IRVINE – Segerstrom has been playing water polo for only three years, but the school made more impressive history Saturday at the CIF-SS girls championships.
Goalie Melissa Osorio made 11 saves and Nathania Cuevas and Michelle Gonzalez each scored twice as the top-seeded Jaguars defeated Golden West League rival Ocean View, 7-4, in the Division 7 final at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
Segerstrom (23-9) claimed its first girls crown and became only the second Orange County program to capture CIF boys and girls water polo titles in the same school year.
Tim Fredericksen coached Segerstrom’s boys and girls teams. The Jaguars joined longtime juggernaut Newport Harbor (2007-08) as the only program in county history to sweep titles.
The Sailors pulled off the feat with a Division 1 boys title in the fall of 2007 and the girls Division I crown in 2007-08.
“It’s mind-blowing,” Segerstrom’s Gillian Robles said, “because 21/2 years ago, none of us knew how to play water polo. Half of us didn’t even know what water polo was.
“And now to be here, and us to both bring home a banner, it’s just insane.”
Said Fredericksen of the sweep, “I’m still in awe. It never happens. … It’s not (because of) me. There’s got to be something in the water. They played amazing.”
Segerstrom didn’t play like novices as it defeated the No. 2-seeded Seahawks (17-10) for the third time.
The Jaguars allowed only one even-strength goal, a long-distance strike by Elena Isogawa with five seconds left in the third. Isogawa finished with three goals before fouling out in the fourth.
Segerstrom’s defense got two field-blocks from Rebecca Gutierrez and two steals apiece from Cuevas, Justine Mills, Robles and Gonzalez.
The Jaguars also went 4 for 8 on the power-play while Ocean View finished 2 for 6.
“It takes a lot of team work,” Osorio said of the title. “And our coach giving us all the skills and basics and motivating us to go further and further.”
Ocean View finished as the Division 7 runner-up for the second straight season but made its run with just one senior this season.
“Getting here is tough but losing is tough, too,” Ocean View coach Melissa Fernandez said. “I’m just proud of the girls. They stuck it out and fought to the very end.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
