Athlete of the Week: Heidi helps CdM defense

In a way, the water polo career of Corona del Mar High senior Heidi Ritner is about to come full circle.

Ritner began the sport in the fifth grade, partially due to a recurring foot injury that ended her soccer career. A sport in the water sounded ideal, because there would be no pressure on her feet.

She joined the Anteater (now Back Bay) program, where former UC Irvine player Caitlin Haskell was an influential coach early on.

Haskell saw Ritner play again last week at the annual Holiday Cup tournament at Newport Harbor High. This time, Haskell was in her capacity as the assistant women’s coach at the University of Michigan.

“She helped teach me how to play,” Ritner said. “It’s funny that it started with her, and now I’m going to college and she’s going to be there.”

Haskell can be glad that Ritner decided to play for the Wolverines, especially after watching the goalie make save after save against Laguna Beach.

Ritner made a career-high 22 saves in CdM’s 7-0 loss to the eventual champion Breakers in a tournament semifinal. She was a huge reason why the Sea Kings held the Breakers to just one goal midway through the second quarter, and Laguna’s seven goals was its second-lowest scoring output of the season.

Ritner, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, was consistent for the Sea Kings, who eventually finished fourth in the tournament. She made at least five saves in each quarter against Laguna Beach. And, after the game, the soft-spoken Ritner deflected the praise.

Ritner, a co-captain and three-year varsity starter in goal for CdM, knows that she’s not alone back there on defense. Kelly Morgan, a junior, has moved into a role as CdM’s set defender, and other players like junior Jaleh Moaddeli and sophomore Chloe Harbilas are big for their shot-blocking ability.

“The girls played really good on one-on-one defense,” Ritner said. “Everybody did well defending their drives and dropping when they needed to, and with the shot-blocking. [We were] making the shots come from where we wanted them to, except for the few that did get in. It was definitely a good team effort on our defensive side. I thought we did really well. It was definitely a tiring game for us, but I think everybody worked really hard and did what they needed to do.”

But Ritner is the backbone of that defense for the Sea Kings (5-2), ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, who opened Pacific Coast League play with a 17-1 win over Woodbridge on Thursday. She also had a stellar game in the Battle of the Bay game last month, making 11 saves, including one in the final seconds to preserve the 9-8 win over Newport Harbor.

That win was big for the Sea Kings, who lost three one-goal games to their rivals last season. First-year Coach Kevin Ricks’ team is young, with only Ritner and senior co-captain Bridgett Storm as senior starters, yet the results early on have been impressive.

“I think it’s good,” said Ritner, who has 79 saves this season. “It’s a lot better than I expected. When we come to practice, everybody is definitely improving. Getting fourth for us in the Holiday Cup was a really big thing, so I’m happy with how we’re doing.”

Ritner has continued her standout play after earning first-team All-Pacific Coast League and All-CIF Division 1 honors as both a sophomore and junior, as well as Newport-Mesa Dream Team status each time. She certainly starred last summer, when she earned MVP and Top Goalie honors as Team USA won the UANA Youth Pan American Tournament in Jamaica.

She has become a big part of a great goalie tradition at CdM. That includes Tumua Anae, who was a 2012 Olympian and has coached Ritner in the past.

When Ritner was a freshman, it was Erica Weed who was the starting goalie on the 2013 CIF Division 1 championship team. Ritner got to watch those games from the bench and said that Weed, who was also a co-captain on that team, served as a sort of mentor to her.

Ritner said she expects sophomore Erin Tharp, who is also an Olympic Development Program member through USA Water Polo, to continue that goalie tradition next year.

“She’s going to do a great job next year carrying it on,” Ritner said. “She honestly has really improved over the last two years that she’s been here.”

For now, Ritner is the senior leader on a team that also includes her younger sister, Emily, a junior attacker. Ricks called Heidi’s performance against Laguna Beach “special.”

“I’m sure she’s had moments like that at other times in her career, but it’s fun to see an athlete executing and performing at that level,” Ricks said. “That was a great effort on her part. She worked really, really hard.”

That’s nothing new for her. It’s also enabled her to obtain a 3.8 weighted grade-point average at CdM. She is taking Advanced Placement classes in Psychology, Literature and Art History this year.

In goal, Ritner always appears composed. One thing you’ll never hear her doing is yelling at her teammates. She believes in positive reinforcement, plus that’s just not her personality.

“I’m more of an introvert, but I definitely enjoy my time with the girls in and out of the pool,” she said. “They make me laugh all of the time. I love every single one of them, so I don’t know what I would do if I was on another team.”

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Heidi Ritner

Born: May 18, 1998

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-10

Sport: Water polo

Year: Senior

Coach: Kevin Ricks

Favorite food: Seafood

Favorite movie: “10 Things I Hate About You”

Favorite athletic moment: Helping the CdM Aquatics girls win gold at the Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Festival in New Zealand in summer of 2014.

Week in review: Ritner made a career-high 22 saves against eventual champion Laguna Beach in the semifinals of the Holiday Cup tournament on Dec. 30.