Holiday Cup begins Friday
Every year, the Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo teams can’t seem to avoid each other in the major tournaments.
The Sea Kings and Sailors are always both entered in the Holiday Cup, Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and Irvine Southern California Championships. In the last three years, the rivals have met eight of nine times in these tournaments.
If the seedings hold at this weekend’s Holiday Cup, CdM and Newport Harbor would again meet in the third-place match. But nobody is taking anything for granted at the two-day, 16-team tournament, which begins Friday at the Sailors’ and Sea Kings’ pool.
Newport Harbor is the second-seeded team at its own pool, behind defending Holiday Cup and CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion Laguna Beach. The Sailors (3-2) open their tournament at 10:40 a.m. Friday at Newport Harbor High, against Riverside Poly. A victory, and Orange Lutheran would be a likely quarterfinal opponent later Friday at 4:05 p.m.
“There’s potentially three really, really tough games in this tournament,” Newport Harbor assistant coach Brian Melstrom said. “I would not question that we’re going to come in with a target on our back [against Orange Lutheran]. I expect them to get some upsets this year. We’re not going to overlook them. They’ve got a lot of young talent and they’re very dynamic.”
The Sailors are ranked No. 3 in Division 1 and the Lancers are No. 7. Newport Harbor is led by senior goalkeeper Carlee Kapana, who had 15 saves in last week’s 5-4 Battle of the Bay win over Corona del Mar. Senior lefty Ellie Reid and senior defender Rachel Whitelegge lead Newport Harbor in goals with 10 and eight, respectively.
Melstrom said he is optimistic that Coach Bill Barnett will be back poolside for the Holiday Cup. Barnett, who has announced that this will be his final season in a 49-year career at Newport Harbor before he is succeeded by Melstrom, has missed the Sailors’ last two games following hip surgery. But Melstrom said he was released from the hospital on Christmas Day and is mobile with the assistance of a walker.
“He’s recovering,” Melstrom said. “He’s going to rest up.”
The Sea Kings (2-1) are certainly well-rested as they have had two weeks without a game following the Battle of the Bay loss. They’re also eager to compete in the Holiday Cup.
“It’s a good tournament to kind of kick-start our season, see where we’re at,” CdM Coach Ross Sinclair said. “We get to prepare for four games in two days.”
Like Newport Harbor, CdM is seeded second at its own pool, behind Foothill. The Sea Kings open their tournament Friday at 10:40 a.m. against Long Beach Wilson.
A win, and CdM would face Santa Barbara in a tournament quarterfinal Friday at 4:05 p.m. The game would be a rematch of last year’s epic Division 1 quarterfinal, won by the Dons, 10-9, in sudden-death overtime.
“I knew the girls would like that, after last year’s ending,” Sinclair said. “They’re really well-coached and you can never really count them out.”
The Sea Kings, ranked No. 4 in Division 1, are paced in scoring by senior attacker Shannon Frome with seven goals. Senior co-captain Eliza Britt and junior co-captain Maddie Musselman are also key players for CdM.
The tournament semifinals are scheduled for 10:40 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor High, with the championship match at 4:05 p.m.
