Tars

Roger Carlson We have Sea Kings, as in Corona del Mar; Eagles, as in Estancia; Mustangs, as in Costa Mesa, and Pirates, or Bucs (Buccaneers), for Orange Coast College. But for Newport Harbor High's Sailors ... well, the Long Gray Line is also filled with Tars, and for some reason, not just a few, but many, even who hail from Newport Harbor in these days approaching the third millennium, just don't get it. "What's a Tar?" once again graced my answering system today.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL Orange County Championships HUNTINGTON BEACH — Newport Harbor advanced to Monday's Gold Division final after winning three matches Saturday, including a semifinal victory over Back Bay rival Corona del Mar at Edison High. The Sailors defeated the Sea Kings, 25-21, 25-19 behind 16 kills and five digs from Cody Caldwell. Rusty Sary had eight kills and four digs, Ian Sequeira dished up 24 assists and Max Richley had a team-high seven digs.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — This time the Newport Harbor High field hockey team did not leave much drama in winning its third straight Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. Tournament of Champions title. The Sailors handled rival Huntington Beach, 2-0, beating the Oilers for the third straight time in the championship match. Newport won after a penalty-stroke shootout in 2008 and last year the Tars scored a 1-0 victory in the final. Thursday night was a different story, as senior Taylor Cordeiro scored in the first half off an assist from sophomore Jane Layton.

BOYS' WATER POLO Newport Harbor 11, The Bishop's 7 NEWPORT BEACH — Farrel South had five goals and three steals for the Sailors in the nonleague game Saturday. Preston Lee had two goals and two steals, Andrew Duhoux scored two goals and Chris Whitelegge made three saves for Newport Harbor, which ended the regular season at 23-4 and ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches' poll. Playoff pairings will be released today at around 11 a.m. at http://www.

COSTA MESA - Long, lean and sometimes lenient when it comes to surrendering position inside, Estancia High senior Rashad Davis proved Saturday night that he might bend, but not break. The 6-foot-6 post player had eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles complete a comeback and defeat visiting Newport Harbor, 44-36, in a nonleague boys' basketball contest. Davis, who came in averaging 19.1 points and 15.3 rebounds per game, had four points and 11 rebounds through three quarters, after which his Eagles trailed, 31-26.

NEWPORT BEACH - Rudy Reyes began the celebration at home a tad early, yelling, "Yeaaaahhhh!" from just outside of his goal. The goalkeeper believed Newport Harbor High's match against Estancia was over when the referee blew his whistle. It wasn't, as the ref called a foul, but Reyes was really the one who ended the Eagles' undefeated start to the season. The senior stopped everything the Eagles kicked or headed his way, helping the Sailors shut out Estancia, 2-0, in a nonleague match on Wednesday.

Newport Harbor High sophomore Matt Carpenter has been named the Sunset League Rookie of the Year for baseball, and three other Newport Harbor players have earned first-team honors. Senior catcher Blake Davey, senior outfielder Dillan Freiberg and senior utility player Ryan Albert were all named first-team at their respective positions for Newport Harbor, which finished third in league and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Carpenter, a first baseman and third baseman, batted .356 with eight home runs and 29 runs batted in for the Sailors; the 29 RBIs tied him for the team lead.

The Newport Harbor High field hockey team opens the Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. Tournament of Champions today at 3 p.m. against visiting Marina at Harper Community Center. Coach Devon Kelly’s Sailors (18-5-2) beat Marina, 4-0, in early September. “We look pretty strong going into the postseason and I only have four seniors,” said Kelly, naming forward Samantha Hill, midfielder Katy Storch and stopper Claire Josephson. “The defending champion is Glendora and we tied [the Nitros]

NEWPORT BEACH — The Newport Harbor High baseball team clinched its first CIF playoff berth since 1990 by winning its Sunset League finale 6-1 against Edison Thursday at Newport Harbor. Newport Harbor’s win, coupled with Fountain Valley’s loss to Esperanza, meant both the Sailors and Barons finish 6-9 in league. However, the Sailors (16-10) earn the league’s third-place spot because they beat Fountain Valley in two out of three head-to-head meetings. Tars senior Jack Grace threw a complete-game two-hitter against the league champion Chargers, picking up his first victory of the season.

NEWPORT BEACH - The Newport Harbor softball team, with thoughts on former Harbor Coach Frank Talley, defeated University, 6-3, in nonleague action Thursday. Talley, who died early Thursday morning, made a strong impact on the Sailors. Said current Harbor Coach Jess Martinson, "The team was very quiet and sad, but went out and played to win -- the way he would have wanted." Tars pitcher Stephanie Ciralli earned her third win of the season as she struck out two batters and walked two in seven innings.

NEWPORT BEACH - In the sweat box that housed the annual boys' volleyball Battle of the Bay, it figured that one team's ability to turn down the heat proved to be a crucial element in the victory. Corona del Mar High Coach Steve Conti instructed his players to shelve their jump serves in favor of float serves, in order to better locate after dropping the first game to host Newport Harbor. The resulting accuracy helped the Sea Kings rally for a 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 nonleague triumph to cap the regular season Friday.

The Newport-Mesa Tar Heels boys' fifth-grade team won the 2012 All-Net national championship last weekend in Brea capping off a stellar season for the team. The Tar Heels went 26-1 and won the All-Net league championship, All-Net Super Sectionals championship and All-Net national championship with a strong group of boys from the Newport-Mesa area. In pool play, the Tar Heels beat a solid team in the Vallejo Hustlers, 54-33, a familiar foe Placentia P-Town, 46-43, and Redwood, 57-29, to finish first in the pool.

BOYS' TENNIS Newport Harbor 10, Huntington Beach 8 HUNTINGTON BEACH — Reese Stalder and Christian Lee swept at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, to pace the visiting Tars (9-4, 3-1 in league) in Sunset League play Monday. SWIMMING Costa Mesa Invitational COSTA MESA — Costa Mesa High junior Kellie Thorsness finished second in the girls' 50-yard freestyle in 24.96 seconds, a school record, on Saturday at Costa Mesa High. Senior James Lewis was second in the boys' 200 free and 500 free to pace the Mustangs.

Newport Harbor High senior Maddy McLaren and Sailors juniors Carly Christian and Elissia Schilling, as well as Corona del Mar High seniors Alex Musselman and Diana Murphy, have all been named first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 in girls' water polo. Sailors Coach Bill Barnett earned Coach of the Year laurels after guiding the Tars to their fifth Division 1 title, rallying to defeat CdM, 8-7, in the championship match. McLaren, a UCLA-bound defender and repeat All-CIF first-team selection, led the Sailors (27-4)

HUNTINGTON BEACH - The Battle of the Bay came seven weeks before the regularly scheduled high school boys' volleyball match. Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar met on a neutral site Monday. They played for a title, not for Back Bay supremacy, but for first place of Orange County. The first matchup between the rivals ended rather quickly, stunning CdM Coach Steve Conti. The other coach, Steve Astor, wasn't surprised his second-seeded Sailors upset the top-seeded Sea Kings, 25-20, 27-25, in the Orange County Championships Division 1 finale at Edison High.

IRVINE - They were underdogs in the second game of their season, when they were ranked No. 5 in CIF and stunned Foothill on the road without senior Maddy McLaren. In the eyes of many they were underdogs in the last game of their season, when they played top-seeded Corona del Mar for a CIF championship. In between, the Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team became what legendary coach Bill Barnett said was the most cohesive girls' team he has ever coached. Every girl played her role to perfection.

Five is the maximum amount of times the Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high school girls' water polo teams can meet in a season. The Sea Kings and Sailors have already met this year in the Battle of the Bay, the Holiday Cup third-place game and the championship games of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and Irvine Southern California Championships. That's four. The fifth game could be on the biggest stage of all, for the CIF Southern Section Division I championship.

The Newport-Mesa All-Net fifth-grade boys' basketball team competed in last weekend's Swoosh Martin Luther King Classic in Downey and won the 11U division. The Tar Heels defeated IE Scorpions, SCV Playmakers and Camarillo Swoosh to win the tournament last weekend. Matt Olson led all scorers averaging 10 points per game and two rebounds per game while DJ Rodman (seven points per game and four rebounds per game) and Sam Barela (six ppg and two steals per game)

NEWPORT BEACH - It looked like the shot in the closing minutes bounced square off the noggin of Newport Harbor High sophomore goalie Cleo Harrington. Harrington said it only hit her on the right shoulder before brushing by her face. If she had taken the head shot in the key Sunset League girls' water polo game, it still wouldn't have been an issue. "I don't mind it, as long as it doesn't go in," she said. The Sailors' resiliency certainly went a long way Wednesday night in possibly determining the league champion.