Top Players Headed North of Border

The Newport Harbor/Corona del Mar Holiday Cup usually features one of the strongest girls’ water polo tournament fields of the season, but some of the area’s top players won’t be playing in this year’s event next week.

That’s because the U.S. youth team will be playing in Montreal, Dec. 27-30, in the NorAm tournament, which features two U.S. teams, two Canadian teams and an Australian team.

Foothill, the top-ranked team in Orange County, is top-seeded for the Newport/Corona tournament. But the Knights will be without leading scorers Gabbie Domanic and Brittany Hayes.

Also scheduled to make the trip to Canada are Santa Margarita sophomore Erika Figge and junior Kristina Kunkel, Capistrano Valley sophomore goalie Meridith McColl, Marina senior Erin Wilson and Los Alamitos senior Drue Wawrzynski.

Also on the team, which features players 18 and under, is Esperanza graduate Teresa Guidi, who is now at Loyola Marymount.

The U.S. boys’ youth team, led by a coaching staff that includes Capistrano Valley’s Jason Lynch and San Clemente’s Marc Parker, will host the NorAm tournament Dec. 27-30 at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos.

The final is scheduled for 11 a.m. Dec. 30.

TOP-10 TRITONS

Parker and San Clemente cracked the Orange County top 10 for the first time this season after the Tritons (9-1) won their own tournament last weekend.

The Tritons, whose only loss is a 4-3 defeat to Irvine on a last-second goal, have a young team with three freshmen and five sophomores.

Sophomore Stephanie Cadman, the team’s leading scorer last season, is leading the team in scoring again and Brianna Anderson has been the team’s top defensive player, Parker said.

Saturday, the Tritons defeated Villa Park, 9-5, in the final. Not bad for a team without practice.

“The pump on our pool went out last week and we’ve been out of the water for eight days,” Parker said Monday. “We’ve had a full week without practice. Hopefully, it will be fixed by Jan. 2.”

Until then, the Tritons will be road warriors. They played Monday at Golden West College against Edison, then play today at University, Wednesday at El Cajon Valhalla and Thursday at El Dorado.

TILLER TIME

Tustin’s 13-0 start may surprise some, but it shouldn’t be too startling considering who is coaching the Tillers.

Dean Crow is yet another protege of UC Irvine Coach Ted Newland. Corona del Mar Coach John Vargas, Foothill co-coach Dan Klatt and Villa Park Coach Ryan Bailey all played for Newland.

Foothill and Corona del Mar are in the county’s top 10, Villa Park began the season in the top 10, and maybe Tustin will crack the rankings this season.

“Right now, this team is by far exceeding the expectations I had,” said Crow, who also coaches the Tustin boys’ team but is in her first season with the girls.

Last season, Tustin won the Golden West League but lost in the first round of the Division IV playoffs. This season, Claudia Alarcon, Jackie McKee, Kristin Anderson and Carri Cummings have led a balanced attack for the Tillers, who won their first tournament at Chino Hills Ayala last month.

“We have so many players that can score,” Crow said. “Now I wish we would’ve entered the Newport or Villa Park tournaments so we could have played more of the top teams in the county. Our schedule might be a little soft other than the tournaments, and that isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Next week’s Newport/Corona tournament will feature six of the county’s top 10 teams.

Foothill, top-ranked in the county and the Southern Section Division I defending champion, and No. 3 Santa Margarita, which won the Division IV title last season, are entered.

Top out-of-area teams entered include defending Division II champion Santa Barbara; Carlsbad, which won the San Diego Section Division I title last season, and El Cajon Valhalla and Poway.

Newport Harbor, ranked fourth in Orange County, No. 5 Corona del Mar, No. 2 Capistrano Valley and No. 6 Marina are also entered. The 18-team tournament features two days of pool play Dec. 28 and 29. The final is at noon Dec. 30 at Newport Harbor.

Before next week’s tournament, Newport Harbor plays at Corona del Mar Friday. The Sailors are led by junior Katherine Belden. Corona del Mar, which reached the Division IV final last season, is led by Christina Hewko and Danielle Carlson.

Wednesday, No. 7 Irvine plays host to Santa Margarita. The Eagles’ starting lineup includes the Kunkel sisters: Kristina, who is on the national youth team, Katy and Kacy.

If you have an item or idea for the girls’ water polo report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at: mike.itagaki@latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

GIRLS’ WATER POLO TOP 10

Orange County Coaches’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) Rec 1. Foothill (Century) 3-0 2. Capistrano Valley (South Coast) 4-0 3. Santa Margarita (Serra) 3-0 4. Newport Harbor (Sea View) 2-1 5. Corona del Mar (Pacific Coast) 4-0 6. Marina (Sunset) 1-3 7. Irvine (Sea View) 6-2 8. Laguna Beach (Pacific Coast) 11-2 9. Esperanza (Sunset) 5-3 10. San Clemente (South Coast) 9-1

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