Laguna teams take second and third at U.S. Club Championships

The Laguna Beach Water Polo Club’s 14-and-Under girls’ team won silver and its 12U girls’ team took bronze last weekend at the U.S. Club Championships in San Diego. The three-day, invitation-only tournament ended Sunday.

The 14U girls opened the tournament with two games July 6. Laguna started with a 14-2 victory over the Diablo Water Polo Club (Northern California), then defeated Foothill Water Polo Club (Foothill/Inland Valley), 12-7. Laguna returned to action Saturday and split two games. First, they were edged, 8-7, by Rose Bowl (Pasadena). They advanced to the quarterfinals and took on 680 Divers (Northern California). Laguna got off to a 5-1 lead and cruised to a 17-9 victory.

Laguna also used a quick start Sunday to get a jump on SET (Saddleback/El Toro) in a semifinal match. The locals scored a 10-6 win and moved on to play for the gold medal. In the division final against Commerce, which was a rematch of the 12U gold medal game at the 2010 Junior Olympics, Laguna battled back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the score, but Commerce scored late in the game to score a 6-5 victory.

The Laguna 14U team is: Bella Baldridge, Angelique Begay, Gabi Beren, Maia Borisoff, Haley Evans, Aria Fischer, Ally Jochim, Sophia Lucas and Thea Walsh. The team is coached by Scott Baldridge and Erich Fischer.

The Laguna 12U girls also started tournament play with an easy win July 6, defeating San Diego Shores, 18-3. They came back later in the day to down Riverside, 9-3. On Saturday, they defeated Rose Bowl, 10-4, to move on to round-robin play for the top teams that finished first, second and third.

Laguna opened the round-robin with a 13-8 loss to SoCal (Tustin), then lost, 9-6, to Santa Barbara.

The Laguna 12U team is: Sophia Lucas, Angelique Begay, Thea Walsh, Audrey Duffy, Evan Tingler, Isabel Riches, Alana Evans, Alison Meany and Kalani Gee. The team is coached by Matt Tingler.

*

Girls’ Volleyball

Laguna Beach athletes Briana Boyd, Francie Holte, Peighton McRobie, Emily Miller and Sabrina Stillwell played on the Tstreet Volleyball Club 15-1’s Curtis team that competed last weekend at the 33rd annual USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships at Columbus, Ohio. The tournament, formerly known as the USA Junior Olympic Girls’ Volleyball Championships, was held from June 28 through Saturday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Tstreet15 finished in 21st place in the 15 Open division. The invitation-only tournament drew 32 teams from across the nation. Boyd is a setter/opposite, Holte a libero, McRobie an outside hitter, Miller an opposite/outside hitter, and Stillwell is an outside hitter/opposite. Boyd, Holte and Stillwell all attend Laguna Beach High. McRobie and Miller attend St. Margaret’s in San Juan Capistrano.

In beach volleyball action July 5 at Main Beach in Laguna Beach, the team of Hailey Harward and Lilly Nelson of Phoenix rallied to defeat the team of Emma Smith and Milica Mirkovic of Manhattan Beach in the championship match of the Girls’ 14 and Under Tournament. The event drew 25 teams that competed for points in the California Beach Volleyball Assn.

*

Girls’ Soccer

Hillary Beall of Laguna Beach, a goalie for the West Coast Futbol Club girls’ Under-13 team, helped lead the team to a first-place finish in its division at the U.S. Youth Soccer 2012 Far West Regionals at Phoenix.

West Coast FC went undefeated at the tournament and posted victories over teams from Hawaii, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. The tournament featured boys’ and girls’ competition in eight different (U12 through U19) and ended June 24.