Corona del Mar hires Marc Hunt as girls’ water polo coach

Corona del Mar High has turned to a longtime Orange County water polo staple to guide its girls’ water polo program.

Marc Hunt, a former longtime coach at UC Irvine, is the new head coach, CdM athletic director Brian Walsh confirmed Monday. He takes over for Melissa Seidemann, who resigned last month after three seasons.

Hunt spent 17 years as the head men’s water polo coach at UCI.

During his coaching tenure at UCI, which finished with a 212-201 overall record, his teams finished five times in the NCAA top five and 10 times in the top 10. He was a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation coach of the year, but his contract was not renewed at the end of the 2021 season.

“I’m honored that Principal Dr. Jacob Haley and Athletic Director Brian Walsh have selected me for this opportunity,” Hunt said in a statement. “I have tremendous support from our administration and look forward to connecting with our alumni, while continuing the rich tradition of Corona Del Mar High School water polo created by an elite corps of coaches that have come before me. I’m grateful to have a significant role in carrying out this proud tradition in the classroom, in the pool and in the community.”

Hunt has also been influential in the local club water polo scene, as a co-founder of Back Bay Aquatics (formerly called Anteater), where many CdM players got their start. Back Bay will turn 20 years old next year.

Hunt also played water polo at UCI after graduating from Righetti High in Santa Maria, and was a two-time All-American in 1992 and ’93. He’s coached at CdM before, as he was an assistant coach for the boys’ and girls’ water polo teams for two seasons in the early 2000s.

He has a water polo family. His wife Christine was also a standout player at Orange Coast College and All-American at UCI, and his daughters Halle (age 11) and Haddie (9) also currently play the sport while attending Newport Elementary.

CdM, which won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title in 2022, was also competitive last winter and moved up to the Open Division.

“We are extremely fortunate to have a coach of Marc’s caliber lead the Corona del Mar girls’ water polo program,” Walsh said. “His experience, connection to the community and desire to provide a top-tier program for our student-athletes are just some of the many reasons we are confident that the future of our program is in good hands.”