Foothill

SANTA ANA - After most games, Corona del Mar High girls' lacrosse coach Aly Vislocky hands out a game ball to her team's top player of the contest. But after Thursday's huge win, Vislocky gave the game ball to the entire team. It was fitting after the No. 7-seeded Sea Kings upset No. 2 Foothill, 11-6, in a quarterfinal of the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs. CdM (16-3) advances to Saturday's semifinals against Pacific Coast League rival and No. 3 Beckman Saturday at 3 p.m. at Aliso Niguel High.

Barry Faulkner Newport Harbor High boys basketball coach Larry Hirst used a baseball analogy to explain the three-game losing streak the Sailors took into Friday's Sea View League opener against visiting Foothill. So, it may have been fitting that Hirst credited his relief corps, as well as the play of Newport's only varsity baseball player, Andre Pinesett, for a thrilling 52-51 victory over the Knights that definitely found the Sailors' sweet spot.

Bryce Alderton For the Newport Harbor High girls water polo team, redemption is available in four days. Sea View League rivals Newport Harbor and Foothill will duel in a league showdown Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Tustin High. Foothill's 6-1 victory on Saturday in the finals of the Irvine Southern California Championships at Corona del Mar High was the Knights' third against Harbor this season. The Knights, 25-0 and the top team in CIF Southern Section Division I, handled the Sailors (20-4)

Patrick Laverty Sometimes a loss can mean much more than just a game in the standings. Just ask Cubs fans. Like Chicago, which had its ace on the mound and a three-run lead in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, Newport Harbor High's football team thought it had Sea View League favorite Foothill right where it wanted the Knights after Spencer Link returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to...

Steve Virgen The top two girls water polo teams in CIF Southern Section Division I have plenty of similarities, but there is one trait that sets the teams apart. Newport Harbor High and Foothill enter the CIF Division I championship game tonight at 8:15 at Belmont Plaza with identical records (26-3) and the teams match up very well. But Foothill has an advantage, as the Knights are seeking their fifth straight CIF Division I title. "They are the four-time defending CIF champions," Newport Coach Bill Barnett said.

COSTA MESA - Expectations weren't that the Newport Harbor boys' basketball team was going to be playing one of the top teams in the CIF Southern Section after dropping both its pool-play games of the Estancia Coast Classic Tournament. While the Sailors were relegated to the tournament's silver division, they still found themselves squaring off with Foothill - the No. 9-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division I-AA which won both its pool-play games. It looked like Newport Harbor, which came into the game ranked No. 11 in Division II-A, was outmatched when it found itself down 16 at halftime.

The Newport Harbor High boys water polo team defeated Sea View League rival Foothill, 9-8, Friday to advance to today's semifinals of the Tru-West Memorial Cup invitational in San Jose. Senior Griffin Gentry scored three of the Sailors' six second-half goals and junior goalie Michael Robinson (six saves) stopped an outside shot on the Knights' final possession to preserve the win. Morgan Laidlaw's goal with 5:35 left in the game put the Sailors ahead for good.

Bryce Alderton Parents, coaches and friends stood five feet apart along the concrete next to the pool at Newport Harbor High holding out their arms for handshakes and hugs. The congratulatory folks made a walkway for the Newport Harbor High girls water polo players as they exited the pool following a game that pitted two successful programs and a contest fit for the championship. Newport (5-2) tied Foothill three times in the third quarter, but the Knights (7-0)

OJAI - Corona del Mar High senior Alec Adamson is the last Newport-Mesa athlete still in contention at the prestigious 113th annual Ojai Tennis Tournament. But Adamson still strives for more. He'll be playing at the tournament's showcase venue, Libbey Park, on Saturday. The goal is a title. No. 2-seeded Adamson advanced to the CIF singles division semifinals after a pair of impressive victories Friday. He topped Stefan Doehler of Foothill, 6-1, 6-3, on Friday morning at Libbey Park.

CORONA DEL MAR - The Corona del Mar High girls' lacrosse team may not always outrun you this year. Instead, the Sea Kings will outthink you. After losing a large senior class, Coach Aly Vislocky said CdM is trying to play a more tactical game in 2013. The Sea Kings have implemented more plays, with the help of new assistant coach Jessica Murray. The result of the team's hard work certainly looked impressive Thursday afternoon at home. CdM upset rival Foothill, 9-7, in a nonleague game.

IRVINE - The late UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden is quoted as saying, "The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team. " Some people outside of the team, fairly or unfairly, have called the Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team a team of individuals at points this season. The Sea Kings, struggling to find their chemistry at times, never made it to the finals of any of the three in-season tournaments. But CdM Coach Sam Bailey, a UCLA alumnus, believes in the legendary Wooden and his "Pyramid of Success.

CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal No. 2 Foothill (25-3) vs. No. 3 Corona del Mar (25-4) When/where: Wednesday, 5 p.m. at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine Key Knights: Sr. utility Nikki Stansfield (team-high 61 goals); Sr. attacker Brenna Thomas (44 goals); Sr. center Hannah Lapkin (41 goals); Soph. utility Cana Manzella (40 goals); Sr. GK Kelsey Rowland (146 saves). Key Sea Kings: Sr. utility Stephania Haralabidis (team-high 56 goals, 22 assists, 48 steals)

IRVINE - Quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match, championship match. It doesn't really matter. The last two seasons, the Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor High girls' water polo teams have always found a way to meet up in a tournament. "We can't avoid Newport," CdM senior Cassidy Papa said. "It just goes back and forth. It's fun. " The Sea Kings and Sailors now have played nine times in that two-season span. Their latest encounter was Saturday, in the third-place match of the Irvine Southern California Championships.

COSTA MESA - Expectations weren't that the Newport Harbor boys' basketball team was going to be playing one of the top teams in the CIF Southern Section after dropping both its pool-play games of the Estancia Coast Classic Tournament. While the Sailors were relegated to the tournament's silver division, they still found themselves squaring off with Foothill - the No. 9-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division I-AA which won both its pool-play games. It looked like Newport Harbor, which came into the game ranked No. 11 in Division II-A, was outmatched when it found itself down 16 at halftime.

GIRLS' GOLF Foothill 203, Newport Harbor 233 TUSTIN - Freshman Grace Ferrell shared medalist honors by shooting two-under-par 34 for nine holes in the nonleague match Wednesday at Tustin Ranch Golf Club. Tara Hannah shot 43 for the Sailors (4-6), for whom Christina Ferraro, Hannah Perry and Bowie Viloria all shot 52. Foothill is 9-1. * GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL Loara def. Estancia ANAHIEM - Freshman outside hitter Emma Griffith finished with 13 kills for the Eagles in a nonleague match, which Loara won, 25-16, 25-23, 25-17, on Wednesday.

The top-seeded SOCAL Black 18-and-under girls' team, which features five local players, has advanced to the semifinals of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics in the Bay Area. SOCAL Black defeated 680 Drivers, 9-2, in a quarterfinal match Saturday. SOCAL, which features recent Corona del Mar High graduates Alex Musselman, Pippa Saunders, Diana Murphy and Victoria Pierotti, as well as Newport Harbor graduate Maddy McLaren, will play second-seeded Santa Barbara in a semifinal match Sunday at 9 a.m. at Stanford University.

Local high school water polo teams tend to have tempered expectations at the Junior Olympics, going up against other clubs that are basically all-star teams drawing from several different schools. The Newport Beach Water Polo Club's 18-and-under boys flipped that script at this year's USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. Big time. Newport Beach, made up mostly of Newport Harbor High players, took bronze Tuesday at Stanford University. The locals defeated Foothill, 8-4, in the third-place match.

ALISO VIEJO - The day after his father passed away, G.W. Mix said it was not hard to come out and coach his Corona del Mar High boys' lacrosse team Saturday. Mix said his dad, Warren "Moose" Mix, would have wanted it that way. "My dad was a baseball player in college," G.W. Mix said. "He was an athlete and a coach, and he wouldn't have wanted me to be anywhere else. Consequently, I didn't want to be anywhere else. " The Sea Kings still had a great night in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division semifinals.