GIRLS WATER POLO
The final week of the regular season in girls water polo has arrived with several under-the-radar teams surfacing as squads to watch in the playoffs.
Here is a look at three of those teams:
Dana Hills: The Dolphins played like a team to watch in a 16-12 loss Monday against El Toro, ranked No. 1 in Division 2. Dana Hills has qualified for the playoffs and could be a dangerous team. Senior Madison Baba scored nine goals for the Dolphins against El Toro.
Troy: The Warriors (20-7) are 8-0 in the Freeway League and defeated three CIF-ranked teams Saturday en route to capturing the Los Altos-hosted Conqueror Classic. Troy, ranked seventh this week in Division 3, defeated Division 5-ranked Los Altos, 9-8, Division 2-ranked Vista Murrieta, 7-5, and Division 6 top-ranked Pasadena Poly, 11-10, in the final.
Marissa Vaccher and Shelby Maldonado each scored three goals against Pasadena Poly.
Troy plays host to La Habra and Sunny Hills – tied for second at 6-2 – this week.
Edison: The Chargers (12-13, 2-2) can clinch third place in the Division 1 Sunset League with a victory against Marina (1-3 in league) on Wednesday at Newport Harbor at 6:05 p.m. The Chargers recovered from a second-round loss to Corona del Mar at the Irvine Southern California Championships to finish 10th in the 32-team field. Edison edged Santa Margarita and Coronado by scores of 6-5 before falling to Agoura, 10-4, in the consolation championship.
Senior goalie Sierra Page racked up a combined 21 saves against Santa Margarita and Coronado.
On Monday, Edison played No. 10 Mater Dei tough, falling, 10-8, after taking a 6-3 lead in the first period.
Beckman: The Patriots rallied in the second half last week to beat host Yorba Linda, 10-8, and improve to 15-6 overall. Coach Sam Bailey’s team has clinched second place in the Division 1 Pacific Coast League with a 7-1 mark.
Top games this week: Tuesday will be critical for several teams. No. 8 San Clemente plays at No. 6 El Toro at 5:30 p.m. for first place in the South Coast League, while No. 10 Mater Dei plays host to No. 9 Rosary at 5 p.m. in a clash for second in the Trinity League.
Also on Tuesday, the Foothill-Villa Park match for first place in the Crestview has been moved to Foothill at 4 p.m. because of a pipe leak in the Villa Park pool. Savanna plays host to Santa Ana Valley for first place in the Orange League while Ocean View plays at Segerstrom with first place at stake in the Golden West.
– DAN ALBANO
BOYS SOCCER
Laguna Hills isn’t ranked in the top 10 in this week’s CIF-SS Division 2 poll, but the Hawks have a chance to end up No. 1 where it matters most – the league standings.
Today at 6 p.m., Laguna Hills will play host to Aliso Niguel with the the Sea View League championship at stake.
The Wolverines (11-1-4, 4-0-3), ranked No. 3 in Division 2, are one point ahead of the Hawks (14-6-1, 5-1-0) in the standings. The Wolverines’ season ends today, but Laguna Hills has one more league match remaining, against Dana Hills on Thursday.
If the teams tie today, the Hawks can still win the title with a victory Thursday.
In their first league meeting, Aliso Niguel beat the Hawks, 2-1. Ryan Nyberg scored twice for the Wolverines.
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
GIRLS WRESTLING
There were 85 girls wrestlers from Orange County that qualified for this week’s CIF-SS Individual Championships with their efforts Saturday in the CIF Central Qualifier at Tustin High.
Santa Ana Valley’s Adriana Ozuna (101), Canyon’s Aleeah Gould (106), Tustin’s Valeria Moreno (111), Godinez’s Diana Hernandez (121), Valencia’s Gabby Garcia (126), Mater Dei’s Julie Calzada (137), Tustin’s Jasmine Cordero (143), Magnolia’s Arlene Hernandez (150), Godinez’s Samantha Salas (160), Aliso Niguel’s Bree Tate-Johnson (170), Canyon’s Philliz Tu’Avao (189) and Santa Ana’s Anahi Moreno (235) finished first at their weights.
Santa Ana led all county schools with eight qualifiers. (A complete list of O.C. qualifiers, by weight, can be found at OCVarsity.com.)
The individual championships will be held at Roosevelt of Eastvale. The action starts Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m., with the medal matches at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students (w/valid student I.D) and children on Friday. The price for adults increases to $10 on Saturday.
The top eight wrestlers at each weight class advance to the CIF State Tournament in Visalia on Feb. 27-28.
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
