Water Polo

LOS ANGELES - As the U.S. Olympic women's water polo team was named Thursday, Coach Adam Krikorian read off the names in alphabetical order. The first name was the former Corona del Mar High and USC standout, Tumua Anae. This led to a funny moment at the announcement at the LA84 Foundation. "It was a little awkward," Anae said. "He kind of just looked at me. I wasn't sure of the formality of it, if we were supposed to hug or shake hands. But I'm all about the hugs. " It makes sense.

Some of the best water polo players in the world are coming to Newport Harbor High next weekend. With the weeks dwindling until the London Olympics, the Newport Beach Water Polo club is working on making it into a Memorial Day weekend to remember. The club is hosting a three-day, pre-Olympic water polo showcase at Newport Harbor starting Saturday. Three of the top men's national teams in the world — Team USA, Hungary and Croatia — will be participating. Robert Lynn can't wait.

Don Watson, a longtime swimming and water polo coach, who helped lead the Pirates to 19 state championships over his 30-year career at Orange Coast College, passed away Monday evening following a nine-year bout with stomach cancer. He was 59. Watson began his OCC coaching career in 1980 as a part-time instructor and eventually became a full-time coach for the Pirates in 1989. As head coach of the women's swim team, he helped guide the Pirates to 15 state championships since 1983.

Twice in two years, the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team played again, less than a week after losing the big game. A reporter in February asked Coach Aaron Chaney for his thoughts on the next event. Chaney stayed in the moment, his Sea Kings having just finished runner-up in the CIF Southern Section Division I championship. The upcoming event, the Masters tournament, didn’t really matter to him. Chaney won’t have to deal with such a silly question any time soon.

Turning a dream into reality is seldom a smooth course. That's what members of the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team are learning in their quixotic quest to come to the United States to train and prepare for their unlikely bid to compete in the Olympics. When I wrote about the team last fall, plans were underway for a visit to Southern California so players could learn from the deep reservoir of water polo talent in the region. Their itinerary was to include a lengthy stopover in Newport Beach, where they planned to practice at the Corona del Mar High School pool, and learn from local players and coaches.

Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo coach Bill Barnett called the annual Holiday Cup “a testing ground to see where we’re at.” Corona del Mar Coach Aaron Chaney, with his young team this season, wouldn’t argue that. “I guess you could say these girls haven’t been battle-tested,” Chaney said. “They’re getting it right now.” Both teams definitely hope to be ready to go when the 16-team tournament, split into two groups of eight, begins today at Newport Harbor and CdM. The Sailors (5-0)

Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo coach Jason Lynch said Thursday that he will be talking about smoke inhalation issues today in his health class at Newport Harbor. A timely topic, to be sure, in the midst of the Southern California fires. One thing Lynch won’t be doing, though, is coaching the Sailors. Neither Newport Harbor nor Corona del Mar will be playing in the TruWest Memorial Cup Invitational tournament which begins today in San Jose. Both of the Back Bay teams were scheduled to play in the tournament, and flew up to Northern California on Thursday in preparation.

Cue the heart-stirring music, and imagine the following set-up: An adversity-stricken group of young people from an impoverished, war-ravaged nation yearns for a source of meaning and accomplishment for themselves, and a point of pride for their countrymen. An idealistic military man from a far-off land dedicates himself to bringing the group together and giving wing to its unlikely dream. Half a world away, another military man hears of the intrepid group, and rallies a community to lend support.

The UC Irvine women's water polo team is the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5-seeded Loyola Marymount in the first round of the NCAA Championship, May 11 at 8:15 p.m. at San Diego State. The Anteaters (24-6) won their fourth straight Big West Conference Tournament title and are making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. UCI split two matches with Loyola Marymount (20-9) this season, posting a 12-9 win at LMU on Feb. 18 and absorbing a 9-6 loss on Feb. 25 at UCI. Stanford (23-2)

Robert Lynn has been offered the job to become the Newport Harbor High boys' water polo and boys' swim coach, according to a source who requested anonymity. He is close to deciding, the source said. Lynn declined to comment on questions dealing with coaching jobs. Newport Harbor Principal Michael Vossen said Tuesday night that he could not comment on the situation. Lynn, a 2000 Olympian and an assistant coach with the 2008 silver-medal winning U.S. men's Olympic team, has been the coach at Harvard-Westlake, where he was hired as boys' and girls' water polo coach in 2009.

Some of the best water polo players in the world are coming to Newport Harbor High next weekend. With the weeks dwindling until the London Olympics, the Newport Beach Water Polo club is working on making it into a Memorial Day weekend to remember. The club is hosting a three-day, pre-Olympic water polo showcase at Newport Harbor starting Saturday. Three of the top men's national teams in the world — Team USA, Hungary and Croatia — will be participating. Robert Lynn can't wait.

LOS ANGELES - As the U.S. Olympic women's water polo team was named Thursday, Coach Adam Krikorian read off the names in alphabetical order. The first name was the former Corona del Mar High and USC standout, Tumua Anae. This led to a funny moment at the announcement at the LA84 Foundation. "It was a little awkward," Anae said. "He kind of just looked at me. I wasn't sure of the formality of it, if we were supposed to hug or shake hands. But I'm all about the hugs. " It makes sense.

The UC Irvine women's water polo team is the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5-seeded Loyola Marymount in the first round of the NCAA Championship, May 11 at 8:15 p.m. at San Diego State. The Anteaters (24-6) won their fourth straight Big West Conference Tournament title and are making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. UCI split two matches with Loyola Marymount (20-9) this season, posting a 12-9 win at LMU on Feb. 18 and absorbing a 9-6 loss on Feb. 25 at UCI. Stanford (23-2)

While growing up in Long Beach, Ryan Bailey was fortunate enough to meet his heroes. He loved water polo and still does. The Olympians he met back in the day made an impact on his life. In 1984, Bailey was 9 when his father, Dan, worked as a trainer for the U.S. Olympic men's water polo team. He also met big-time players when they came to conduct clinics in Long Beach. Nowadays, it's Bailey's turn to inspire and encourage young people. He was doing that on Saturday during a meet-and-greet with Olympians at Westminster mall.

Two seniors from rival high school programs will be on the same boys' basketball team in the 47th annual Orange County North-South All-Star Game at Concordia University on Saturday. Estancia center Rashad Davis and Costa Mesa point guard Nick Dawson will represent the South All-Stars in the game set for 7 p.m. Davis earned the Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year and Dawson made the Dream Team. Each made the All-Orange Coast League first team. Davis' and Dawson's high school teams split the Orange Coast League two-game series.

Maddy McLaren is super-competitive in just about everything she does. More than just a defender for the Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team, the senior was the Sailors' leading scorer for the second straight year. More than just a player in the water, she acted as a coach at times, verbally telling her teammates what to do in certain game situations. Not every situation was favorable for the Sailors. Not every person outside of the team believed. At the start of the regular season Newport Harbor was ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 coaches' poll - respectable, but low for the perennial powerhouse.

Newport Harbor High senior Maddy McLaren earned co-Player of the Year for Sunset League girls' water polo after leading the Sailors to the league title. McLaren shared the award with her future teammate at UCLA, Los Alamitos senior Rachel Fattal. Senior driver Presley Pender, junior center Elissia Schilling and junior driver Carly Christian also earned first-team all-league honors for the Sailors. Newport Coach Bill Barnett earned the league's Coach of the Year award. McLaren, a defender, led the Sailors (27-4)

The Costa Mesa Aquatics club added another big tournament win to its trophy case. The 10U team took the championship last weekend at the Laguna Beach tournament. The club went undefeated, winning five games against some major powerhouse teams. Never falling behind in any of the games, CMAC easily sailed through the tournament, beating Capistrano Valley, 11-8, Huntington Beach, 14-1, Pacific Polo, 13-2, Corona del Mar, 5-1, and 15-5 against RIverside for the championship. Coaches Cody and Dustin Serrano said they are so proud of how hard the team played and they are quickly becoming one of the top 10U teams in the area.

Alex Musselman is a known quantity in girls' water polo. The Corona del Mar High senior goalie, a three-year starter who committed to UCLA last April, was the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year as a junior. Cleo Harrington is the first-year starter for Newport Harbor in the cage. She is a sophomore. In high school sports, that's a word that's sometimes used in front of a name to temper expectations. Not with Harrington, who has established herself alongside Musselman. They are perhaps the top two goalies in the CIF Southern Section.

Leave Genevieve Weed open at your own risk. Weed, a junior defender, is not senior teammates Pippa Saunders and Diana Murphy. She is not even junior classmates Cassidy Papa and Ally McCormick, players who have scored dozens of goals this year for the Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team. She plays a different role for the Sea Kings. Still, opponents need to be careful with leaving her open. Weed has shown this season that she can score from the outside. The latest victim on Feb. 18 was three-time defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion Dos Pueblos.