Girls’ Water Polo Preview: La Cañada young, yet still thinking big

Even with a new coach on board and a move up to another division, the prospects appear extremely bright for the La Cañada High girls’ water polo team.

The Spartans, who split the Rio Hondo League championship and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals last season, brought in Nicki Davidson to guide a burgeoning lineup filled mostly with sophomores. The group will be counted on to help the Spartans achieve additional success in the coming seasons.

La Cañada was moved to Division II after CIF realignment. Still, the pieces seem to be in place for the Spartans to thrive.

“What they did last year was a fantastic accomplishment,” said Davidson, who took over for Davey Brown, the 2016 All-Area Girls’ Water Polo Coach of the Year. “Now, we will be at a brand new competition level in Division II and we will be playing a tough [nonleague] schedule to get the team ready for league and then the playoffs.

“We have a team that’s got a ton of potential. We’re still young, but we have the potential to make a lot of noise and that’s what we are planning to do. You see the need to improve in order to make the next jump. We have a lot of people who can contribute in different areas and we have a very bright future.”

La Cañada shared the league title with Temple City, marking the first time it won a league championship since 2009. The Spartans equaled their furthest postseason run in team history.

“I saw them play a few times last year and I came away impressed,” Davidson said. “I could see all of that young talent coming together.”

The Spartans will turn to senior driver Heather Connolly and senior utility Camila Grases to provide leadership. La Cañada brings back sophomore goalkeeper Carolyne Stern, sophomore attacker Genevieve Fraipoint and sophomore hole/set Mimi Zwaneveld.

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy was the other local team to qualify for the playoffs last season. The Tologs fell to Righetti in a Division III wild-card contest.

With All-Area selection Maddy Dulcich and Electra Williams graduated, the Tologs, who reside in Division VI, will turn to senior Emily Gray to lead the charge.

Joining Gray, who finished with 52 goals last season, are senior hole/guard Sarah Perret, senior goalkeeper Trisha Canessa and junior hole/set Zoe Drobenko.

“We graduated some key pieces, so people might think we are rebuilding,” said Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Carlos Ponce, whose team took fourth in the Mission League. “We’re not at all thinking like that because we believe we have a strong core in tact and we won’t miss a beat.

“There’s a lot of dedication and they are pushing each other hard. We’re shooting for a top-two finish in league.”

Flintridge Prep will begin a new chapter after bringing in coach Andrew Phillips to replace Claire Thomas. Phillips served as an assistant on the school’s boys’ team, which shared the Prep League title in the fall.

Phillips said he plans to rebuild the program, which took fourth in league last season and will remain in Division VI.

“We want to try to set up a new culture and outlook,” Phillips said. “Right now, we are just looking for a little bit of improvement and we’ll look to make a run.”

Flintridge Prep will be led by senior utility Rhiana Boyles, senior goalkeeper Zoe Rucker and sophomore utility Emily Alameddine.