Gilchrist, Musselman add to BOTB fun
The Battle of the Bay girls’ water polo game is always a good time, not just for the action in the water but also for the familiar faces on the pool deck.
Many alumni from the Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schol girls’ water polo programs are home for winter break. They will be there for the latest iteration of the rivalry game, Friday evening at Newport Harbor High.
Two of the alumni just happen to be gold medalists.
Newport Harbor graduate Kaleigh Gilchrist and Corona del Mar product Maddie Musselman will each be honorary team captains for the Battle of the Bay, Newport Coach Brian Melstrom said Wednesday.
Gilchrist and Musselman helped Team USA capture the gold in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August. But they are also no stranger to the Battle of the Bay game.
On Friday night, they will be honored as the teams line up for player introductions at 5 p.m. Gilchrist and Musselman will be in the middle of the line, with an administrator for each school, as they will receive special recognition from announcer Keith Yonkers.
It doesn’t stop there.
“They’re going to get to sit on our bench and be part of the coaching, to keep the girls motivated and playing hard,” Melstrom said. “Just a little extra added stress to the situation, you know?”
All kidding aside, it should only add to the special nature of the game and night. My advice? Get there early for good seats.
“It might be the only time that we’d ever be able to do something like this,” Melstrom said. “You have an Olympic gold medal that was just won with two alumni, who not only were on the team but played really well, too.”
Gilchrist and Musselman have had fun for the holidays. Last week they both served as grand marshalls in the 108th annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.
Musselman, who is a freshman at UCLA, watched CdM’s 10-3 season-opening win over Santa Margarita on Tuesday.
“Maddie comes by every once in a while,” CdM Coach Kevin Ricks said. “She’s back from UCLA, and her sister [Ella] is here [as a freshman for CdM girls’ water polo]. She was doing a swim set the other day. It’s just fun having those kids around to inspire that next generation. I know the girls in our program that got to play with Maddie have a lot of respect for her, and all of the younger girls that grew up watching her really look up to her.”
Fischer, Walsh, Damato return for Breakers
The Laguna Beach High girls’ water polo team is back at full strength this week as senior Aria Fischer and junior goalie Thea Walsh returned from playing for the Team USA youth team in the FINA Youth World Championships.
Team USA earned fifth place at the tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, following an 11-10 win over Greece on the final day of play Sunday. Fischer, who was the youngest player on the Olympic gold medal team in Rio, scored twice in the victory.
Team USA, which also included CdM graduate Heidi Ritner in goal and had Laguna coach Ethan Damato as an assistant coach, went 5-1-1 overall in the tournament. The only setback was a 16-15 shootout loss to eventual champion Russia in the quarterfinals.
Fischer and Walsh missed just one game for Laguna, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1. The full-strength Breakers beat No. 8 Los Alamitos, 16-2, on Wednesday night.
Laguna Beach (3-0) has another key game Friday, at home at 3:30 p.m. against ML King of Riverside. ML King is the top-ranked team in Division 2.
The Breakers also are the top seeds for the annual Holiday Cup tournament, hosted by Newport Harbor and CdM, which begins Dec. 29.
Excalibur Tournament coming
Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View are the local girls’ soccer teams competing in the Excalibur Tournament of Champions, which begins Tuesday.
The tournament features a 32-team championship bracket, with Santa Margarita and host Foothill receiving first-round byes. All games are at Orange County Great Park in Irvine.
Huntington Beach plays against Trabuco Hills at 2 p.m. Tuesday, while Edison plays Cypress at 3:30 p.m. Ocean View opens its tournament against Esperanza at 5 p.m.
Winners of opening-round games advance to the “Sweet 16” on Wednesday morning, while losers fall into the consolation bracket.
The tournament runs through Thursday, with the championship game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
