Notes: Santa Margarita builds momentum for showdown
Santa Margarita’s girls water polo team appears well-prepared for its Trinity League showdown at Mater Dei on Wednesday night.
Eagles upset second-seeded Los Alamitos in the quarterfinals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions on Friday, and went onto to finish fourth.
Santa Margarita lost to Newport Harbor, 7-5, in the semifinals, a closer margin than the 11-6 decision the Eagles dropped to the Sailors on Dec. 28.
Mater Dei plays host to Santa Margarita at 6 p.m.
“We came into this knowing that we have to get ready for that (Mater Dei) game,” Santa Margarita junior Haley Wan said after the Eagles’ 10-9 victory against Los Alamitos.
“Just winning this game is going to be really good for confidence going into next week.”
Mater Dei is the defending league champion. The Monarchs have defeated the Eagles the past two seasons by a combined, 20-8.
Mater Dei lost in the first round in Santa Barbara but won its next three, including a 9-8 victory against Division 2 nemesis Santiago of Corona in the ninth-place match.
There are also two other league matches to pay special attention to this week. In the Garden Grove League on Tuesday night, Garden Grove plays host to Los Amigos at 6 p.m.
On Thursday, Sunny Hills plays at Troy at 3:30 p.m. in a key Freeway League game.
