Local teams vie at South Coast Tournament
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The Huntington Beach High boys’ water polo team finished third at the inaugural S&R Cup Elite Eight tournament last weekend at Harvard-Westlake, losing to the tournament champion Wolverines and second-place Mater Dei in the process.
The Oilers are still looking for a statement win over those two opponents, which took turns beating Huntington Beach in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals each of the last two years.
An immediate chance for a rematch comes this weekend.
The Wolverines, Monarchs and Oilers are the top three seeds in the South Coast Tournament, which is hosted by Newport Harbor. Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor and Laguna Beach are the other local teams competing in the 32-team tournament, which began Thursday and concludes Saturday. All teams entered get five games over the three days.
Harvard-Westlake is a new addition this year to the tournament, which boasts all of the top 10 teams in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll.
If the seeds hold true, quarterfinals on Friday would include Harvard-Westlake against Newport Harbor at Newport Harbor, Mater Dei against Corona del Mar at CdM, Huntington Beach against Foothill at Foothill and Orange Lutheran against Loyola at Santa Margarita. All quarterfinal games are scheduled for 6 p.m.
The South Coast Tournament is the first tournament of the season for Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor, who are ranked No. 7 and 8, respectively, in Division 1. Laguna Beach, the top-ranked team in Division 2, placed sixth at the Santa Barbara Invitational which was won by Orange Lutheran.
South Coast Tournament semifinals are scheduled for 10:40 and 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor, with the championship game at 4:05 p.m. Mater Dei won the tournament last year.
CDM’S DUNK HEADED TO CAL
Corona del Mar High senior Jasie Dunk will accept a walk-on position on the Cal women’s tennis team, she said Tuesday.
There are eight scholarship players and one walk-on position on the roster, Dunk said. She said she impressed the Cal coaches in August with her performance against USC senior Zoe Katz at a tournament in Moraga.
“They only take nine girls total,” Dunk said. “There was a lot of demand for that [ninth] spot, and I’m super-happy I got it ... I try really hard with my grades, and I like that it’s a good academic school. And they have a great program. I like the city [of Berkeley], I like the vibes.”
Dunk has approximately a 4.2 grade-point average at CdM, and she said she’s yet to receive a “B” in high school. Her father, Chris, also played tennis at Cal, where he was a two-time All-American before turning pro.
Jasie Dunk said she wants to play doubles in college. She plays singles for CdM, which is ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1 and coming off a 12-6 win at top-ranked Palos Verdes Peninsula on Tuesday. Dunk easily swept her three sets.
Cal women’s tennis went 23-2 this past spring, advancing to the NCAA team semifinals before losing, 4-3, to Oklahoma State. Cal’s Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr were NCAA doubles finalists.
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Matt Szabo covers boys’ water polo and girls’ tennis in the fall.
Twitter: @mjszabo
