Papa commits to Stanford

Corona del Mar High senior Cassidy Papa has committed to play women’s water polo at Stanford University, she said Wednesday.

Papa said she will be receiving the paperwork and expects to sign her national letter of intent with the Cardinal on Thursday.

“You room with a non-athlete,” said Papa, who has a 4.2 grade-point average at CdM, of Stanford. “You kind of have the best of both worlds, your water polo friends and you can also meet new friends through your roommate … It’ll be nice to step outside of my comfort zone. That was interesting and fun to me. It just felt like I fit in there.”

Papa, an attacker, is a top returning player for the Sea Kings. The two-time Daily Pilot Newport Mesa Dream Team selection tied for the CdM team lead last year with 81 goals, adding 43 assists and 43 steals. She helped the Sea Kings win the Pacific Coast League and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title match.

She leaves Wednesday to play for the U.S. women’s youth national team at the FINA Youth World Championships, which begin Dec. 1 in Perth, Australia.

Papa said she is also excited for the upcoming high school season. CdM is ranked No. 1 in the Division 1 preseason poll.

“I’m so excited,” Papa said. “I think people saw the class that we graduated last year and had some doubts … but a lot of girls are stepping up big-time.”

— Matt Szabo