Holiday Cup

The road to London and the 2012 Olympic Games heats up with the 11th Holiday Cup starting Wednesday. Some of the best in the world of women's water polo gear up for the world's largest sporting event as Team USA plays host Wednesday through Sunday at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos. The U.S. team features goalie Tumua Anae, a former Corona del Mar High standout. Dan Klatt, the UC Irvine women's water polo coach, is an assistant on Team USA's coaching staff.

NEWPORT BEACH — The outside shot has been there for Margot Money. On Wednesday, in the Holiday Cup title game, it was just up to the Corona del Mar High junior to put it in the back of the net. Money delivered, scoring three goals to help CdM defeat Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 5-3, at Newport Harbor High. Coach Aaron Chaney said Money has been making the perimeter shots in practice, but they came up big at just the right time in a game situation to help the Sea Kings (10-0)

Two down, two to go. With a pair of wins Friday, both the Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar girls’ water polo teams have advanced to today’s semifinals at the annual Holiday Cup tournament. The Sailors (7-0) will play against Dos Pueblos of Goleta in the first semifinal at 10:40 a.m. at Newport Harbor High. Defending tournament champion Corona del Mar (5-3) will face defending CIF Southern Section Division I champion Foothill in the second semifinal, at 11:45 at the same venue.

For a photo gallery, click here. NEWPORT BEACH — Star goalie Sami Hill says that when she plays road games she likes to silence the crowd. It sure seemed rather quiet at Newport Harbor High after the senior’s peformance Thursday, when Dos Pueblos of Goleta won the Holiday Cup. Hill’s 17 saves silenced the Sailors, who lost, 7-4, in the championship game. She said she was happy the Chargers earned the title in her final year at Dos Pueblos before going on to UCLA.

CORONA DEL MAR — As the clock ran down, the Long Beach Wilson girls’ water polo team got one last shot off in the Holiday Cup quarterfinal Friday at Corona del Mar. The Sea Kings goalie reached for the ball and made the save, denying the Bruins a last-second goal as the crowd cheered. But the goalie was CdM backup Amy Youngman, not starter Kate Baldoni, because the Sea Kings had already secured their 8-3 win. The victory moves CdM into the tournament semifinals, where the Sea Kings will face Foothill today at 11:45 a.m. at Newport Harbor High.

With a last name like Money, Corona del Mar High junior Margot Money has heard plenty of jokes and silly puns. “They’ll sing that song, ‘Money, money, money,’ ” said Money, referring to the O’Jays’ song, “For the love of money.” “I’ll get asked the question: ‘Are you rich because your last name is Money.’ ” Last week, during the Holiday Cup girls’ water polo tournament, the Sea Kings’ driver lived up to her last name in the sense that she was so money when it came to scoring goals.

NEWPORT BEACH ? Corona del Mar High goalie Kate Murphy said facing a five-meter penalty shot is more about mind games than anything else. Maybe the Sea Kings, then, have Murphy's mind to thank for their 5-4 win over Back Bay rival Newport Harbor in the Holiday Cup championship game on Saturday. Murphy, a senior, stopped three straight penalty shots for the Sea Kings, who won the tournament for the first time in school history. They also avenged a 6-5 loss to Newport Harbor on Dec. 21 and dethroned a Sailors team that had won the Holiday Cup the previous two years.

CORONA DEL MAR — The Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team was a young team with a first-year coach and a 1-3 record entering the Holiday Cup. None of these three facts worry Coach San Bailey and the Sea Kings. They know they're among the elite teams in Division I. On Thursday afternoon, they turned to an old CdM standby — the counterattack — to defeat Santa Margarita, 13-3, in a quarterfinal of the Holiday Cup at CdM. CdM (3-3) advances to the semifinals, where the Sea Kings will play Laguna Beach at 11:45 a.m. today at Newport Harbor High.

NEWPORT BEACH — The drop got dropped, and the press was impressive. The Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team is known for that press defense, and the Sailors went back to it Friday afternoon at the Holiday Cup tournament. It showed in the pool as the Sailors took fifth in the tournament by beating Santa Barbara, 5-2. Earlier in the day, they bested Palos Verdes, 14-6, in a fifth-place semifinal. The game against Santa Barbara didn't feature much offense. Defensively, though, the press obviously worked, as the Dons couldn't get on the scoreboard until Charlotte Hendrix skipped in a goal with 5:18 left in the contest.

NEWPORT BEACH — Foothill High senior driver Kelli Boling said her team deserved the win. Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett knew his Sailors didn't. The Knights hung on Thursday to post the upset of the first day of the Holiday Cup, topping the Sailors, 8-7, in a wild quarterfinal game at Newport Harbor High. Newport Harbor fails to make it to the semifinals of its host tournament for the first time since 2001. Instead, the No. 4-seeded Sailors (4-1) will play in a fifth-place semifinal game today at 8:30 a.m. against Palos Verdes.

The road to London and the 2012 Olympic Games heats up with the 11th Holiday Cup starting Wednesday. Some of the best in the world of women's water polo gear up for the world's largest sporting event as Team USA plays host Wednesday through Sunday at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos. The U.S. team features goalie Tumua Anae, a former Corona del Mar High standout. Dan Klatt, the UC Irvine women's water polo coach, is an assistant on Team USA's coaching staff.

Casual water polo observers who don't know the intricacies of set defense still recognize Maddy McLaren. Even with a water polo cap on, McLaren's red hair is easy to spot. The Newport Harbor High senior, who is so competitive in the pool, has sometimes wondered if that bit of notoriety has come with a price. "I totally know that people [think] that, 'Oh, that's the redhead from Newport,'" she said. "Trying out for the national team I was almost more in the spotlight, just because I had red hair.

Social media can be a funny thing. The players on the Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team definitely get a kick out of it. Some of the Sailors are on Twitter. This year, they have created a funny account, "Things Schil Says" ( @thingsschilsays ). The tweets sent out are quotes from Newport Harbor junior center Elissia Schilling. A warning: many of them are, shall we say, of the "colorful" variety, though certain words are creatively spelled. I won't repeat any of the tweets here, but it's clear the Sailors get a kick out of it. It's a sort of spinoff of the account "[Stuff]

NEWPORT BEACH - Pippa Saunders said it's hard to explain to people who don't play water polo. When they ask how well she's been playing, they're usually asking how many goals she's been scoring. Nevermind that Saunders, who did lead the Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team with 66 goals last year, has changed roles a bit. "It's different," Saunders said. "I take more pride in setting people up, getting that defensive stop, you know? ... It's not as glamorous, but at the end of the day, if we want to win I'm going to do my part.

CORONA DEL MAR - At the start of the Holiday Cup, the Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team had played just one match in the past 26 days. The match was a thrilling Battle of the Bay win, sure, but that's not a lot of game experience. Still, practices lately have been productive. "We have a quote, 'Practice at the highest level to play at the highest level,'" CdM senior Diana Murphy said. Murphy said program alumni like Victoria Kent, Leslee Kaczmarek, Elise Molnar and Margot Money have come back for winter break and been scrimmaging with the team.

NEWPORT BEACH — On the first day of the Holiday Cup, the Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team didn't have any issues. Coach Bill Barnett had no complaints, except that his back hurt after leaving his poolside chair Friday. Barnett sat for most of the action while his Sailors got off 31 goals in the first two games at home. "It was a good team effort," Barnett said after Newport Harbor advanced to Saturday's semifinals. "I'm glad we got two wins. " Each victory looked easy for the Sailors.

Let the games begin. Four of them in two days, to be exact, for the Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor girls' water polo teams. The annual Holiday Cup the teams co-host begins Friday. Neither team has played in two weeks, since the memorable Battle of the Bay game won by CdM, 6-5, on Dec. 16. That one was decided in stunning fashion as the Sea Kings' UCLA-bound senior goalie, Alex Musselman, made a full-tank shot at the fourth-quarter buzzer. As always, the Holiday Cup is stacked.

The Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team gets out of the pool during the fall season. From time to time, the Sea Kings play dodgeball. It's a good team bonding exercise and brings out the competitiveness in some of the players. Run for cover if Pippa Saunders has the ball. "It's funny, you always have certain athletes out there who sort of love to step up in certain moments," CdM Coach Sam Bailey said. "Pippa's one of those athletes. She's fearless, as far as going for a loose ball, moving out of the way, very passionate about stepping up and trying to make the hit. You definitely see Pippa's leadership, her competitiveness.

NEWPORT BEACH — The drop got dropped, and the press was impressive. The Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team is known for that press defense, and the Sailors went back to it Friday afternoon at the Holiday Cup tournament. It showed in the pool as the Sailors took fifth in the tournament by beating Santa Barbara, 5-2. Earlier in the day, they bested Palos Verdes, 14-6, in a fifth-place semifinal. The game against Santa Barbara didn't feature much offense. Defensively, though, the press obviously worked, as the Dons couldn't get on the scoreboard until Charlotte Hendrix skipped in a goal with 5:18 left in the contest.

NEWPORT BEACH — If Friday afternoon's Holiday Cup title match was a case of David vs. Goliath, Corona del Mar had its collective slingshot aimed at Dos Pueblos and ready to fire. The Sea Kings are too good to play the David role. But as the game went on, the Chargers proved why they remain giants of the CIF Division I girls' water polo scene. Dos Pueblos survived a scare and rallied to defend its tournament title, 9-7. The top-seeded Chargers kept intact their 46-match winning streak, which dates back nearly two years to when CdM defeated them in February, 2009.