Indvik to sign with USC, Roberts Michigan

In a girls water polo game, Katie Indvik is known as an attacker, or a driver, who usually scores on her first reaction to a pass. Out of the pool, it can be said she confronted her recruiting with the same type of tenacity.

Indvik, a Corona del Mar High senior, will sign today with USC, where she took her first recruiting trip last month. Indvik highlights today’s local commitments, which also include Newport Harbor Sarah Roberts, a senior water polo player who will sign with the University of Michigan.

At Corona del Mar, senior baseball players Jake Lemmerman and Vinnie St. John will sign with Duke and USC, respectively.

Indvik earned first-team All-CIF Division II honors last season, when she helped the Sea Kings to the championship.

Now, she’s eager to lead CdM to a championship as it moves up to Division I this season.

“All of the seniors have to bring the team together and rise to the challenge of being in Division I this year,” Indvik said. “I’ll be taking on more of a leadership role and being a vocal leader.”

Indvik doesn’t struggle too much with being heard. One of the reasons she chose USC was because she wanted to blend in with the social atmosphere there.

“I just felt like I belonged there,” said Indvik, who watched the Trojans football team defeat Washington, 26-20, Oct. 7.

Indvik, who was selected to the United States women’s junior national team last year, also visited UC Berkley and UC Santa Barbara.

But she went with her first instinct instead. That’s what helps her in scoring, too. But CdM Coach Aaron Chaney said Indvik is also a solid defensive player. He usually put her up against the opponent’s best player, he said.

At USC, Indvik, a left-handed player, will be reunited with former teammates Jordan and Tumua Anae. She said that was a bonus for selecting the Trojans, who lost in the NCAA title game last year.

At Michigan, Roberts will once again be a teammate of Leah Robertson, who graduated from Newport Harbor last year. Roberts said she wanted to make sure to go to a university out of California.

“I just wanted something different,” Roberts said. “I wanted seasons. I wanted to meet other type of people. I’m the first American generation in my family and I really don’t want to stay in one area for my lifetime.”

Roberts’ father, Garry, is from Canada, and her mother, Angela, is from England.

Roberts, who contributed to the Sailors’ Division I championship last season, will be counted upon heavily this year, Newport Coach Bill Barnett said.

She is a team captain for the Sailors this season.

“She’s going to be a primary two-meter player,” Barnett said. “She has good size, good speed and throws the ball real well. I think she’ll be a good plus for [Michigan].”

Indvik said she might major in kinesiology at Michigan. She is relieved to have the recruiting process over.

“But now senioritis might kick in a little more,” she said.