Laguna girls earn water polo honors

Laguna Beach High senior Lexie Ross has been selected to the first-team All-Southern California girls’ water polo team, highlighting local selections from the Breakers.

Junior Jessie Holechek was named to the second team and junior Jessica Shusko the third team. Yoshi Andersen, a sophomore, was named to the sixth team.

The teams, voted on by high school girls’ coaches from around Southern California, are different than the All-CIF teams, as they are put together regardless of division. All four girls had previously earned All-CIF status for Division II, with Ross, Holechek and Shusko as first-team selections.

The All-Southern California teams are used to compile the All-American teams, which will be released at a later date.

Ross, who is Stanford-bound, finished the season with 48 goals, 31 assists and 36 steals. She helped lead Laguna (22-9) to another Orange Coast League title and the Division II runner-up honors.

Holechek was the Breakers’ leading scorer (56 goals) and also led the Breakers with 33 assists and added 46 steals. Shusko, a talented defender who regularly guarded the opposition’s best player, ended up with 25 goals, 21 assists and 39 steals.

Andersen had 45 goals, 20 assists and a team-high 48 steals.

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Dries impressing at Stanford

Laguna Beach High product Annika Dries, now a freshman women’s water polo player at Stanford, has been named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season.

Dries scored three goals as the No. 2-ranked Cardinal got by No. 6 Hawaii, 10-6, on Sunday. Stanford is 20-1. Dries, the 2009 Orange Coast League MVP and CIF Southern Section Division II Player of the Year, has scored 27 goals for Stanford, fourth on the team.

Stanford hosts rival Cal, ranked No. 3, at 6 p.m. Saturday. Cal features Dries’ former high school teammate, freshman Taylor Dodson.