Foothill, Tars bid for title

Steve Virgen

The top two girls water polo teams in CIF Southern Section Division I

have plenty of similarities, but there is one trait that sets the

teams apart.

Newport Harbor High and Foothill enter the CIF Division I

championship game tonight at 8:15 at Belmont Plaza with identical

records (26-3) and the teams match up very well. But Foothill has an

advantage, as the Knights are seeking their fifth straight CIF

Division I title.

“They are the four-time defending CIF champions,” Newport Coach

Bill Barnett said. “They have been to the Plaza four years in a row.

That gives them an edge right there.”

The Sailors, who defeated Foothill, 10-9, in overtime in the Sea

View League title showdown Jan. 14, appear motivated to end the

Knights’ reign. And the Tars also have a few strengths in their

favor.

Newport Harbor is the No. 1 seed and has defeated Foothill twice

in three games this season. Barnett’s squad overcame a two-goal

deficit in the fourth quarter to earn the aforementioned 10-9,

overtime win that ended the Knights’ 49-game winning streak.

The victory put the Sailors in the driver’s seat for the Sea View

League title, Newport’s fourth, and first since 2002.

Senior Jessica Ball, bound for the University of Michigan, scored

six goals and delivered two assists to lead the Sailors to a 9-5

victory over Foothill, in the semifinals of the Santa Barbara

Tournament of Champions Jan. 17.

The Knights, however, edged Newport Harbor, 7-6, in the semifinals

of the Irvine Southern California championships Feb. 7.

“All the way down the line in terms of starting lineups and

utility players off the bench, we are virtually the same,” Foothill

Coach Dave Mikesell said. “For me, at least, this could be the

closest CIF game I have ever been involved in. It’s a big game and

the kids are preparing for it that way. Newport matches up real well

with us. This could go either way. It’s going to be a real good

game.”

The Sailors feature senior Carolyn Conway at two meters. Conway,

who is nursing a bruised nose suffered in the Sailors’ 10-6 semifinal

win over Long Beach Wilson Wednesday, might wear a protective mask in

the CIF Division I final. She did not practice with the Sailors

Thursday and Friday, but Barnett said she will be ready for today.

Conway, bound for Indiana University, has scored a team-high 82

goals.

Junior Anne Belden, a left-hander, is second on the team with 70

goals and is highly productive on the Sailors’ counterattack, as is

Ball, Newport’s vocal leader who has 49 goals.

Foothill also has a Big Three in sophomore Grace Reynolds and

seniors Roxanne Rovenger and Jillian Kraus. Reynolds can match

Conway, Rovenger is also a lefty, and Ball has skills similar to

Kraus, Barnett said. Kraus plays on the junior national team.

“They play a real tight, suffocating press defense,” Barnett said

of the Knights, whose defense keyed a 6-4 semifinal win over Santa

Margarita. “They press 90% of the time. They do it at just the right

time to mess you up.”

Barnett said he believes that whichever team’s peripheral players

play the best will sway the outcome.

Junior Ashling Taylor (30 goals) and senior Sarah Mutt, also a

team captain, are part of the Sailors’ supporting cast. Taylor has

the ability to shoot with either hand and uses that to her advantage.

“She’s the most ambidextrous player, male or female, I have ever

seen,” Barnett said. “She can throw the ball as hard as a boy with

either hand. It’s an incredible gift.”

Mutt is known for her defensive presence, which supports senior

goalies Kim Housepian and Terin Cottam. Housepian (first half) and

Cottam (second) have shared playing time evenly.

Senior Katie Erickson and junior Melissa Wheeler have been

effective players for the Sailors, while the seniors, including

Sabrina Cook, Kaycie Craib, Amber Graham, Jennifer Beech and

Cassandra Shaw, provide leadership.

Sophomores Kally Lucas and Leah Robertson, as well as juniors

Amanda Barto and Laurel Laidlaw also contribute for the Sailors.

Barnett, in his 38th season coaching at Newport, brings plenty of

experience. He coached the U.S. men’s national team in two Olympic

Games, including a silver medal in 1988.

Barnett guided the Newport boys water polo team to 10 CIF

championships and seven other trips to the CIF finals from 1967 to

1987. In 1999, he led the Sailors to their only CIF Division I girls

water polo title.