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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.

Corona del Mar girls water polo coach Kevin Ricks, who guided the Sea Kings to a pair of trips to the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals in two seasons, has resigned for personal reasons, he and the Pacific Coast League school said Thursday.

Ricks also led Corona del Mar to consecutive Pacific Coast League titles and 20-9 records in 2017 and 2016. The Sea Kings edged Los Alamitos for fourth in the final O.C. poll this past season. 

Under Kevin’s guidance the past two years, our teams have competed at the highest levels,” Corona del Mar athletic director Don Grable said in an e-mail.

“Kevin truly cares about each of the girls in our program and we thank him for his service and commitment these past two years.”

Corona del Mar lost in the quarterfinals this past season to eventual runner-up San Marcos, 11-4. The loss came after a strong first-round victory against rival Newport Harbor but after the surprising departure of standout senior attacker Jaleh Moaddeli late in the season.

Corona del Mar’s program has featured heavy coaching turnover in recent years.

Ricks, the former veteran coach at Santa Margarita, replaced Ross Sinclair, who left to coach the Newport Harbor boys. Sinclair coached Corona del Mar for two seasons, replacing Sam Bailey, who departed for Beckman.

Bailey, who is no longer coaching at Beckman, led Corona del Mar to a CIF-SS Division 1 title in the final season of his three-year tenure in 2013. Bailey, The Register’s 2013 coach of the year, followed the steady tenure of Aaron Chaney, who resigned after nine seasons in 2009.

As for the future, Grable said, “We have not yet established the time line to begin our search for our new head coach.”

Justin Papa served as Corona del Mar’s JV coach this past season.

Please send water polo news and tips to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter