Laguna teams take second and third at U.S. Club Championships

The Laguna Beach Water Polo Club's 14-and-Under girls' team won silver and its 12U girls' team took bronze last weekend at the U.S. Club Championships in San Diego. The three-day, invitation-only tournament ended Sunday.

The 14U girls opened the tournament with two games July 6. Laguna started with a 14-2 victory over the Diablo Water Polo Club (Northern California), then defeated Foothill Water Polo Club (Foothill/Inland Valley), 12-7. Laguna returned to action Saturday and split two games. First, they were edged, 8-7, by Rose Bowl (Pasadena). They advanced to the quarterfinals and took on 680 Divers (Northern California). Laguna got off to a 5-1 lead and cruised to a 17-9 victory.

Laguna also used a quick start Sunday to get a jump on SET (Saddleback/El Toro) in a semifinal match. The locals scored a 10-6 win and moved on to play for the gold medal. In the division final against Commerce, which was a rematch of the 12U gold medal game at the 2010 Junior Olympics, Laguna battled back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the score, but Commerce scored late in the game to score a 6-5 victory.

The Laguna 14U team is: Bella Baldridge, Angelique Begay, Gabi Beren, Maia Borisoff, Haley Evans, Aria Fischer, Ally Jochim, Sophia Lucas and Thea Walsh. The team is coached by Scott Baldridge and Erich Fischer.

The Laguna 12U girls also started tournament play with an easy win July 6, defeating San Diego Shores, 18-3. They came back later in the day to down Riverside, 9-3. On Saturday, they defeated Rose Bowl, 10-4, to move on to round-robin play for the top teams that finished first, second and third.

Laguna opened the round-robin with a 13-8 loss to SoCal (Tustin), then lost, 9-6, to Santa Barbara.

The Laguna 12U team is: Sophia Lucas, Angelique Begay, Thea Walsh, Audrey Duffy, Evan Tingler, Isabel Riches, Alana Evans, Alison Meany and Kalani Gee. The team is coached by Matt Tingler.

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Girls' Volleyball

Laguna Beach athletes Briana Boyd, Francie Holte, Peighton McRobie, Emily Miller and Sabrina Stillwell played on the Tstreet Volleyball Club 15-1's Curtis team that competed last weekend at the 33rd annual USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships at Columbus, Ohio. The tournament, formerly known as the USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championships, was held from June 28 through Saturday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.