Oilers earned their title shot

Private schools have come to dominate CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys’ water polo in recent years, winning every title since 2009.

Well, two private schools, to be specific. Mater Dei has won four Division 1 titles in that span. Harvard-Westlake has won two.

So there was some concern for the Huntington Beach High team on Nov. 5, when the Oilers discovered when brackets were released that they would likely have to beat both the Monarchs and the Wolverines just to advance to the Division 1 title match.

“Tough draw” doesn’t really capture it. The Oilers had to beat two Division 1 dynasties back to back, programs that had matched up in the title game each of the last three years. Would Huntington Beach be up to the challenge?

Score one for the public schools. No. 3-seeded Huntington Beach won at Mater Dei, 11-5, in the quarterfinals Saturday and edged No. 2 Harvard-Westlake, 7-6, in the semifinals on Wednesday night. The Oilers will play another private school, No. 4-seeded Orange Lutheran, in the title match at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Complex.

There were many layers to Wednesday night’s win. It gave Coach Sasa Branisavljevic’s Oilers their first CIF title game appearance in program history. In past years, the Oilers may have been underdogs in CIF, which seems strange for a team that has four Pac-12 commits in captain Ethan Wojciechowski and defender Ryan Hurst (Cal), as well as UCLA-bound center Quinten Osborne and goalie Patrick Saunders. But, as a unit, they appear to be finally living up to their potential.

Sept. 23 was when someone posted a topic on the Water Polo Planet message board titled, “HB struggles due to coaching?” That seems like a long time ago now. The steady Branisavljevic has led the Oilers to a 15-game winning streak and within one game of a title.

The public school vs. private school discussion has certainly heated up. Of the top six teams in the Division 1 playoffs, which also included top-seeded Los Angeles Loyola, only Huntington Beach and Corona del Mar were public schools. CdM Coach Barry O’Dea, whose teams have lost to private schools in the CIF quarterfinals or semifinals each of the past five seasons, has said in the past that he believes public and private schools should be in different divisions.

“I think it’s good to have new blood in there, keep everything competitive,” Wojciechowski said. “Maybe the younger kids say, ‘I don’t need to go to a private school. Maybe I can team up with my buddies, go to our local high school and try to win.’ I think it’s definitely important.”

Hurst, his future teammate with the Golden Bears, would agree with that.

“We saw [the CIF draw] and it was what it was,” Hurst said. “It honestly motivated us more, because we had to beat every private school that’s won CIF recently. Then we had to beat OLu, which was supposed to be this big dynasty. It’s great. I love it. It’s us against like four private schools in the top five.”

The Oilers definitely do take pride in representing for the public schools. To a degree, they’ll do it again on Saturday night. Perhaps Huntington Beach senior Matt Robert said it best.

“We don’t need all the privileges that private schools have in order to become champions,” Robert said. “We make the most of what we’re given.”

GIRLS’ TENNIS INDIVIDUALS START MONDAY

The CIF Southern Section girls’ tennis Individuals tournament begins Monday, and a handful of local singles players and doubles teams will be in action at three different sites across Southern California.

Singles players and doubles teams had to make the finals of their respective league tournaments to qualify for CIF Individuals. Monday’s action encompasses the first three rounds of the Individuals tournament.

CdM will send four players to the Claremont Club, as Pacific Coast League singles champion Jasie Dunk and finalist Danielle Willson will vie, along with doubles finalists Camellia Edalat and Brooke Kenerson.

The most local players will be competing at the Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates, including three-time Sunset League singles champion Hanh Pham of Fountain Valley, and the Barons’ league champion doubles team of Clarissa Htay and Katie Ho. Newport Harbor’s league doubles finalists of Taryn Anderson and Eva Newsom also will compete.

Laguna Beach’s Orange Coast League doubles champions of Taylor Corrigan and Lina Gleizer also will compete at the Jack Kramer Club, as well as finalists Megan Mindte and Jessa Chaney. The Breakers’ league singles finalist, Vanessa Gee, also will be in action.

Finally, three Sage Hill players will be competing at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center in South El Monte. They are Academy League singles finalist Miya Stauss, and the doubles team of Nicole Condas and Michelle Hung.

Those who advance from Monday’s action will play in either the round of 32 on Nov. 29 at Whittier Narrows, or advance directly to the round of 16 on Nov. 30 at Seal Beach Tennis Center.