Hewko’s future is Golden (Bears)

Corona del Mar water polo star has signed with Cal. UC Irvine gets letters of intent from five men’s volleyball players.Corona del Mar High water polo standout Camille Hewko said Tuesday she has signed a national letter of intent with the University of California.

Hewko signed during the early signing period earlier this month.

In addition, UC Irvine announced the signing of five athletes for the men’s volleyball program.

Hewko said she was swayed by her past experiences with Cal Coach Rich Corso from club teams and the U.S. Junior Olympic team.

“He is really fired up about the program. It will be exciting to play for him. He is kind of starting the program over from scratch,” Hewko said.

The CdM two-meter player said she is “really excited” about her future teammates. The Golden Bears also signed Santa Margarita’s Darby Anderson, Foothill’s Grace Reynolds and Agoura’s Meghan Corso.

“We’ll do a lot of good things together,” Hewko said. “It may be a little difficult our freshman year, but I know what kind of skills the girls I signed with have.”

Hewko said she was sold on Cal after her official visit.

“Cal just had the total package of what I wanted. I have an opportunity to be a part of something amazing with the water polo team. Academically, the school is one of the strongest in the country, and I think the campus and surroundings of Berkeley are beautiful.”

UCI men’s volleyball Coach John Speraw recruited a quintet of Southern California talent, getting letters of intent from St. John Bosco’s Jordan Du Fault, Thousand Oaks’ Cole Reinholm, Redondo Union’s Anthony Spittle, Edison’s Kenny Webster and San Clemente’s Cory Yoder.

Du Fault, an outside hitter, was named to the all-tournament team at the 2005 Junior Olympics. He was also selected as one of the Top 25 Athletes to Watch by Volleyball Magazine.

Reinholm, an outside hitter, was an All-CIF Southern Section Division I second-team selection as a junior. Reinholm trained with the U.S. Boys Youth National team over the summer.

Spittle, a setter, was named two-time Bay League Most Outstanding Player at Redondo and will join brothers Paul and Nick Spittle with the Anteaters.

Webster, a libero, helped lead Edison to a Sunset League title and the CIF Division I semifinals.

Yoder, an outside hitter, earned South Coast League MVP honors and was also All-CIF Division I second-team pick. His father, Bob Yoder, was a three-time All-American at USC, coached the Trojans from 1982-89, and is one of only two people -- Rod Wilde is the other -- to have won an NCAA men’s volleyball title as a player and coach.

The Anteaters open their season with an exhibition match against the visiting University of Alberta on Dec. 30.