Recently in Water Polo Category

After four seasons as Harvard-Westlake's boys' water polo coach and a decade with the girls' water poio program, Larry Felix has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

"I really enjoyed my time at Harvard-Westlake," Felix said. "From my first year as an assistant under Rich Corso, I have learned a lot about myself and coaching the game of water polo. I enjoyed the unique opportunity of working with both the boys and the girls programs. I want to thank (school president) Tom Hudnut and coach Corso for giving me the opportunity to coach at Harvard-Westlake. I wish the athletes in both programs all the best and I will continue to root for their success."

The Wolverines went 81-33 during Felix's tenure as boys' coach, advancing to the Div. I semifinals in 2006. Harvard-Westlake won the Mission League championship three consecutive years (2005-07) and had an overall league record of 30-2 under Felix.

Felix also guided the girls' water polo team since 2000. The Wolverines went 23-3 in 2008, advancing to the Div. IV final before losing to Arroyo Grande.

"We'd like to thank coach Felix for his service to the school," said Audrius Barzdukas, Harvard-Westlake's Head of Athletics. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

The school will begin a search for his replacement immediately. Felix's replacement will coach both the boys and the girls programs.

Senior Frank Hwang scored two goals and Paul Miernicki and Tim Perry added one apiece for La Canada, but the Spartans fell to Harvard-Westlake of Studio City 5-4 in a nonleague game between the top two teams in the Daily News rankings at Pasadena City College.

Harvard-Westlake (3-0), ranked No. 4 in the Southern Section Div. I, scored the decisive goal in a man-up situation after leading then being tied with La Canada throughout most of the game.

The Spartans (0-2), ranked No. 4 in Div. II, previously dropped their season opener to JSerra of San Juan Capistrano, 12-9, on Sept. 17.

Before edging La Canada, the Wolverines had beaten JSerra, 11-4, on Sept. 12 and topped Corona del Mar of Newport Beach 12-8, on Sept. 17. Corona del Mar is ranked third in Div. I.

-- Lauren Peterson

The Los Angeles Water Polo Club recently won the Florida International 19-under tournament. Agoura High's Peter Kurzeka was named tournament MVP. Harvard-Westlake's Max Eliot, Max Lubin, Alex Popoff and Matt Hartwick were among the other locals.
LAWPC's tournamt scores:
LAWPC 14, Riptides (Florida) 5
LAWPC 11, SET (Orange County) 6
LAWPC 11, WASP (Washington) 7
LAWPC 9, CHAWP (Riverside) 3
LAWPC 9, Stanford 8

The sites have been determined for the Div. IV semifinals, where three of the four participants are locals. Louisville of Woodland Hills is the surprise of the division, having upset defending champion Cabrillo and No. 3 Malibu, and could set up an All-Mission League final if the Royals pull off another upset Wednesday.
Here is the scheule for Wednesday's games:
No. 1 Harvard-Westlake vs. No. 4 Rio Mesa at Pasadena City College, 3:15 p.m.
Louisville vs. No. 2 Arroyo Grande at Pepperdine, 3:15 p.m.

Senior Whitney Delgado scored four goals, including the deciding shot with eight seconds remaining to lead Thousand Oaks' comeback in a 6-5 victroy over host Canyon of Anaheim in a Southern Section Div. II wild-card game. The Lancers (20-9) trailed 5-3 entering the final quarter but scored the only three goals of the period.
Thousand Oaks goalie Christy Kilgore finished with 14 saves.
The Lancers, the third-place representative from the Marmonte League, advance to face Bay League champion Palos Verdes in Thursday's first round.
Also, Marmonte champion Agoura learned which team it will open against. Ventura defeated Capistrano Valley in the division's other wild card game and will play at Agoura on Thursday.

The Mission League had a successful day in the opening round of girls water polo Southern Section playoffs. All three of the league's members that played Tuesday advanced to Thursday's second round, where they'll join league champion Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, which had a first-round bye as Div. IV's top seed.
Mission runner-up Louisville of Woodland Hills opened with an 11-3 victory over visiting Nipomo. The Royals play at Cabrillo of Lompoc on Thursday.
Alemany of Mission Hills defeated visiting Pasadena Poly 15-4, led by big games from Whitney Ukanis and Erin Manke. Ukanis scored five goals with three assists and Manke added four goals and five assists. The Warriors (12-12) face Pacific League champion Crescenta Valley, which had a first-round bye, in the second round at Pasadena City College.
Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks edged host Pacifica of Oxnard 5-3 behind three goals from Kate Kurzeka. The Knights (16-11) face Burbank in the second round.

The Agoura High girls' water polo team's quest to defend its Southern Section Div. II title just got a lot tougher. Star senior Casey Flacks will miss the postseason with a broken left hand.
Flacks, last year's division Player of the Year and an All-American who has signed with Loyola Marymount, suffered the injury during practice Friday and received the official diagnosis Monday when a cast was also put on the hand.
Flacks, who leads the Chargers in almost every statistical category, was the only returning starter for a program that has reached the division final the past three years.
Marmonte League champion Agoura (19-9) begins playoffs Thursday at home against the winner of Tuesday's wild-card game between Ventura and Capistrano Valley. Agoura narrowly defeated Ventura in overtime during the regular season. The next two rounds would likely feature matchups with No. 4 Laguna Beach, then No. 1 Dos Pueblos.
"The rest of the girls just need to step up and do a little more," Chargers coach Jason Rosenthal said. "If each girl steps up, I think we still have a good chance. We played all summer without her. This is our chance to prove we're not a one-man team."

Loyola water polo teammates Forest Monroe and Connor Plaga have signed with USC. Both were All-Southern Section Div. I selections this past fall for the Mission League runner-up Cubs. Monroe was the team's leading scorer while Plaga was a speedy two-meter defender.
The pair join a talented USC recruiting class that also includes Agoura's Peter Kurzeka, Northern California standouts Thomas Avery and Andrew Reego as well as Michael Rosenthal, a driver from Florida.

A USC men's water polo program that has reached the NCAA championship game the past three years has gained another of the country's premier players. Agoura's Peter Kurzeka committed to the Trojans today.
Kurzeka was the Southern Section Div. IV Player of the Year after scoring a school-record 143 goals and leading Agoura to its first division title this past fall.

Birmingham of Lake Balboa's final step in the quest for a perfect season will come against a familiar foe. Valley League rivals Birmingham and Cleveland of Reseda won their respective City Section semifinals Wednesday to advance to Friday's championship game at John Argue Swim Stadium.
Top-seeded Birmingham (18-0) advanced with a 20-6 victory over No. 4 Venice at Panorama High. Sophomore Darin Weltsch led the Patriots with seven goals. Teammate Favio Carcamo contributed four goals, four assists and six steals. Goalkeeper Adrian Almeida blocked 13 shots.
The victory extends Birmingham's winning streak to 28 games since the City reinstated the sport last season. Two of those wins this season were against Cleveland during league play, including a 16-3 victory two weeks ago.
The second-seeded Cavaliers continued their postseason dominance Wednesday by defeating No. 3 Roosevelt of Los Angeles 15-4.
Roosevelt and Venice meet at 4 p.m. Friday in the third-place game, followed by the final at 6 p.m.