Collegiate showdown for locals

Steve Virgen

When No. 2 Stanford University takes on third-ranked UCLA in women’s

water polo it will be a reuniting of sorts as Newport-Mesa athletes

plan to contribute in the key Mountain Pacific Sports Federation

matchup today at 1 p.m. in Los Angeles.

Stanford includes freshman Christina Hewko, a Corona del Mar High

product. UCLA features former Newport Harbor standouts Katherine

Belden and Jenna Murphy, as well as Brittney Bowlus, who starred with

Hewko at Corona del Mar.

Today’s game will wrap up the regular season and the winner will

be seeded second in the MPSF Championships April 30 through May 2 in

Los Alamitos. USC is ranked No. 1 in the nation and will be the

tournament’s top seed.

The Cardinal has a great chance to grab the No. 2 seed. Stanford

defeated UCLA, 6-5, in the UC Santa Barbara tournament Feb. 29, when

Hewko scored once. Belden had two goals and Bowlus added one. The

Cardinal-Bruins matchup is also a rematch of last year’s NCAA

championship final, which the Bruins won, 4-3.

This year, Hewko has been contributing to Stanford’s success.

Hewko, the CIF Southern Section Division IV and II Player of the Year

her junior and senior seasons at CdM, has scored 11 goals for

Stanford (16-3, 8-1 in the MPSF). Last year, she was named Corona del

Mar’s Female Athlete of the Year, capping a brilliant career with the

Sea Kings.

As a junior at CdM, Hewko scored 85 goals, leading the Sea Kings

to their first CIF title in Division IV. She was also named the

Pacific Coast League’s MVP. And in her senior season, she did the

same.

Meanwhile at UCLA, Belden, the former Sailors star, is third on

the team in goals with 32, while Bowlus has scored 25 and Murphy 12

for the Bruins (20-3, 9-1), who are on an 11-game winning streak.

Belden, a sophomore for the Bruins, was named Newport Harbor’s

Female Athlete of the Year as a senior. She is believed to be only

the third Newport-Mesa female to earn All-CIF recognition in the same

sport all four years. She was also a two-time Sea View League MVP.

Belden scored a goal in UCLA’s 9-4 win over No. 11 San Jose State Saturday.

Bowlus also contributed to Corona del Mar’s first two CIF titles.

She scored 48 goals in her senior season with the Sea Kings and

received first-team All-CIF recognition both years.

Murphy attained first-team All-CIF Division I honors her junior

and senior seasons. She helped lead the Sailors to the CIF Division I

semifinals in her senior year, 2002-03.