Southern Section Water Polo : Familiar Foes Will Meet Again for 4-A Title

For the fifth consecutive season, Corona del Mar High School has reached the Southern Section 4-A water polo final. And for the third time in 4 years, the Sea Kings will play Sunny Hills for the championship.

Tonight’s match at Belmont Plaza, which begins at 7:30, will be another chapter in what has become one of Orange County’s more intense rivalries.

In 1986, Corona del Mar upset an undefeated Sunny Hills team for the title. The Lancers returned the favor a year later, beating the undefeated Sea Kings in the final.

The teams didn’t meet in last season’s championship game, but only because Corona del Mar dispatched Sunny Hills, again the top-seeded team, in the semifinals. The Sea Kings went on to beat Newport Harbor for the title.

“What worries me is that we haven’t done too well against them in the playoffs,” said Jim Sprague, Sunny Hills coach.

The Lancers (28-2) are again top-seeded, which also worries Sprague. No top-seeded team has won the 4-A title since Newport Harbor in 1984.

Sunny Hills’ chances of ending that string depend on how well they contain Chris Oeding, Hagen Grantham and Gunner Gustafson--the core of Corona del Mar’s attack this season.

“We’re going to go after the big players and hope the others don’t score big,” Sprague said. “If they do, we’re in trouble.”

Corona del Mar (27-3) is seeded second and probably will attempt the same strategy. Sea King Coach John Vargas said his team will put pressure on the Lancers’ Jose Santiago and Jason Klingsberg.

“Those are the guys we have to stop,” Vargas said.

This will be the fourth meeting between the teams this season. Sunny Hills won a nonleague match, 10-6, and then defeated the Sea Kings, 12-9, in the title game of the California State Championships. In between, Corona del Mar beat Sunny Hills, 10-8, in the championship match of the North Orange County tournament.

In the 3-A title game:

San Clemente (16-11) vs. El Toro (20-1) at Belmont Plaza, 5:30 p.m.--The Tritons are the underdog, having already lost to El Toro, 11-7, in a South Coast League match. Mathew Teeple and Bill Coffman are the Chargers’ leading scorers.