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  • Among the top players on the Mission Viejo water polo...

    Among the top players on the Mission Viejo water polo team: Emilee Feilmeier, Skylar Newhouser-Flores, Megan Patterson and Tiffany Sims.

  • Among the top players on the Mission Viejo girls water...

    Among the top players on the Mission Viejo girls water polo team: Emilee Feilmeier, Skylar Newhouser-Flores, Megan Patterson and Tiffany Sims.

  • Among the top players on the Mission Viejo girls water...

    Among the top players on the Mission Viejo girls water polo team are: Emilee Feilmeier, Skylar Newhouser-Flores, Megan Patterson and Tiffany Sims.

  • Emilee Feilmeier, Mission Viejo girls water polo

    Emilee Feilmeier, Mission Viejo girls water polo

  • Megan Patterson, Mission Viejo girls water polo

    Megan Patterson, Mission Viejo girls water polo

  • Skylar Newhouser-Flores, Mission Viejo girls water polo

    Skylar Newhouser-Flores, Mission Viejo girls water polo

  • Tiffany Sims, Mission Viejo girls water polo

    Tiffany Sims, Mission Viejo girls water polo

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Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

A successful adventure to a European water polo hotbed. The return of the entire starting lineup from last season. A chance to make school history.

Those are a few of the reasons Mission Viejo’s girls water polo team enters this winter with so much anticipation.

“We want to make a statement,” junior Emilee Feilmeier said.

Call it a Mission statement. The Diablos’ goal is to become the first girls water polo team from their school to reach a CIF-SS final. Mission Viejo’s lone boys water polo title was in 1980.

“(Making) finals is what we work for,” senior Skylar Newhouser-Flores said.

The Diablos almost broke through last season, falling to Riverside Poly, 11-8, in the Division 4 semifinals. They finished the season with a 25-4 record.

Mission Viejo enters this season ranked second in Division 4; defending champion Royal of Simi Valley is ranked No. 1.

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More in the girls water polo preview for 2015-16:

Girls water polo preview: O.C. top 10

Girls water polo preview: Top 5 players to watch

Girls water polo preview: Other players to watch

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The Diablos’ double-post attack returns Newhouser-Flores and Feilmeier, an All-CIF duo that combined for 177 goals last season.

The defending Sea View League champions also return senior All-CIF utility Megan Patterson, senior goalie Tiffany Sims along with field players Madi Lorenz (junior defender), sharp-shooter Natalie Cooper (junior), Megan Wright (senior attacker) and top reserve Kaylee Inducil (junior).

Mission Viejo played in 18-and-under gold Junior Olympics during the summer, but the offseason highlight was a training trip to Hungary during spring break.

The squad played nine games over 10 days and practiced two hours each morning.

The matches were mostly against Hungarian teams, including a standout group of 13-year-olds, and the British junior national squad.

The chance to bond as a team was just as important as the training.

“We all spent a lot of time together,” Feilmeier said. “We did a lot of touring. We went to a couple museums. We went around Budapest, road bikes. … We had (Hungarian soup) Goulash. It was real good.”

The team also visited Margaret Island, an area well-known for water polo.

The trip also showed the commitment many of the players have made to water polo. Newhouser-Flores, for example, played the sport for first time in high school but has developed into a collegiate prospect. She recently made a recruiting trip to Cal State Bakersfield.

Only a few players on Mission Viejo’s team have a club background in water polo. The Diablos have made considerable strides under fourth-year coach Jeff Rach. The team went 10-21 in his first season and improved to 16-15 the next winter.

“It was him who changed us,” Newhouser-Flores said of Rach. “It (also) was really the incoming freshmen my sophomore year.”

Mission Viejo could face some early hurdles this winter. Cooper is dealing with a knee injury, and the team’s nonleague schedule is tougher.

“They’ve all had a goal,” Rach said of his team. “Since we lost in semifinals of last year, that night, they were setting goals for themselves. It took going to Europe. It took Junior Olympics. It took your whole summer and your fall … to see if we can win a Division 4 championship.”

NOTES

No. 2 Orange Lutheran has joined a strong field for the Villa Park Classic, Dec. 10-12. The tournament also features Division 1 contenders San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, Los Alamitos and defending CIF champions El Toro (Division 2) and Royal (Division 4). …

Mater Dei joins the field for the Holiday Cup, Dec. 29-30, and San Clemente has been added to the Irvine SoCal Championships, Feb, 4-6. …

Nicole Schmidt of El Modena has transferred to Foothill, and Mira Costa’s Nicole Kresich is now at Mater Dei. Villa Park’s Claire Sonne transferred to Laguna Beach.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com