HIGH SCHOOLS:

As far as timeout calls go, it probably won’t be as infamous as Chris Webber’s in the closing seconds of the 1993 NCAA men’s Division I championship basketball game, but there was still a bit of controversy in the closing seconds of Newport Harbor High’s 8-7 loss to Coronado.

Back in 1993, Webber, then a sophomore at Michigan, called a timeout when his team had none left, and alas, North Carolina won the men’s basketball title.

There was nothing that big on the line Saturday night in the championship game of the S&R; Sport Southern California Invitational at Irvine High.

Down one with less than 10 seconds to go, Sailors senior Clinton Jorth got a steal in the Coronado side of the pool.

Then, Newport Harbor Coach Jason Lynch tried to call a timeout to referee Aaron Chaney, also the girls’ water polo coach at Corona del Mar and one of the most respected referees around.

Chaney regularly referees Mountain Pacific Sports Federation college water polo games and was also a referee at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

But with all the noise in the stands after Jorth’s steal, neither Chaney nor the referee on the opposite side could hear Lynch’s timeout call. The clock ran out before Jorth could get a shot off.

After the game, Lynch downplayed the situation.

“We had a two-on-one,” Lynch said. “I probably shouldn’t have even been calling a timeout. I don’t even think that that’s an important aspect of the game, quite honestly.”

Newport Harbor players and parents, though, said that they thought that at least one of the referees should have glanced at Lynch after the steal to see if he wanted a timeout.

If they couldn’t hear the timeout request, at least they could see it.

“I’m running down the deck yelling ‘timeout,’ making the motion,” Lynch said. “I mean, the backcourt [referee] should have been watching me if Aaron wasn’t watching me.”

Minor controversies aside, the tournament was another successful one for the Tars after winning the South Coast Tournament two weeks ago. But Newport Harbor, the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, does still have things to work on.

Newport is known as a second-half team. But sometimes, that can be another phrase for just starting slow.

Coronado was up 7-3 late in the third quarter before the Sailors started their spirited comeback.

“It always seems like we don’t come out as hard as we can,” said senior Colin McKibbin, who scored a game-high four goals against Coronado. “That’s got to change, though.”

The Estancia High girls’ tennis team is looking forward to its home match against Laguna Beach on Thursday.

The Eagles and Breakers expect to be the top two squads in the Orange Coast League, which would earn each team a CIF Southern Section Division I playoff berth.

But after finishing second in league to Laguna Beach a year ago, this year Estancia wants a league title to go with it.

Estancia’s hopes appear well-founded as they return key singles players like Ellie Edles and Kendra Fisher, as well as their top doubles team of Abby Koff and Jennifer Johnston.

The teams will meet two more times in league, Oct. 23 at Laguna Beach and Oct. 31 at Estancia.

Sage Hill School alumna Sarah Geocaris hasn’t stopped swining a mean tennis raquet just because she’s on a different coast.

Geocaris, a freshman at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, is playing No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles on the varsity tennis team at the Division III school.

She and partner Catherine Teague were chosen as the doubles team of the week for the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference, for the week ending Sept. 30.

As a member of the Lightning, Geocaris helped Sage Hill to four straight Academy League championships, the CIF Southern Section Division V title in 2005 and a Division IV championship match appearance last year.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].