Spectators will be able to attend the CIF-SS boys water polo semifinals in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 at the two-pool Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine on Wednesday for a single admission price. Adult tickets will be $10 while students with ID will be $5.
Also, a live stream of the Division 1 games will be shown by GoLivePolo.com. The stream, which also will be available on OCVarsity.com, will use three cameras and feature commentary from Greg Mescall of USA Water Polo.
“We are putting a lot of effort into making sure that we have a really high-quality broadcast,” said Orange Lutheran coach Steve Carrera, owner/producer for GoLivePolo.com who also has partnered with Teradek, a wireless video company.
“We really want to showcase the talent here in Orange County/Southern California and show the rest of the country, and the world, that we have a talented group of kids.”
The day’s matches begin with the Division 3 semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Top-seeded Laguna Beach (23-6) plays No. 4-seed Capistrano Valley (19-11), while second-seed Murrieta Valley (24-6) takes on No. 3 Montebello (23-3). The Cougars are making their first appearance in the semifinals since their Division 1 run in 1997.
In Division 2, second-seeded Dana Hills (20-10) will make its first semifinal appearance since 1991 when it plays No. 3 Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga (17-9) at 5 p.m. Top-seeded Foothill (23-6) and Mira Costa (25-6) follow at 6:30 p.m.
Division 1 starts at 5 p.m. with No. 2 seed Mater Dei (25-4) taking on Huntington Beach (21-6), which will make its first semifinal appearance since 1958. Defending champion and top-seeded Harvard-Westlake of Studio City (27-0) takes No. 4 Corona del Mar (24-5) at 7 p.m. …
Mater Dei has been playing without standout attacker Nick Lavayen and Bennie Seybold, both of whom have hand injuries, Monarchs coach Chris Segesman said. Both players wore casts Saturday at the Monarchs’ Division 1 quarterfinal victory at Newport Harbor.
Lavayen, MVP of the 18-and-under Junior Olympics in July, has been out since late October.
“He’s being a real good character on the bench,” Mater Dei senior Matt Payne said of Lavayen. “He’s cheering us on. He’s giving us high-fives when we come out.” …
Brothers and water polo coaches Matt and Kevin Rosa faced off Saturday in the Division 2 quarterfinals when Dana Hills played against M.L. King of Riverside. Matt and the Dolphins collected a 20-11 victory.
“Always adds a little intensity to the game when you are playing your brother,” Kevin said. “I will be his biggest fan (Wednesday).”
– DAN ALBANO
GIRLS GOLF
Now that the rookie is a playing like a veteran, Ysabel Tran has a chance to become a CIF State girls golf champion.
The Troy senior had never qualified for the postseason as an individual before this year, but she is one of the two Orange County players to reach today’s CIF State Championship tournament at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga.
She is the first girl from Troy to make it to the tournament. Fountain Valley senior Lilia Vu is the other county qualifier.
Tran made it to the tournament by carding a 1-under-par 71 during the WSCGA So Cal Championships last week at Arrowhead Country Club in San Bernardino, which put her one stroke below the cut line.
“I am so excited,” she said. “I am just glad everything worked out.”
Tran, who has been working on her swing, adjusting her timing, opened the postseason with a victory in the CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional, shooting a 5-under 66 at Dad Miller Golf Course. She beat Diamond Bar senior Bethany Wu, the No. 3 player in the AJGA’s national rankings, on a card-off.
After four CIF-SS postseason tournaments, Tran has a 71.75 scoring average.
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The CIF-SS will announce the schedule for the girls volleyball finals, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Cerritos Colle and Fullerton College, after tonight’s semifinals matches.
Pairings for the CIF State Tournament will be announced Sunday. The Southern Section receives four automatic berths for each of the five divisions.
The regional finals are Dec. 2 and the state finals are Dec. 6 at Santiago Canyon College.
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
GIRLS TENNIS
University, Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach were selected for the CIF Southern Regional Championships, which begin today.
The Trojans, who finished as the Division 1 runner-up, were awarded the No. 3 overall seed. They will host Poway today at 2 p.m.
Corona del Mar, the No. 5 seed, will also host Bullard of Fresno at today 2:30 p.m.
Laguna Beach, which reached CIF-SS Division 2 semifinals, will go on the road today to play Palisades of Los Angeles.
Second round and semifinal matches will be held at the Claremont Club on Friday. The championship is Saturday at the Claremont Club.
– KENNY CONNOLLY
CROSS COUNTRY
After some exciting action in qualifying this past weekend, the field is set for the CIF Southern Section’s premier cross country event – the CIF Finals.
Brea Olinda’s Austin Tamagno (rest) and Capistrano Valley’s Rebecca Deitch (hip) did not compete in the CIF Prelims, but they will return to their team’s lineups for Saturday’s CIF Finals at Mt. San Antonio College.
Brea Olinda’s boys and Capistrano Valley’s girls both won their heat in the CIF Prelims, and they will be the favorites to win their divisional finals.
Canyon’s boys and JSerra’s girls are also expected to be in contention for a divisional title.
The top seven teams Saturday will qualify for the CIF State Championship meet in Clovis. The first five individuals will also be eligible to receive berths to the state championship if they finish in the top 20 of their division.
– ANDREW TURNER, Contributing writer
SWIMMING
Upland standout swimmer Sonia Wang, who captured the 200-yard individual medley and 100 backstroke at the CIF Division 2 finals last season, has enrolled at JSerra, Lions assistant athletic director Donald Evans confirmed.
Wang, now training with Irvine-based Aquazot, won the 200 IM in a swift 2 minutes, 0.13 and set the Division 2 record in the backstroke with a 53.77 last season at CIF.
She joins forces with Kaitlyn Albertoli, Brittany Kahn and Karli Thuen to give JSerra an impressive senior foursome.
– DAN ALBANO
