Girls’ Water Polo Dream Team: Ritner a steadying force for CdM

Corona del Mar High senior Heidi Ritner was displeased at the turn of events.

The CdM girls’ water polo team had just lost a tough mid-January game to Simi Valley Royal, falling in sudden death in the seventh-place game of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. Ritner, the Sea Kings’ senior goalie and co-captain, was visibly frustrated as she grabbed the ball out of the back of the cage.

The even-keel Ritner is rarely one to show emotion during a game, but eighth place was a tough way to end the tournament after a pair of one-goal losses. CdM didn’t even get any players on the TOC all-tournament team. Looking back, it was a low point for sure for the Sea Kings.

“Every season, there’s always a time where a team has a bump in the road,” Ritner said. “Ours just happened to be the Santa Barbara tournament, I felt like. But whenever you have the bump, you always have to come back and show everybody you’re not going downhill, it was just a one-time thing. I think we did that in the Irvine tournament.”

CdM righted the ship, finishing a strong fifth place at the Irvine Southern California Championships, including its second win over Back Bay rival Newport Harbor. This time, the Sea Kings won their two games on the last day of the tournament, and Ritner was rewarded with tournament Most Outstanding Goalie accolades.

Through the highs and lows of a season, the University of Michigan-bound Ritner was the steady force in goal. She stood out in her third year as a varsity starter, and was just as valuable as a trusted teammate for a young CdM squad.

For her talents and efforts, Ritner is the 2015-16 Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Girls’ Water Polo Dream Team Player of the Year.

Ritner provided leadership throughout for the Sea Kings (20-8, 10-0 in league), helping them win yet another Pacific Coast League title and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals before falling to Santa Barbara San Marcos. The Pacific Coast League MVP and a first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection, she made 231 saves this season, and 675 total saves in three years as a varsity starting goalie.

Every year, you could count on Ritner for more than 200 saves. What first-year Coach Kevin Ricks could also count on was leadership for a team that had just two returning starters from last year’s Division 1 semifinalist, Ritner and senior co-captain Bridgett Storm.

“Heidi showed up at every game and just has a really great process of getting herself mentally and physically ready for each game,” Ricks said. “Her play is so consistent. She’s that veteran player that you expect to be real calm under pressure and provide a lot of stability. She anchors the defense in a really dynamic way.

“On top of being really consistent, I also think she’s super-competitive, but in a really positive way. She did a really good job of pulling girls with her, kind of, to that next level ... It just puts her in that next category of really high-level water polo players who are going to be successful.”

Ritner was not the super-vocal and outgoing captain, but she could be called a steadying presence to the younger players. Her maturity, while something that will benefit the Wolverines in the future, also helped the Sea Kings this season.

“I think it’s like a two-way street,” Ritner said. “You have to respect your other teammates too. It’s not just that they respect you and you tell them what to do. It’s you encouraging them, helping them, and they in return do the same thing. If the ball went in the goal and they knew it was partially something they could have helped with, they turned around and said they were sorry. But also, it was my job to say, ‘It’s OK, we’ve got it, and we’ve got to get it back this time.’ I hope I did that to help them this year.”

Ritner, a three-time Dream Team selection, is excited to continue her career with Michigan. Her coach there will be Marcelo Leonardi, who coached her last summer on the U.S. Youth National Team. And if she continues to progress?

“I’d love to be able to go to the Olympics or make the national team,” Ritner said. “That’s definitely the dream. Looking at [former CdM teammate] Maddie [Musselman], that’s amazing. She just got her ticket to Rio. She’s 17 and going to the Olympics, and that’s pretty amazing. She’s someone to look up to, I guess.”

The Sea Kings could say the same about Ritner, who was happy to close her CdM career with two wins against Newport Harbor after losing to the Sailors three times as a junior. And she knows she’s leaving the goalie spot in good hands with talented sophomore Erin Tharp waiting in the wings. But most of all, she is happy with the friendships she’s made through water polo.

“I’ve been really lucky to have the group of girls I’ve had for the past three or four years,” Ritner said. “I really enjoyed everybody I got to play with. It’s really sad, because they’re all your best friends, you want to be with them all the time. I still have the [Sea Queens water polo] bumper sticker on my car. I’m in denial taking it off, because I don’t want to leave CdM. I played club with them since seventh grade, and having it be done is kind of sad. I’m glad I get to do swim team with all of them, because I really enjoy everybody’s company.”

Here are the other nine members of the 2015-16 Newport-Mesa Girls’ Water Polo Dream Team:

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Maddy Kanzler

Newport Harbor

Kanzler had big shoes to fill in her senior year, stepping in as the Sailors’ starting goalie. Cleo Harrington, now at Harvard, was the 2012-13 Newport-Mesa Co-Player of the Year, while Carlee Kapana, last year’s Newport-Mesa Player of the Year, now plays goalie at UCLA. But Kanzler also delivered for the Sailors (14-16, 4-1 in league). The co-captain made 175 saves and earned Sunset League Co-MVP honors after helping Harbor finish second in league and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, where the Sailors lost at Mater Dei in the first round. Coach Brian Melstrom called Kanzler, who plans to play at Chapman University, arguably the most consistent player on the team. She also earned second-team All-CIF Division 1 honors.

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Michelle Vu

Costa Mesa

Vu, a junior, was in her first year as varsity goalie for the Mustangs. She certainly stepped up for Mesa (14-13, 3-1 in league). She made 287 saves for the Mustangs, who finished second in the Orange Coast League and advanced to the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs before losing at No. 3-seeded Santa Barbara San Marcos. The 287 saves put Vu second in Costa Mesa single-season annals, only behind Stephanie Lombardo’s 311 total saves in 1999. Vu’s total was second in Orange County this season. She was a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection.

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Bridgett Storm

Corona del Mar

A senior center bound for UCLA, Storm was definitely the more outgoing of CdM’s two co-captains this season. But in the pool, she mostly let her play do the talking. Despite battling sickness late in the season, she was second on CdM with 56 goals, adding seven assists and 13 steals. Storm had one of her standout games in the Battle of the Bay, scoring four goals in a 9-8 win over Newport Harbor, including the game-winner, and drawing six exclusions. That game-winner came from the perimeter, where she also was a dangerous threat. Storm was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League and second-team All-CIF Division 1 selection.

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Katie Kearns

Newport Harbor

Kearns was the only returning starter off last year’s team, and the attacker also had a stellar senior season for the Sailors. A co-captain, she shared the team lead with 44 goals, and also led the Sailors with 26 assists and 46 steals. As important, as the field player with the most experience, she helped keep the team morale high as the Sailors struggled at times during the season. Kearns was a first-team All-Sunset League selection and also earned third-team All-CIF Division 1 accolades.

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Jaleh Moaddeli

Corona del Mar

Moaddeli emerged late in the season as an offensive force for the Sea Kings. The versatile junior led CdM with 77 goals and also had 48 assists and 44 steals, both of which tied for the team lead. Very gifted athletically and smart, she could hurt the opponent in a number of different ways, and also was a very solid defender. Look for Moaddeli to take another step next season and become one of the best players in CIF. She was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League and second-team All-CIF Division 1 selection.

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Sammie Garcia

Newport Harbor

The senior attacker had perhaps the best shot on the Sailors, and she used it in her first year as a starter. Garcia tied for the team lead with 44 goals, and her 23 assists were second on the team. She also had 21 steals. Melstrom said she developed into a reliable team player and one of the Sailors’ best perimeter threats and passers, and also improved mentally and emotionally throughout the season. She was a first-team All-Sunset League selection.

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Sarah Lawson

Corona del Mar

A very hard worker both in practice and in games, the junior also stood out for her versatility for CdM. She played a good amount of defense but also showcased her passing abilities as the quarterback of CdM’s six-on-five offense. Ricks called her a “coach in the water” type of athlete. Lawson finished with 25 goals, a co-team leading 48 assists and 41 steals this season. She was a second-team All-Pacific Coast League selection.

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Jessica Lynch

Newport Harbor

Lynch, a sophomore defender, stepped into a big role for the Sailors. The daughter of former Sailors boys’ coach Jason Lynch, Jessica displayed her knowledge of the game. A very hard worker, she was third on the Sailors with 38 goals scored and 18 assists. She was second on the squad with 38 steals, including five in a narrow Battle of the Bay loss to rival CdM. Lynch was a second-team All-Sunset League selection and will look to be even more of a leader for Newport Harbor in the future.

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Chloe Harbilas

Corona del Mar

The emerging sophomore scored some big goals for the Sea Kings, including the game-winner in a win over Mater Dei in the first round of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. Harbilas finished with 52 goals, which was third on the team, and 23 assists. She also was solid defensively, tying for the team lead with 44 steals. She showed improvement as the season progressed and appears to be another player with a bright future in the sport. Harbilas was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League and third-team All-CIF Division 1 selection.