Girls’ Water Polo Season Preview: Sailors seek respect

The Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo team has not exactly generated a lot of attention leading up to the season.

People are talking about Laguna Beach, the two-time defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion that is again top-ranked despite losing Makenzie Fischer to graduation and her younger sister, Aria, to the U.S. senior women’s national team. They are discussing Orange Lutheran and San Marcos, two emerging programs that are ranked Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, in the Division 1 preseason poll.

Newport Harbor is ranked No. 8, its lowest ranking in years, and there are reasons for that. The Sailors lost the only coach in program history when Bill Barnett wrapped up a 49-year coaching career at Newport Harbor in February. They also lost a very talented senior class that had six NCAA Division 1 signees, including Newport-Mesa Player of the Year Carlee Kapana, a goalie now at UCLA.

Still, former longtime assistant coach Brian Melstrom sees reason for optimism. Melstrom, in his first year in charge, has already seen tons of improvement since the spring.

“I think teams know that Newport’s not going to roll over,” Melstrom said. “I feel like we’re improving each and every week.”

The Sailors have arguably been the class of Division 1 in recent years, playing in the championship game each year from 2012-2014 and capturing the 2012 CIF title. The senior class of Katie Kearns, Maddy Kanzler, Sammie Garcia and Josie Miller wants to try to uphold that tradition.

“We’re just determined to prove to people that Newport still has a strong program,” said Kearns, the only returning starter from last year’s Sunset League champion. “We want to show that.”

Not only is Kearns the only returning starter, but she’s the only returning player that saw meaningful varsity playing time. Garcia got into some games, but now steps into a starting role.

“[Garcia] is a relentless attacker,” Melstrom said. “She has arguably the best shot on the team.”

Kanzler, who split time at goalie over the summer with junior Chloe Schilling, has the varsity job to herself now. She’s a co-captain along with Kearns, and she knows she has big shoes to fill. The last two goalies at Newport Harbor were Kapana and Cleo Harrington, the 2013 Newport-Mesa Co-Player of the Year who now plays at Harvard.

“It’s definitely a big responsibility, because everyone has known them to be amazing goalies,” Kanzler said. “I feel a lot of weight on my shoulders, that I need to uphold the tradition. I know I’m no Carlee or anything, but I’m going to try my hardest to do well this season. I’ve been working really hard in practice, and I want to show that I can [play] a big role for our team.”

Miller, a center and two-meter defender, returns to playing. She was technically on the JV team last year but didn’t play, enduring medical issues after finding out her heart was slightly enlarged. She said she was in and out of the hospital.

But now, the feisty Miller is back. She scored a team-high three goals in Newport Harbor’s season opener, an overtime loss to Coronado on Saturday.

“I feel like we’re ready to upset a lot of teams that feel like we’re weaker,” Miller said. “We’re going to be for sure the underdogs; people are going to underestimate us ... but we’re going to fight to the finish. That’s what we’ve been doing each game, and that’s what we’re going to continue doing.”

Melstrom said he was proud that the girls finished 20th at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics over the summer in Orange County, a more-than-respectable showing going up against top club programs. And they held their own in the fall night league at Santa Margarita, posting a 3-3-2 record against other top programs in Division 1 and Division 2.

The primary goal for the Sailors is to again win the Sunset League title. If they are to accomplish that, the small but motivated senior class will need to provide leadership.

And being the underdog isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a team that has thrived in that role lately. Two years ago, the Sailors reached the Division 1 final despite a final regular-season ranking of No. 7 in the division.

“I’m excited to be the underdogs,” Garcia said. “I feel like it’s way more fun to be the underdog than to be top-ranked and have so much pressure on you.”

Here’s a look at the four Newport-Mesa girls’ water polo programs for 2015-16:

Corona del Mar

Coach: Kevin Ricks (first year)

2014-15 season: 23-7, 10-0 in the Pacific Coast League (champion); lost to Laguna Beach in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs

Players to watch: Heidi Ritner (Sr.); Bridgett Storm (Sr.); Jaleh Moaddeli (Jr.); Sarah Lawson (Jr.); Chloe Harbilas (Soph.); Emily Ritner (Jr.); Kelly Morgan (Jr.)

You should know: Ricks, the former Santa Margarita coach, took over the program in May after Ross Sinclair resigned after two years to take the Newport Harbor boys’ position. He inherits a team with talent, though the Sea Kings lost a key piece when 2014 Dream Team Player of the Year Maddie Musselman, who would be a senior, left CdM to attend online school and train full-time with the USA senior national team. Ritner, a goalie, has signed with the University of Michigan while Storm, a center, is headed to UCLA. CdM will rely on its two senior starters for leadership.

One thing that is different than when Ricks coached at Santa Margarita is that CdM plays a two-round format in league, which leaves less available nonleague games against other top teams. The Sea Kings’ first game isn’t until the Battle of the Bay on Dec. 18. Ricks said he believes there is a lot of parity in CIF Southern Section Division 1. CdM starts the season ranked No. 5, behind defending champion Laguna Beach, Foothill, Orange Lutheran and San Marcos.

Costa Mesa

Coach: Dustin Serrano (second year)

2014-15 season: 9-16, 2-2 in the Orange Coast League (third place); lost to Edison in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs

Players to watch: Alessia Vitiello (Soph.); Sofia Rice (Fr.); Michelle Vu (Jr.); Lauren Kiefer (Jr.); Tia Gordon (Sr.); Cassidy Crandall (Jr.); Brenna Alvis (Jr.)

You should know: The Mustangs have a young team, as Gordon, a defender, is the only senior on the roster. But Serrano said he is excited as Costa Mesa returns talent like Vitiello, a left-handed center who had a team-best 47 goals last year as a freshman. Rice comes into the program with substantial club experience, Serrano said, while Vu takes over in goal following the graduation of Antonia Velasquez. Alvis is more known as a standout softball and volleyball player for the Mustangs, but brings needed athleticism to the pool as well.

Expecting a run in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs may be optimistic. But Serrano, who coaches the Costa Mesa boys’ and girls’ programs with his twin brother Cody but is the girls’ head coach, said the goal is to finish second in league to Laguna Beach and advance past the first round in CIF. The Breakers have not lost a league game since the league was formed in 2006-07, and they also are the two-time defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champions. Last year, the Mustangs also finished behind Saddleback in league, but the program has had relative success, making the postseason 12 times in the past 13 years. Mesa also has never lost to crosstown rival Estancia in the Battle for the Bell game.

Estancia

Coach: Mitch White (first year)

2014-15 season: 4-14, 0-4 in the Orange Coast League (fifth place); failed to qualify for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs

Players to watch: Maraide Green (Sr.); Hannah Smith (Jr.); Hayley Hopp (Jr.); Alex Adkisson (Sr.); Annie Walker (Soph.); Katelyn Chesemore (Fr.)

You should know: White, the Estancia JV boys’ water polo coach and a swimming coach, took over after the resignation of Amber Peters in August. He inherits a young team, though there is talent. Hopp, a center, scored seven goals on Wednesday in a win over Colony while Green, a two-meter defender, anchors the defense along with the goalie, Smith. Chesemore, who is the younger sister of Estancia boys’ polo standout Jason Chesemore, is an up-and-coming talent. White has even recruited his daughter Brandi, a volleyball, soccer and swimming senior standout for Estancia, to play water polo part-time this season.

Mitch White, a 1976 Newport Harbor graduate who helped the Sailors capture the 1975 CIF Southern Section Division 4-A water polo title, said the goal is to improve in time for the Orange Coast League, in which Estancia went winless last year. He said he also has a new assistant and JV coach in Alexis Paul, a varsity goalie at Estancia for four years before graduating in 2013.

Newport Harbor

Coach: Brian Melstrom (first year)

2014-15 season: 23-7, 5-0 in the Sunset League (champion); lost to Foothill in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs

Players to watch: Katie Kearns (Sr.); Maddy Kanzler (Sr.); Sammie Garcia (Sr.); Josie Miller (Sr.); Lissa Westerman (Jr.); Jessica Lynch (Soph.); Sarah Barker (Soph.); Kaela Whelan (Soph.)

You should know: The Sailors lost an immensely talented senior class, that featured six NCAA Division 1 signees, to graduation. They also lost their head coach since the program began in Bill Barnett, who wrapped up a 49-year coaching career at Newport Harbor in February. Much of this year’s varsity roster is made up of last year’s JV team, which also was coached by Melstrom and won the Segerstrom varsity tournament.

Newport Harbor opens the season ranked No. 8 in CIF Southern Section Division 1. The Sailors will be without Westerman, a speedy and offensively gifted player, for several weeks as she broke her left (non-shooting) hand in an offseason night league game. They hope to get her back by the time Sunset League play begins, as Newport Harbor looks to defend its league title to fortify CIF positioning. Among league opponents, Los Alamitos begins the season ranked No. 10 in Division 1 and Melstrom said that Huntington Beach also will be a dangerous team this year.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo