Eleven local polo players earn all-OCL recognition

Six Newport-Mesa girls’ water polo players were recently named first-team All-Orange Coast League selections, in voting by league coaches.

Costa Mesa High senior Talhia Nuñez, along with junior teammates Ashley Rendon and Briana Williams, were named first-team all-league. So was Sage Hill senior Sarah Wesley and junior teammate Dylan Conroy. Estancia freshman phenom Haley Kunert also nabbed first-team honors.

Players making second-team all-league included Mustangs senior Patricia Marty and sophomores Hannah Speer and Kayci Decker, Sage Hill junior Cameron Cline and Estancia senior Meagan Kunert.

Nuñez scored a team-high 55 goals and added 35 steals for the Mustangs (12-17, 2-1 in league), helping them finish second in league and make CIF for the sixth consecutive year. It is her second consecutive year being named first-team all-league.

Rendon, a second-team selection a year ago, had 53 goals and was a force at two meters. Williams added 22 goals and a team-high 40 steals.

Wesley and Conroy both earned first-team Orange Coast League status for the second straight year for the Lightning (8-5, 1-2). Wesley had 26 goals, 27 assists and 37 steals for Sage Hill, while Conroy added 30 goals and team-highs of 40 assists and 45 steals.

Haley Kunert scored a Newport-Mesa best 73 goals for the Eagles (10-7, 0-3).

Marty had 25 goals and 43 steals for Costa Mesa, while set guard Speer tallied 17 goals and a team-high 47 steals. Decker came on strong in the second half of the season and finished with 15 goals.

Cline led Sage Hill with 36 goals to take second-team honors for the second straight year, as did Meagan Kunert, Estancia’s primary set defender.

— From staff reports