NEWPORT BEACH — Saturday afternoon marked Jon Walters' first time facing his former team in a high school game.
Walters, now a junior at Mater Dei, transferred from Newport Harbor after his freshman year. He still has friends at Harbor. He and his sophomore brother, James, were on a 14-and-under club team with Sailors juniors Dan Stevens and Curtis Fink that won the Speedo Cup.
In the water, it's a different matter for the Newport Beach resident.
"Personal relationships don't mean anything in the game," said Jon Walters, who was declared ineligible his sophomore year by the CIF Southern Section after the transfer. "We just play water polo. Leave it all in the water."
Walters, a U.S. junior national team player, has come back to the high school arena stronger than ever. The Monarchs as a team certainly looked mighty in the South Coast Tournament championship game at Newport Harbor High.