Girls water polo: CdM’s championship bid falls short

Joseph Boo

LONG BEACH - Unseeded Corona del Mar High’s girls water polo team

did what it had to do to slow down top seed Santa Margarita. But alas,

the Eagles accepted the snail’s pace and pulled out a 7-4 victory in the

CIF Southern Section Division IV Championship Wednesday at Belmont Plaza

in Long Beach.

The loss stopped a magical run by the Sea Kings (20-12). CdM went from

the bottom of the Sea View League last year to win a share of the Pacific

Coast League title. And they took a wild card opportunity and stretched

it to a Division IV championship berth.

“I thought it was stupid that we were in the wild card,” CdM senior

goalie Arin Hendrickson, who made 10 saves, said. “But it was exciting

that we came this far.”

“I’m real proud of them,” CdM Coach John Vargas said. “Compared to last

season, this was a big turnaround.”

In his first year as the girls water polo coach, Vargas made his second

trip to Belmont this season. His CdM boys team won the Division II water

polo championship.

For three quarters, Santa Margarita did not look like the same team which

went 24-6 and topped the Division IV polls for the entire season. CdM’s

defense effectively made the Eagles’ speed irrelevant and slowed the game

down.

CdM got on the scoreboard first in the game’s first minute when freshman

Christina Hewko passed to freshman Danielle Carlson, who connected on the

counter.

Hendrickson preserved CdM’s first-quarter lead with three big saves. Both

team’s defense turned the game into a defensive dogfight. There were 13

combined turnovers in the first quarter.

CdM lost its lead when Santa Margarita’s Kristina Kunkel scored on a

six-on-five with a minute left in the first quarter.

The Eagles’ defense was tenacious, forcing 19 CdM turnovers.

“Their hard press took us out of our game a little bit,” Vargas said.

CdM’s defense was equal to the task, forcing 14 turnovers by the Eagles.

More importantly, the Sea Kings stopped Santa Margarita from getting fast

breaks.

“I was really worried about their counters,” Vargas said. “We did a good

job of stopping that. But they got three goals from the set.”

Santa Margarita took the lead late in the second quarter with a goal by

Jamie Kroeze. In the third quarter, the Eagles got a six-on-five goal,

but CdM responded immediately with Carlson finding Hewko across the pool

for the assist. Hendrickson stopped three six-on-five shots to keep CdM

within a 3-2 deficit.

But Santa Margarita scored twice in the first minute of the fourth

quarter to take a 5-2 lead. CdM got one back from Ellen Orbe’s

six-on-five goal.

With two minutes left, CdM had a two-player advantage, but it failed to

score. Sea King freshman Daniela DiGiacomo later cut Santa Margarita’s

lead to 6-4, but Kunkel got her fourth goal of the game with a minutes

left for the 7-4 margin.

It’s the second time Santa Margarita beat CdM this year by a 7-4 score.

The Sea Kings were without senior two-meter player Melinda Tucker in that

game. Tucker almost scored twice on Wednesday, but the Eagles’ defense

kept CdM from giving her good entry passes.

While naturally disappointed, CdM could not help feeling a sense of

accomplishment in making their first championship game.

“We’re really proud of everyone,” CdM senior Hayley Hapeman said, “but it

sucks to lose.”

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION IV CHAMPIONSHIPS

Santa Margarita 7, Corona del Mar 4

Score by quarters

Corona del Mar 1 0 1 2 - 4

Santa Margarita 0 1 1 4 - 7

Corona del Mar - Carlson 1, Hewko 1, Orbe 1, DiGiacomo 1. Saves -

Hendrickson 10.

Santa Margarita - Kr. Kunkel 4, Kroeze 2, Figge 1. Saves - Carfioli 3.