Ball, Fullen Players of Year

Newport Harbor High senior Jessica Ball and Corona del Mar junior

Brittany Fullen earned the top individual honor in their respective

divisions, leading a group of 15 Newport-Mesa girls named All-CIF

Southern Section by girls water polo coaches.

Ball, a senior bound for the University of Michigan, shared CIF

Division I Player of the Year honors with Foothill’s Jillian Kraus,

while Fullen, a junior goalie, was named CIF Division II Player of

the Year.

Ball, known for her tenacity and leadership, scored 53 goals and

helped lead Newport Harbor to the CIF Division I crown, the Sailors’

first championship since 1999. Ball, the Co-MVP of the Sea View

League (also shared with Kraus), contributed 47 assists and 65

steals, both team highs. She was second-team All-CIF as a junior.

The 6-foot-1 Fullen, who recorded 280 saves, anchored Corona del

Mar’s defense and was key on the Sea Kings’ counterattack. Her

defensive presence supported CdM’s run toward its third straight CIF

championship.

Newport Harbor senior Carolyn Conway and junior teammate Anne

Belden were named first-team All-CIF Division I, while Corona del

Mar’s Camille Hewko, Katya Eadington and Vivian Liao received

first-team All-CIF Division II recognition.

Costa Mesa junior Sarah Bowman also made first-team All-CIF in

Division VI.

Second-team honors went to Newport’s Ashling Taylor, the Sea

Kings’ Jordan Anae and Katlin Kubas, as well as Mesa’s Jessica

Steenhard.

Sailor senior Sarah Mutt, CdM senior Amy Strack and Mesa junior

Christine Twohig were third-team picks.

Newport Harbor’s Bill Barnett and Corona del Mar’s Aaron Chaney

were named Coach of the Year in Division I and II, respectively.

Conway, a two-meter player bound for Indiana, scored a team-high

87 goals and helped lead the Sailors’ to a 10-8 victory over Foothill

in the CIF Division I title match.

Belden, a left-hander and an asset on Newport’s counterattack and

power plays, scored 71 goals, dished out 42 assists and recorded 62

steals.

Hewko scored 41 goals for the Sea Kings, who defeated Peninsula,

13-3, in the CIF Division II championship game. Hewko shared Pacific

Coast League MVP honors with Fullen this season. Last year, Hewko and

Fullen earned second-team All-CIF laurels.

Eadington, a team co-captain, led Corona del Mar with 60 goals,

while Liao, also a team captain, had 43 goals.

Bowman, who played the majority of the season with tendinitis in

her shoulder, scored a team-high 83 goals, leading the Mustangs to

their first outright league title and their first CIF playoff win, a

14-4 victory over Los Amigos in the first round of the CIF Division

VI playoffs.

Taylor, an ambidextrous player who was also an option at two

meters, contributed 30 goals, 18 assists and 29 steals.

Anae, also played at two meters and scored 41 goals, while Kubas,

a strong-armed shooter, had 38 goals.

Steenhard scored 46 goals for the Mustangs and provided

leadership.

Mutt contributed 12 goals, 16 assists and 29 steals, while

Strack’s contributed leadership and passing to the Sea Kings.

Twohig had 32 goals for the Mustangs.

Barnett coached the Sailors to their only other CIF Division I

girls water polo title in 1999. He has been coaching at Newport for

the past 38 years. The two-time Olympic coach -- he guided the U.S.

men’s national team to a silver medal in 1988 -- guided the Newport

boys water polo team to 10 CIF championships in 17 trips to the

section title game from 1967 to 1987.

Chaney, who will be a referee in the 2004 Olympics, is in his

third year at Corona del Mar. This is his third Coach of the Year

honor with the Sea Kings. He led Corona del Mar to the CIF Division

VI title in 2002, the Division II championship last year and a repeat

this season.