HIGH SCHOOLS:Respect reserved for CdM

For the Corona del Mar High girls’ water polo team, Saturday’s 8-7, sudden-death overtime loss to Foothill in the semifinals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions felt like a win.

The seven goals were the most scored against the Knights (16-1), ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division I, all season. And Coach Aaron Chaney, who had said his team looked “afraid to play” after losing to Foothill, 4-2, on Jan. 6, had no such complaints this time around.

“They played with a lot of heart, a lot of energy, a lot of brains,” Chaney said. “The key to the game was movement on offense. We wanted to make them play defense, because I don’t think some of the girls on their team really want to play defense.”

Foothill Coach Dave Mikesell said the game, which went to sudden-death overtime after Haley Prickett’s goal with one second left in the second overtime period, was the best he’d seen CdM play all season.

“They really played very well,” Mikesell said. “Chaney really had his kids ready. Every timeout play he called worked.”

The Sea Kings (13-4) moved from third to second in the most recent Division I poll, released Monday.

Newport Harbor (13-6), which reached the TOC title game and lost to Foothill, also moved up a spot to third.

Tied, 3-3, with Ayala, Coach Bill Barnett put in senior Betsy Martin. The move paid immediate dividends, as Martin scored two fourth-quarter goals to help the Sailors to the 5-3 win.

“She’s a really good offensive player, and we weren’t having any good shooting,” Barnett said.

Martin, a lefty, attributes at least part of her strong arm to playing softball.

Martin has been playing softball since she was 10, and still competes during the off-season for high school water polo.

“It’s really helped my arm, batting in batting cages and throwing,” she said. “It’s helped me so much more than just doing weight balls and weight-lifting every single day.”

Their activities during that free time varied.

Senior Katie Indvik said that, for the Sea Kings, it was a chance to catch up on some sleep after having a 10 a.m. game on Friday against El Toro — the first game of the tournament.

“We all wanted to go home and take a nap,” she said. “We’re all really pumped on winning this tournament. We’re here to play [water polo], not to have fun.”

But Newport Harbor senior Marisa Cottam said the Sailors found time to do a little bit of both in the Santa Barbara sunshine, visiting a familiar tourist locale.

“We hit up State Street, did some shopping and all that business,” Cottam said. “We love that. We’re just having fun.”

Both approaches worked out fine, as the Sea Kings beat Coronado, 3-2, in their quarterfinal and the Sailors handled Long Beach Wilson, 5-2.

The problem? A bee had found its way into the water. Cottam, smiling, eventually splashed it to the side and out of danger.

MATT SZABO covers girls’ water polo for the Daily Pilot. He can be reached at (714) 966-4614 or via e-mail at [email protected].