Mt. Carmel Outlasts Granite Hills in Water Polo Opener, 8-7

Chris Martino scored on a quick pass inside from Chris Linen with a minute left in overtime Friday to lead Mt. Carmel to an 8-7 victory over Granite Hills in the first round of the San Diego Section water polo playoffs.

Mt. Carmel led 7-3 entering the fourth period, but Granite Hills rallied to tie the score at the end of regulation. Mt. Carmel then scored with a man-advantage in the 3-minute overtime period.

“We let down in the fourth quarter,” said Dan Hearn, Mt. Carmel coach. “We’re a real young team. We weren’t favored to do anything this year.”

Mt. Carmel has a bigger task today when it plays defending champion Coronado at 10 a.m. at the La Jolla Jewish Community Center, the site of all quarterfinal matches.

In other first round matches:

Coronado 24, Patrick Henry 7--Tom Mitchell scored 6 goals and Rob Williams added 5 to lead top-seeded Coronado.

Monte Vista 18, Escondido 9--Monte Vista, the fifth seed, led 10-7 at the half and the pulled away. All six starters scored for Monte Vista, which was led by 6 goals from Mike Polson and 14 saves from goalie John Farinsky. Monte Vista plays Grossmont League 3-A rival Mt. Miguel at 11:45.

Mt. Miguel 10, Mira Mesa 5--Fourth-seeded Mt. Miguel had a tough defensive struggle with 13th seeded Mira Mesa. Mt. Miguel led 6-4 after three quarters and then pulled away when Mira Mesa lost two starters with ejections. Mike Picotte scored 4 goals for Mira Mesa.

USDHS 33, Hilltop 6--Brian Clemens and Scott Rasmussen scored 5 goals each to lead third-seeded USDHS at home. USDHS (20-6) led 11-0 at the end of the first quarter. USDHS advanced to the championship game against Coronado last season before losing 6-5. The Dons advance to the semifinals today at 6 p.m. to face Valhalla, whom they beat 17-11 last week.

Valhalla 18, Bonita Vista 14--Valhalla led 11-9 at the half and then outscored Bonita Vista 5-2 in the third quarter and held on for the win at home. Brandon Workman and Keith Saward had 4 goals apiece for Valhalla.

Fallbrook 18, Rancho Buena Vista 17 OT--Jack Bentris scored with 2:07 remaining in overtime to lift eighth-seeded Fallbrook. Trailing, 16-14, with less than 2 minutes to play in regulation, seventh-seeded Rancho Buena Vista battled back with goals by Sean Garrahy and Richard Hale. Danny Gill had 8 goals for Fallbrook. Garrahy led Rancho Buena Vista with 8 goals.

Division II Volleyball:

La Jolla d. Lincoln, 15-0, 15-2, 15-6--La Jolla, led by Julie Merten with 12 kills and Claire Randel with 9, had few problems with the visiting Hornets. Merten and Randel are both 3-year varsity players and have led La Jolla with strong net play all year. After her team dominated early, La Jolla coach Vicki Eveleth played all of her reserves. “We tried some different lineups for the next game in case we have to be clever,” she said. “We were on a high and (Lincoln) was working really hard.” La Jolla (12-3) will face Oceanside in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Escondido d. El Camino, 13-15, 15-13, 15-2, 15-2--Emily Tunnell had 14 kills and Michelle Nagtalon had 5 service aces for fourth-seeded host Escondido, which plays top-seeded University of San Diego Wednesday at University City High School.

Division III Volleyball:

Christian d. Julian, 15-9, 15-8, 15-13--Summer Oakes had 9 kills and Becky Johnson added 8 for second-seeded Christian. Jessica Johnson had 7 of Christian’s 19 service aces.

Francis Parker d. Bishop’s 15-10, 15-4, 15-9--Francis Parker (13-7) has won the Division III section title 3 years in a row and the state title the past 2 years. Bishop’s finished at 10-11.

2-A Tennis:

San Pasqual, La Jolla, rain delayed--For the second straight day, the semifinal match was suspended by rain. San Pasqual leads 3.75-2.75 over La Jolla, which has won nine section titles since 1977.

Valhalla and Bishop’s were rained out Thursday in the other semifinal with Bishop’s leading 4.75-0. Both matches will be played at Bishop’s today at 8 a.m. with the final following.