Water Polo

The CIF Southern Section Council voted unanimously Tuesday to end the Masters water polo tournament after a three-year run. The decision, which came at a council meeting in Long Beach, came after the boys? and girls? water polo advisory committees came up with a proposal to end the tournament. The Masters tournament was seen as an opportunity for the best teams in the Southern Section ? regardless of division ? to play in a tournament after CIF finals. It was hoped that it would be a precursor to a state championship tournament.

Nine Laguna Beach athletes have been named Junior Olympics All-American in water polo. The players named to the All-American team for 2006 was revealed by usawaterpolo.org this week. Only a few athletes were named All-American from the thousands of players from Southern California who competed at the 2006 S & R Sports National Junior Olympics held this summer. In the Boys' U12 Division, Nolan McConnell and Eric Henrikson were named first team. Selected as first team "Spares" were Dylan Payne and Nicky Brunner.

The Laguna Beach High boys' water polo team picked up its second victory of the season Tuesday as it outlasted host Capistrano Valley, 16-12, in nonleague action. The Breakers led throughout the match and outscored the Cougars in three of four quarters. Nima Mortizavi led all scorers with six goals. Breakers teammates Morgan Plant and Dustin Caris each scored four goals and Ryan Winfield scored the other two. Bret Burge came up with 12 saves as Laguna improved its record to 2-1. In a match played earlier in the week, the Breakers dropped a 9-8 nonleague match to visiting La Canada.

The Laguna Beach High boys' water polo team continues to impress in its first year playing at the Division I level. The Breakers earned an 11th place finish overall in the recent, three-day South Coast Tournament that was held at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools. Laguna Beach, currently ranked seventh among Division I teams, ran its record to 7-2 following tournament play. The Breakers had big wins over ranked teams Villa Park and San Clemente.

Two Laguna Beach High winter athletic teams ? girls? water polo and boys? soccer ? continue to represent the area in this week?s CIF Southern Section rankings. Laguna?s stranglehold on the Division II girls? water polo poll?s top spot continued, while the boys? basketball team came in at No. 4 in the Division IV-A rankings. The polls were released Monday by the Southern Section office in Los Alamitos. ? Girls? Water Polo Division II: 1. Laguna Beach ; 2. Montebello; 3. Palos Verdes; 4. Agoura; 5. San Clemente; 6. Tesoro; 7. Royal; 8. Capistrano Valley; 9. Villa Park; 10. Canyon.

Annika Dries has already proven herself in water polo on the high school stage. Now, she?s doing it on the international stage. The Laguna Beach High senior played with the U.S. women?s senior national team Sunday, in a FINA World League preliminary match against Canada at Corona del Mar High. Dries, 17, is the youngest player on the team. She scored the final goal of the first quarter, helping the U.S. to a 4-0 lead in what would become a 10-5 win. She is next traveling with the team to Russia for the FINA Super Final, which begins Tuesday with Team USA taking on Italy.

In a preview of things to come, the Laguna Beach High girls' water polo team took on host Santa Barbara in nonleague play, a day before the Breakers opened up tournament play at the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara. The host Dons recorded a 12-5 victory over the Breakers. Laguna was coming off a three-week layoff. Two days later, Santa Barbara won a rematch against Laguna, 11-6, in tournament action. In the 12-5 loss, Addison Doud's two goals paced a Breakers attack that saw Jessica McKee and Breanna Duplisea each score once.

Laguna Beach High's boys' water polo team jumped out to a quick two-goal lead on Esperanza in Tuesday's nonleague match, but the host Breakers stormed back in the final three periods to take an 11-5 victory. Laguna led, 4-2, after one quarter of play. Esperanza, however, outscored the Breakers, 9-1, over the final two quarters. In girls' volleyball Tuesday, Laguna fell to host and league-leading Northwood, 25-15, 25-16, 25-15. In girls' tennis, Laguna rebounded from its first loss of the season to score a 14-4 victory over Northwood in PCL play.

The Laguna Beach water polo boys' 14-and-under team opened its new season Sunday with a 13-3 victory over visiting Chino Hills. Laguna led from the start as Robert Chew scored three goals, Spencer Dodson scored twice and Nolan McConnell had a goal in the first period of play. Goalie Peter Weidner, a newcomer to the team, got off to a strong shot with a block of a four-meter attempt in the opening quarter. Dodson, Chew, Cole Kennedy and Nicky Brunner scored in the second frame, and the defense of Robbie Quellmalz, Zach Riegler, Derek Kott, Tommy Renner and new players Brent Donenfeld, Trevor Bass and Casey Connors held Chino Hills to a single first-half goal.

The Laguna Beach girls' water polo team completed another undefeated Orange Coast League run and in the process held tight to its league-champion status Wednesday by rolling to a 21-3 victory over visiting Costa Mesa on the final day of the regular season. The Breakers put the game away in the first quarter by taking a 10-0 lead. Eight Breakers scored, led by six goals from Makenzie Fischer. Yoshi Andersen scored four goals, Mackenzie Baldridge and Alia Manetta both scored three and Melena Masson scored twice.

Thirteen Laguna Beach High student-athletes took a big step in their educational and athletic futures by committing to universities on National Signing Day on Wednesday. Laguna athletes will compete in the future in conferences such as the Pac-12, Big West, West Coast, Centennial, Big East and Ivy League. "We are very proud of these student-athletes who have excelled on the playing field and in the classroom," Laguna Athletic Director Mike Churchill said. "We wish them all the best of luck in their college careers.

The first time the Laguna Beach and Newport Harbor girls' water polo teams met this season, the matchup had the feeling of a postseason game. It did come during an important event, the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions on Jan. 13, and the teams needed an overtime session to determine the winner, with Newport emerging with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory. The game reflected the parity of the teams that have dominated the top-10 poll this year in CIF Division 1. At 3:15 p.m. Friday at Newport, the teams meet again in a nonleague game that comes less than a week before the Irvine SoCal Championship Tournament, the final tournament of the regular season.

In two Orange Coast League games, the Laguna Beach girls' water polo team hasn't been tested. The Breakers got their second league victory Wednesday when they overpowered visiting Estancia, 24-1. They ran out to a 13-1 lead after one quarter and then shutout the Eagles the rest of the way. Seven Breakers scored, led by six goals from Mackenzie Fischer and five apiece from Melena Masson and Sydney Saxe. The Breakers have outscored their first two league opponents, 49-5. Laguna last week went to Santa Barbara to face Dos Pueblos in a nonleague game Jan. 12, and then competed in the prestigious Tournament of Champions on Jan. 13-14.

You know your program is in good company when it's invited to the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. The Laguna Beach girls' water polo team was again extended a coveted invite to what is considered one of the top tournaments. The Breakers are in Santa Barbara on Friday and Saturday for the event. "The Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions is the most elite girls' water polo tournament in the country," Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said. "It is a 16-team invitational that changes every year based on who are the top teams from San Luis Obispo to San Diego.

Rolling to another impressive performance, the Laguna Beach girls' water polo team picked up its ninth victory of the season Wednesday by taking down visiting Los Osos, 20-3, in nonleague action. The Breakers (9-1) started strong and didn't let up. They went from a 6-1 lead after one quarter to 12-3 at the half and then shut out the Grizzlies in the second half. Makenzie Fischer led the scoring with six goals and also had an assist and three steals. Yoshi Andersen scored five goals and had four assists, Melena Masson scored four times and had four steals, Lexie Del Toro scored twice with two assists and two steals, Sydney Saxe scored twice, had one assist and five steals, Mackenzie Baldridge had a goal and two assists and Alia Manetta had a goal and one steal.

The Laguna Beach girls' water polo team ran its record to 5-0 on Dec. 22 by defeating San Clemente, 11-7, in nonleague action. The Breakers, ranked sixth in Division 1, turned a 2-0 first-quarter lead into a 4-2 halftime advantage over the host Tritons, who are ranked sixth in Division 2. Lexie Del Toro led the Breakers in scoring with four goals and the junior attacker also had an assist. Junior attacker Mackenzie Baldridge scored three goals and had an assist and a steal. Sophomore goalie Jenna Knott recorded nine saves and had two steals.

The past 12 months have been full of highlights and superlatives for Laguna Beach High athletes. Since January, Laguna teams have captured several league champions, a CIF Southern California Regional title, a CIF Southern Section title and along the way, several individuals went into the school record books. Below is a look at some of the key highlights reported to the Coastline Pilot during the past year. * January-June Laguna's girls' water polo team made its way again to the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine for the CIF Southern Section final four.

Two days before the Laguna Beach girls' water polo team was to face a pair of tough, early-season opponents, Breakers Coach Ethan Damato expected his team to be severely challenged by Mater Dei and Edison. His Breakers rose to the top on both occasions, though, winning each game against ranked opponents that kept them undefeated. "The girls really played well in both games," Damato said. "We got a win at home against Mater Dei and then came here (Huntington Beach) to face a very good Edison team.

No. 1, again. A year after winning its first Southern Section championship, the top-ranked Laguna Beach boys' water polo team retained its top billing for a second straight year by polishing off second-ranked Damien of La Verne, 14-8, Saturday in the Division 3 title match at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine. The Breakers were in unison in saying that they "stepped it up" in the final. "This is awesome," Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said moments after his team and coaching staff took a victory jump into the pool.