Seven squads open CIF

Barry Faulkner

The girls water polo teams from Corona del Mar High, top-seeded in

CIF Southern Section Division II, and Newport Harbor, the No. 2 seed

in Division I, are among seven squads in two sports that will begin

postseason competition today.

CdM (22-5), which won the Division IV section crown last season

and won the Pacific Coast League this season, hosts Loara ( 9-8), the

No. 3 representative from the Empire League, at 3:15 p.m.

Newport Harbor (22-5) hosts Sunset League runner-up Esperanza

(11-15), at 3. The Sailors, runner-up in the Sea View League behind

Foothill, the No. 1 seed in Division I, handled the Aztecs, 20-7, in

the Tars’ second game of the season.

Costa Mesa’s girls water polo team, tri-champion in the Golden

West League, puts its 14-8 record on the line in a Division VI

first-round game at Culver City. The 3 p.m. contest will be held at

“The Plunge” community pool.

Four Newport-Mesa squads, competing in three divisions, will open

the girls basketball playoffs tonight.

Newport Harbor (13-14), making its first playoff appearance since

1999, visits Sunset League champion Edison in a Division II-AA clash

at 7:30. The Chargers (20-5) have won nine in a row and 12 of their

last 13. The Tars and Edison share three common opponents this

season. Edison beat Irvine, 65-16, while Newport topped the Vaqueros

twice in league, 56-34 and 39-23. Newport lost to Esperanza, 69-21,

and Edison split two league games with the Aztecs. Both teams also

defeated Don Lugo, Newport winning by five and Edison by seven.

The Sailors are led by junior Jillianne Whitfield (11.1 points per

game), while Edison is paced by 5-foot-11 sophomore Rebecca Kepilino

(16.2 ppg).

CdM (12-12), which tied for second in the PCL, hosts San Marino

(8-13), the No. 3 team from the Rio Hondo League, in a Division III-A

first-round game at 7:30.

The two teams share one common opponent this season. CdM lost to

El Toro, 58-26, while San Marina dropped a 44-34 decision.

CdM is keyed by seniors Kelliann Klein (12.7 ppg), Madison

Otterbein (8.0 ppg) and Jackie McCoy (7.3 ppg).

Costa Mesa (15-11), the third-place team from the Golden West

League, makes its 14th straight CIF appearance at La Canada (20-5) in

Division III-A game at 7:30. The Spartans, co-champions of the Rio

Hondo League, enter on a nine-game winning streak.

The Mustangs are led by 6-0 senior Rhondi Naff (18.8 ppg) and 5-3

senior Stacee Sanchez (9.0 ppg and 41 three-pointers this season).

Sage Hill School (13-7) meets San Joaquin League champion Connelly

(9-5) in the Division IV-A first round. The game is 6 p.m. at

Fairmont Prep. Sage Hill, making the program’s first CIF appearance,

has defeated Connelly twice this season, by a combined score of

103-49.

The Lightning is led by 6-1 freshman Haywood Wright (12.9 ppg),

6-2 sophomore Katie Puishys (10.6 ppg) and senior Carrie Clark (9.0

ppg).