Newport Harbor girls’ water polo finishes third at Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions
SANTA BARBARA — A week after playing in the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup, the Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo team had a special spectator Saturday in another prestigious tournament.
Marcia Barnett, the wife of the late Newport Harbor water polo coaching legend Bill Barnett, watched the action from the pool deck at Santa Barbara High.
She now lives in the Santa Barbara area, Sailors coach Ross Sinclair said. He presented her with a plaque made of the former bleachers at the school’s pool, which is under renovation this season.
“We got to give it to her as a little keepsake,” Sinclair said. “She made a cool comment, ‘I remember, my daughter was 3 years old when that pool opened up.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my youngest is turning 4 tomorrow.’”
Generations of talent flow through the school. This year’s Sailors squad has skilled players at every grade level, showing there’s no drop-off coming.
Newport Harbor showcased its depth in a third-place finish at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
The Sailors made six in, six out line changes in the third-place match, an 11-2 victory over a shorthanded San Marcos squad. It was a solid rebound for Newport Harbor (15-3), which had lost 11-7 to Orange Lutheran in the semifinals earlier Saturday.
Top-seeded Mater Dei, the Holiday Cup champion, backed that up with a 10-7 win over Orange Lutheran in the TOC championship match. It’s the first TOC title for Mater Dei, which had junior attacker Kirra Pantaleon as tournament most valuable player.
Meanwhile, Laguna Beach beat Corona del Mar 10-6 in an all-local ninth-place match.
Sophomores Gabby Alexson and Emerson Mulvey were all-tournament team selections for Newport Harbor, who Sinclair said had improved since last weekend’s runner-up finish at the Holiday Cup.
“I think we’re playing a little quicker,” Sinclair said. “We’re starting to play a little faster and at a higher pace. I think we’re developing some more depth, which is great, and we’ve just become a little more connected as a group and understanding each other’s tendencies.”
Senior Caitlin Stayt and freshmen Addison Ting and Campbell Pence led with two goals each in the third-place match. Senior goalkeeper Lydia Soderberg made seven saves, including one on a penalty shot.
Ting, Pence and center Caroline Daniel, who won two USA Water Polo Junior Olympics age-group titles in the last four years, are three players from the class of 2028 getting plenty of playing time for the Sailors.
Daniel had four exclusions drawn in the semifinal loss to Orange Lutheran.
“It was really fun,” Daniel said. “The camaraderie with all the girls just made it a high-intensity experience where you just want to keep pushing.”
Sophomore Valery Verdugo scored twice against Orange Lutheran, and Soderberg made six saves, including another penalty shot stuff.
The Sailors trailed just 4-3 at halftime and 9-7 late in the game, but the Lancers’ Jailynn Robinson stole a pass back to the goalie after an Orange Lutheran offensive foul and easily scored to ice the match.
“We can’t turn the ball over like we did, in the times that we did,” Sinclair said. “There’s moments where we lose a little bit of control, but I thought our center presence was good, our goalkeeping was good, overall in the front court defensively was good. It was just some turnovers that allowed their players to get up in open water and get some good looks.”
Laguna Beach tops CdM for ninth place
Laguna Beach ended its tournament with a satisfying victory.
The Breakers have won eight of their last nine matches, including Saturday’s 10-6 win over Corona del Mar at Dos Pueblos High for ninth-place at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
Laguna Beach had lost by a goal in its two previous meetings with Corona del Mar this season, including the season opener.
“This was definitely a game we wanted to play again and a good matchup for us,” senior captain Presley Jones said. “I mean, they’re a great team, so being able to come out and play them in this tournament and especially to end it off like that, it was a really good win for us.”
Junior Ava Guziak led with three goals for Laguna Beach (8-7), while Jones and fellow senior captain Kara Carver scored twice each. Jordan Katz, Elsie Huston and Liv Taub added the other goals for the Breakers, and senior goalkeeper Siena Jumani made eight saves.
“Luck was a little on my side with the passes that I was given,” Guziak said. “Early offense was one of our top priorities in this game, so I was just trying to fill that role.”
Coach Katie Teets praised the defense of Guziak, matched up against CdM senior center standout Reagan Weir. Taub matched up with CdM senior left-handed attacker Didi Evans after Carver picked up two early exclusions.
Laguna Beach pulled away after the teams were tied 3-3 at halftime.
The Breakers won their final three matches of the tournament after falling 8-6 to Foothill in their opener on Friday. Carver and Jones each scored four goals in a 14-9 win over Harvard-Westlake earlier Saturday, a ninth-place semifinal match.
Weir and Josie Alaluf led CdM (12-5) with two goals each in the ninth-place match. CdM had beaten San Clemente 15-5 in a ninth-place semifinal, with Evans and birthday girl Piper Sidebotham scoring three goals each.
CdM coach Marc Hunt said he liked the way his team played overall, including a competitive 9-7 loss to The Bishop’s School of La Jolla in the tournament opener that pushed the Sea Kings out of the top eight.
“It’s tough to beat any team three times,” Hunt said of the matchup with Laguna Beach. “This could be a team we might see again in CIF. Eating a little bit of humble pie on this one, I think it’s a good growth experience for our group. It motivates us to go home, work harder and fix it, continue to get better.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
