GIRLS’ SWIMMING PREVIEW:Estancia girls out for more

If swimming doesn’t pan out for Estancia High junior Shea Kopp, she may have a future in the field of public relations.

Kopp has taken to wearing a towel to school. If it seems strange, it’s all in the name of promoting the Eagles girls’ swim team.

“Yes, it’s true,” she said with a laugh. “We don’t get much publicity inside of school. I thought if I wore a towel to school, people would ask me ‘Why are you wearing a towel?’ And I could be like, ‘Oh, our swim meet.’

“They did, and I got my message across.”

Kopp and her Estancia teammates also get their message across every time they step into the pool for a dual meet. Over the past three-plus years, the Eagles girls are undefeated — 40-0 — in dual meet competition.

Kopp placed third in the 100-yard backstroke at the CIF Southern Section Division III finals last May. Fellow junior Meagan Kunert was 12th in the 500 freestyle.

Yet, it truly is a team effort for the Eagles. They have a strong senior class this year, with Sydney Barloon, Jackie Johnston, Hiranya Keenawinna, Chelsea Leon, Shannon Parsons and Melissa Buchmann.

Barloon teamed with Kunert, Kopp and graduate Carolina Barnes last year to place sixth in the Division III 200 medley relay finals.

“We work really, really hard for it,” said Parsons, who excels in the 500 freestyle for Estancia. “I know that everyone out here during practice is doing their best, and pushing to get faster times. It just feels like a giant family, so when we come through and win, it’s like ‘Yes!’

“I think we’re probably the most bonded team in school,” she added.

Virtually all of the Estancia girls were also on the Eagles’ water polo team, which also helps with camaraderie.

“We’re more like sisters,” said sophomore Amber Peters, who swims the butterfly and breaststroke. “From polo, we kind of build relationships. We hang out during school, we hang out after school. We have a lot of team bonding.”

Whether it’s the team’s tradition of picking the most colorful swimsuits to wear, or the tradition of rocking out to techno music during warmups, the Eagles do stay close-knit.

As far as the swimming side of it, Kopp gives Bandaruk plenty of credit. He and his wife, Cynthia, run the club swim program Splash Aquatics, which Kopp, Kunert and Peters have all competed for.

“He makes these swimmers what they are,” Kopp said. “A lot of schools, they get people who have already had training, but Bob molds us from the ground up.”

After two straight Golden West League championships, the Eagles now move to the Orange Coast League, where Laguna Beach may pose a threat to the dual meet streak.

Estancia is looking forward to its dual meet at Laguna Beach on Tuesday, as well as its home meet with cross-town rivals Costa Mesa on April 3.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Barloon said. “We don’t want to be the team that loses the [dual meet] streak, especially during our senior year.”

But the Eagles, as always, are also very confident.

“We don’t know what Laguna’s going to be like, because we’ve never seen them swim,” sophomore Upeka Keenawinna said. “But we just need to grow and achieve what we want — which is, beating them.”

Well, hopefully for Estancia.

“Knock on wood,” Kopp said. “We’re very superstitious. There’s a lot of knock on wood.”

COSTA MESA

COACH: Patty Smith (second year)

2006 FINISH: Second in Golden West League.

KEY RETURNERS: Andrea Beyaoju (So.), breaststroke, butterfly, IM; Liz Simpson (So.), freestyle, fly; Patricia Marty (Jr.), fly, freestyle, backstroke; Breanna Williams (So.), breast, IM; Talhia Nuñez (Jr.), distance freestyle.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Ashley Rendon (So.), distance free; Lauren Randall (So.), back; Christina Roche (So.), sprint free; Caitlin Black (So.), back.

KEY DATES: at Estancia, April 3; at Laguna Beach, April 25.

OUTLOOK: Smith, who coached at Savanna High for nine years and Mater Dei for 12, is in her second year at Costa Mesa. She has a young team with no seniors, but several of the swimmers, including Simpson, Marty and Beyaoju, are returning CIF qualifiers. Beyaoju has already swam fast times this season in the 50 free, 100 breast, 200 IM and 100 fly.

Smith said she believes her team, now in Division II, can beat cross-town rival Estancia this year, with Laguna Beach being the other league competition.

“We’re not really sure what Laguna Beach has,” Smith said. “We’ll just have to go after them full force.”

SAGE HILL

COACHES: Abby Zern and Cari Knowlton (first year)

2006 FINISH: Third in Academy League

KEY RETURNERS: Sarah Wesley (Jr.), freestyle sprints, 100 breast; Dylan Conroy (So.), 100 free, 200 free; Jordan Smith-Newman (So.), 200 IM, 100 back, freestyle; Cameron Cline (So.), freestyle; Kelly Carpenter (So.), 500 free.

KEY NEWCOMERS: None.

KEY DATES: vs. Whitney, April 19 at Corona del Mar; vs. Oxford, April 26 at CdM.

OUTLOOK: Zern and Knowlton, who both swam at UC Irvine, are in their first year and are co-coaches. They have a very young team without much depth. The team has less than 10 girls. But Wesley, Conroy and Smith-Newman all have CIF experience, and have kept a good chemistry as part of the Lightning water polo team as well.

Knowlton said that, after the girls filled out goal sheets at the beginning of the season, their goals are mainly to get in shape for water polo and to make CIF.

“I think with two more years after this year, they’ll be really strong if they can get some more numbers,” Knowlton said. “Depending on the size of our opponents, we’re really just in it for the times this year.”

NEWPORT HARBOR

COACH: Ken LaMont (ninth year)

2006 FINISH: 5-2, Sea View League champion.

KEY RETURNERS: Kayley Oka (Sr.), butterfly, IM; Jillian Chiapuzio (Sr.), sprint freestyle; Mimi Bury (Jr.), sprint freestyle; Sarah Roberts (Sr.), distance freestyle; Katie Pederson (Jr.), breaststroke.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Katie Jackson (Fr.); Jessica Robinson (Jr.), distance freestyle; Heather Thomson (Jr.), breaststroke.

KEY DATES: at Los Alamitos, March 23; at Edison, March 27; Palm Springs Invitational, April 28.

OUTLOOK: The Sailors narrowly defended their Sea View League championship last May, topping Aliso Viejo, 392 points to 390, at the league finals. Now Newport Harbor is in the Sunset League, which features four teams among the best in Orange County in Edison, Los Alamitos, Fountain Valley and Esperanza.

“They’re tough,” LaMont said. “We’re entering a new era of swimming.”

Kayley Oka, who won the 100 butterfly consolation finals of CIF Southern Section Division I last season, is the Tars’ only swimmer with a club background. Many of the other swimmers -- Chiapuzio, Bury, Roberts and Robinson -- are all water polo players, and LaMont said Jackson is very versatile.

“[The water polo girls] are very comfortable in the water from spending all that time in there,” LaMont said.

ESTANCIA

COACH: Bob Bandaruk (seventh year)

2006 FINISH: 11-0, Golden West League champions.

KEY RETURNERS: Shea Kopp (Jr.), 100 backstroke, 50 free; Meagan Kunert (Jr.), distance freestyle; Sydney Barloon (Sr.), sprint freestyles; Amber Peters (So.), butterfly, breaststroke; Shannon Parsons (Sr.), distance freestyle.

KEY NEWCOMERS: None.

KEY DATES: at Laguna Beach, March 27; at home against Costa Mesa, April 3.

OUTLOOK: The Eagles, who haven’t lost a dual meet in over three years, have been moved up to CIF Division II. Returners Kopp and Kunert both qualified for the Division III finals in multiple events last season, and Bandaruk said he hopes Barloon and Peters will also qualify this season.

As a team, the Eagles were 13th in Division III last season.

Bandaruk is critical of the Orange Coast League. He believes Estancia can be successful in the league, but with Calvary Chapel only having a few swimmers, it’s basically a three-team league.

“It was all designed for football,” Bandaruk said. “It’s not necessarily bad for our top swimmers gearing for CIF, but it makes the league finals not as meaningful for our other kids. The people who did this obviously thought nothing of aquatics whatsoever.”

CORONA DEL MAR

COACH: Doug Volding (22nd year)

2006 FINISH: 7-0, Pacific Coast League and CIF Southern Section Division II champion.

KEY RETURNERS: Stephanie Gabert (Sr.), 100 breast, 200 IM; Sarah Furgatch (Jr.), distance freestyle; Kelsey Lawson (Jr.), 200 IM, 100 breast; Allison Peotter (Jr.), breaststroke; Heather Van Hiel (So.), sprint freestyle; Britney Wigley (Sr.), distance free; Katie Indvik (Sr.); Sarah Hutchison (Sr.); Kate Berry (So.).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Chelsea Pike (Sr.), sprint freestyles, butterfly; Margot Money (Fr.); Katie McCormick (Fr.); Adina Zepfel (Fr.); Kathryn McKennon (Fr.); Victoria Kent (Fr.); Elise Molnar (So.).

KEY DATES: CIF relays finals, March 24 at Belmont Plaza; at University, April 18.

OUTLOOK: The defending Division II champions are now in Division I, where longtime coach Volding said they’ll likely compete with Mission Viejo, Edison and University. Uni is also the Sea Kings’ biggest threat to defending their Pacific Coast League crown.

“We lost three or four strong All-Americans last year, but I’m impressed with the girls’ attitude,” Volding said. “We’re picking up where we left off.”

CdM senior Stephanie Gabert, the defending Division II and Masters Meet champion in the 100 breaststroke, and Division II champion in the 200 IM, has been out following knee surgery. Volding said he hopes to have her back soon, along with Furgatch and Larson, who are at the Junior Nationals.

The Sea Kings’ club swimmers mix with water polo players like Van Hiel, Indvik and Hutchison to create a talented mix.

“I told them [the water polo players] the other day that the club swimmers can’t win without them, and we can’t win without the club swimmers,” Volding said. “We’re going to try to combine the two.”