Brea and Rosary Lose Key Players to Knee Injuries

Torn anterior cruciate ligaments have claimed at least two girls’ basketball players this summer, Brea Olinda’s Daveri Bonnewitz and Rosary’s Hayley Munroe.

The Ladycats and Royals figured to be among the county’s best teams next season, but they are now left to wonder how good they could have been.

Bonnewitz and Munroe were starters and figured to play key roles next season, but they were injured in summer league games. Each is likely to have surgery before the end of the week.

“I just want to get it over with,” said Bonnewitz, a 5-foot-10 junior forward who had eight points and 10 rebounds in Brea’s state championship victory. “The trainer says I might be back toward the end of February.”

Bonnewitz is the ninth Ladycat to suffer an ACL injury since 1997.

Munroe, a 5-11 senior center whose steal and basket gave Rosary the Southern Section title during her sophomore season, is equally disappointed.

“I worked hard on developing my skills as a post player, and got to the point where I was happy with my development and was starting to click,” she said.

One of Rosary’s five returning starters, Munroe had hoped to audition for an athletic scholarship by participating in the Jack in the Box Classic last weekend, the final big tournament during the summer viewing period for college coaches.

“I’ve got good grades and I’m getting a lot of academic scholarships, so I’m not completely dead in the water,” Munroe said, “but for [a basketball scholarship] I probably am.”

Her coach, Rich Yoon, said that since the injury, Munroe is easy to pick out of a crowd: “She’s the one who looks like she’s ready to cry all the time.”

GOING FOR THE GOLD

Ten local softball teams are among 68 vying for the ASA Junior Olympic Gold National Finals that begin Monday in St. Louis.

The Athletics, whose roster includes Fountain Valley’s Natalie King and Calvary Chapel’s Erica Greenberg, are the defending champions. They could get a strong challenge from another local team, Gordon’s Panthers, which includes Mater Dei’s Tia Bollinger, Foothill’s Autumn Champion and Los Alamitos’ Kristin Farber and Phelan Wright.

The tournament continues through Aug. 6.

A CHANCE TO MAKE WAVES

Several of the county’s top high school water polo teams begin competition today at the Women’s Junior Nationals in Roseville.

Trap, a Lake Forest club team, is seeded first in the 12-team event. Golden West (Huntington Beach), seeded third, and SoCal (Tustin), seeded 10th, also are participating.

The tournament concludes Wednesday, and Senior Nationals start Thursday and end Sunday.

Participating players include Katie and Kristina Kunkel and Erika Figge (Santa Margarita), Keala Carter and Katie Hedley (El Toro), Brittany Hayes and Gabbie Domanic (Foothill), Nicole Lorrimer and Sarah Hamilton (Irvine) and Meridith McColl (Capistrano Valley).

BALBOA BAY TAKES TWO

The Balboa Bay Volleyball Club won titles in the 17- and 18-year-old divisions last week at the Junior National Boys’ Volleyball Championships in Reno.

The Balboa Bay 18s, led by tournament MVP Kevin Hansen of Corona del Mar and all-tournament selections Greg Stampley of Corona del Mar and Kyle Martin of El Toro, defeated Surf City Volleyball Club of Huntington Beach in the title match.

Balboa Bay also defeated Surf City in the 17s championship. Blake Robinson of Santa Margarita was named tournament MVP, while Blake Tippett of Newport Harbor, Kris Kraushaar of Irvine and Damien Scott of Santa Margarita were named to the all-tournament team.

SHOWDOWN

They won’t meet during the regular season, but Troy and Brea Olinda--who finished last season ranked 1-2 in the county--played each other Saturday in a girls’ basketball quarterfinal at the Jack in the Box Classic at UC San Diego. Playing 20-minute halves with a running clock, Troy won, 20-16.

“Walking in and looking at the score, you’d think it was two of the worst teams that ever played,” said Troy Coach Kevin Kiernan. “But it was the best defense we’ve played, and played against, in a long time. More intense than a summer league game should be, because these games are meaningless.”

NATIONAL PRIDE

The highlight for local girls’ basketball players at the National Beach Cities tournament is today’s exhibition at 12:15 p.m. between the Swish club team and the Chinese national team at Vanguard.

“I’m sure it will be a learning experience,” said Swish Coach Russ Davis, whose squad includes Foothill’s Kristen Mann, Troy’s Veronica Johns-Richardson, Huntington Beach’s Kelsey Ball, Irvine’s Kristen Thawley, Laguna Hills’ Megan Aaker, Marina’s Miranda Emde and Esperanza’s Lindsey Helvey.

The tournament ends Thursday.

GETTING AROUND

Johns-Richardson and Mann competed last week at the invitation-only Nike Camp in Indianapolis, and Johns-Richardson had her eyes opened.

“I realized I can hang with the best,” she said. “In fact, I think I can surpass a lot of the best. Some of the best players in other states would be on Troy’s JV. Their work ethic . . . some of these girls were incredibly lazy.”

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Staff writers Ben Bolch and Erik Hamilton contributed to this report.

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