CdM storms to third place

Corona del Mar and Chino Hills Area girls water polo teams each left

USA Water Polo’s Junior Olympics Sunday as third-place finishers in

the girls under-18 division.

Both teams can thank the weather.

Torrential rain and lightning Sunday afternoon caused the

cancellation of several medal-round games on the final day of the

Junior Olympics, which attracted 43 teams from across the United

States, at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort

Lauderdale, Fla., including the scheduled third-place game between

CdM and Chino Hills.

Newport went 5-2-1, defeating Davis, 6-5, to take ninth place,

getting the game in before the weather took over.

“It was scary with the thunder and lightning going off. You never

see anything like that in California,” Katlin Kubas, who will be a

CdM senior this fall, said Monday night after the team arrived at

John Wayne Airport. “Before our final game, the lightning was right

by the pool. We stayed in the van.”

The rain came down in two separate waves from 3 to 6 p.m.

Tournament officials told players to get out of the pool during the

under-14 gold medal game, when lightning surrounded the facility. The

subsequent delay lasted three hours before the event committee met

with coaches and agreed halt further games.

“We had trash bags over our feet because it was raining so hard,”

Kubas said.

CdM won five straight to begin the tournament and went 7-3

overall. Newport won its final two games, including a 10-9 shootout

victory over Viking in a ninth-place semifinal.

CdM players received medals while Chino Hills took home trophies.

In the under-16 division, CdM placed 11th.

Statistics were not readily available.

-- Bryce Alderton