Saunders, Musselman earn top awards

Corona del Mar High junior Pippa Saunders has been named co-MVP of the Pacific Coast League in girls’ water polo, and fellow CdM junior Alex Musselman earned the league Most Outstanding Goalie nod.

CdM senior Maddie Schwartz and junior Diana Murphy earned first-team all-league status, with sophomores Cassidy Papa and Ally McCormick on the second team.

Saunders scored a team-high 66 goals for the Sea Kings (21-8), who won league for the 12th consecutive year and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals. She also led the team with 42 steals and had 30 assists.

Musselman made 331 saves for CdM, tying her season-high with 18 against Foothill in the Division I semifinal.

The San Diego State-bound Schwartz missed time with a broken right index finger but had six goals and 20 assists. Murphy came on strong at center and was second on the team in both goals (61) and steals (35).

Papa had 56 goals, 45 assists and 23 steals for CdM. McCormick had 60 goals and led the league with 62 assists.

Saunders shared the league MVP award with Beckman senior Jolene Guiliana, who led the league and Orange County with 144 goals.

— From staff reports

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Newport trio earns first-team accolades

Newport Harbor High seniors Catherine Carpenter and goalie Sarah Wilkey, along with junior Maddy McLaren, have earned All-Sunset League first team honors for girls’ water polo.

Sailors seniors Kailyn Obenauer and Mary Rose Wight earned spots on the second team.

The Stanford-bound Carpenter, a defender, had 30 assists and 43 steals for the Sailors (23-6), leading the team in both categories. Her 32 goals were fourth on the team for Newport Harbor, which finished second in the league and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals. She was a second-team selection a year ago.

Wilkey, bound for UCLA, had 285 saves in her first year starting on varsity. Her season-high was 17 saves, in a 14-5 victory over El Toro on Jan. 29.

McLaren was Newport’s top scorer with 60 goals, despite missing nearly two weeks at the end of the regular season with a broken rib.

Obenauer finished second on Newport Harbor with 41 goals, stepping up her play at center late in the season. Wight, a defender, was sixth on the team with 24 goals scored.

Cory Dodson and Rachel Fattal of league champion Los Alamitos shared Player of the Year honors after wrestling the league title from Newport Harbor for the first time in five years. Griffins Coach Dave Carlson was Coach of the Year.

— From staff reports

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Locals earn Orange Coast League honors

Ashley DeMarzo, Sydney Rosello and Kelli Thorsness of Costa Mesa High, as well as Kylie Carpenter and Ilene Umansky of Estancia, have been named first-team All-Orange Coast League for girls’ water plo.

Thorsness, a sophomore, scored a team-high 48 goals for the Mustangs (15-14, 3-1 in league). She helped Mesa finish second in league and advanced to the CIF playoffs for the eighth time in nine years. She was closely followed in scoring by seniors DeMarzo (44 goals) and Rosello, who scored 43 goals despite missing a couple weeks due to injury.

Umansky, also a sophomore, scored a Newport-Mesa best 82 goals for the Eagles (10-17, 2-2). Carpenter, a senior and four-year varsity starter, had 68 goals for Estnacia, which finished third in league and also advanced to CIF for the first time in five years.

Costa Mesa junior goalie Claudine Le and senior defender Monica Folkerts both made the second team, as did Estancia goalie Alexis Paul and fellow sophomore Danielle Ridge.

Laguna Beach seniors Jessie Holechek and Jessica Shusko, who helped the Breakers win their fifth straight Orange Coast League title, were named league co-MVPs.

— From staff reports