Such is the case for Corona del Mar High senior Artie Dorr, the

backbone, if you will, of the Sea Kings’ boys water polo team.

After three years of helping the Sea Kings to CIF Division II

titles, Dorr found just the right challenge for this season.

He wants the CdM squad to win a fourth straight title, but this

time in CIF Division I.

“He’s always been a great player,” Sea King Coach Tim Salvino said

of Dorr. “He’s stepped it up this year. (His work ethic has always)

been good and it’s gotten better. He’s in Division I now, and I think

he wants to show that we never should have moved down (to Division

II).”

Dorr’s desire for a fourth straight CIF title was displayed at

last week’s NorCal Invitational at Bellarmine Prep, where the Daily

Pilot Athlete of the Week delivered a blue-collar type performance.

Dorr, mainly one of two primary targets on offense, concentrated on

defense throughout the tournament and led the Sea Kings to a

third-place showing. Perhaps, even more important, CdM defeated

Harvard-Westlake, 12-10, in the third-place game, which provided a

very high degree of confidence for the Sea Kings.

“To come out and beat those guys was huge,” Dorr said of the win

over Harvard-Westlake, which is ranked No. 3 in CIF Division I. “It

helped us, and helped our confidence. That game was really physical.

It was just a fight and a battle. When we won we felt like we had

grown a lot closer.”

Dorr knows the key to a championship team. It’s chemistry, and

that’s what he and the other handful of seniors, including John Mann

and Beau Stockstill, are trying to build.

“There is diversity on this team,” Dorr said of the Sea Kings, who

are ranked No. 2 in CIF Division I. “I think we are growing a lot.

Last year, we were solid all the way through. This year it has been

awesome to see us grow. We have really grown as a team.”

Throughout the Sea Kings’ growth, Dorr has also developed his

versatility, even more than last year, when he earned Pacific Coast

League Co-MVP and CIF Division II Co-Player of the Year honors. This

season, Dorr has improved on his outside shot and his defense. Both

features have brought more power to the CdM 1-2 punch that is Dorr

and Mann, who shared last year’s PCL MVP.

“He’s one of the senior leaders,” Salvino said. “His leadership

style is not in the traditional sense, not the vocal or the rah-rah

type, but as an example. He’s always grinding away and never says a

word, but gets the job done.”

That’s exactly what Dorr did at the NorCal Invitational, where he

scored eight goals in four games. He scored four goals, handed out

one assist and collected one steal in the Sea Kings’ 13-2 victory

over Davis. In addition, he scored one goal and had three assists in

leading CdM to the 12-10 win over Harvard-Westlake. In that game,

Dorr mainly played defense on Harvard-Westlake senior Marty Matthies,

a U.S. Junior National Team member.

“He was placed in the role of being matched on defense with the

key player on their team,” Salvino said of Dorr’s role in the

tournament. “He put his offensive production secondary to his

defensive role in order to take the other guy out. He was incredibly

consistent in his defense.”

Dorr’s versatility along with his consistent ability to score will

be the main reasons he will move on to play for a Division I college

program next year. Dorr said he will stay on the West Coast, and he

will make his decision after the season is over, most likely after

January. He will most likely stay in California, as UCLA, Pepperdine,

USC, Loyola Marymount and UC San Diego have shown interest in him.