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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.
Birmingham continued its perfect season by making its playoff debut Monday with a 17-6 victory over Eagle Rock in the City Section quarterfinals at Panorama High.
The top-seeded Patriots (17-0), who had received a first-round bye, advance to Wednesday's semifinal against No. 4 Venice at Panorama.
Sophomore Darin Weltsch led Birmingham with five goals and nine steals. His senior brother, Gavin Weltsch, added four goals. Patriots goalie Adrian Almeida made eight saves.
"They're pretty confident," Birmingham coach Chris Laidig said. "It's a lot of pressure. Being undefeated isn't easy, but if they play their game they'll do alright."
Birmingham is 27-0 in the two seasons since the City reinstated water polo. The Patriots have two lopsided victories over Venice this season, and if they can beat the Gondoliers again Wednesday they'll get a chance to play for the City's first championship in the sport in more than 30 years. The final is 6 p.m. Friday at John Argue Stadium.
About all that worries the Patriots now is how their season has paralleled that of the team with the same name, the New England Patriots, who also entered the postseason 16-0 but lost in Sunday's Super Bowl.
"We're getting superstitious," Laidig said. "Hopefully our ending will be better."
The area's most sought after boys' water polo player is getting closer to making a college commitment. Agoura's Peter Kurzeka has narrowed his choices to USC, UCLA and 2007 national champion Cal.
Kurzeka was the Southern Section Div. IV Player of the Year and repeated as Daily News Player of the Year after leading Agoura to the division championship and scoring a school-record 143 goals this past fall. In December he was selected to the U.S. Men's Senior National "B" training squad.
After a 16-0 start, Harvard-Westlake was handed its first loss of the season on Thursday. The Mission League champion Wolverines, ranked No. 1 in Div. IV, lost 9-5 to Whittier, the No. 2 team in Div. III, in the opening round of the Irvine tournament. Harvard-Westlake continues in the tournament this afternoon with a game against Long Beach Poly.
For the first time in more than 30 years there is a City Section water polo postseason and it starts Friday. Undefeated Birmingham is the No. 1 seed and gets a first-round bye, as does No. 2 Cleveland, No. 3 Roosevelt and No. 4 Venice. Birmingham's first game will be Monday at Panorama against the winner of Friday's Santee at Eagle Rock contest. Cleveland will host the winner of the Manual Arts at Verdugo Hills matchup. Semifinals are Wednesday and the final is Feb. 8 at John Argue Swim Stadium.
The Harvard-Westlake girls water polo team inproved to 15-0 with today's 12-5 victory over visting Louisville. The Wolverines can clinch the Mission League title with another win Wednesday against Flintridge Sacred Heart.
Harvard-Westlake, the top-ranked team in Div. IV, had defeated Louisville 16-3 earlier this month, but this time the Royals trailed just 5-4 at haltime. Wolverines freshman Ashley Grossman responded with three consecutive goals to start the third period, helping Harvard-Westlake pull away to an 11-4 lead before Louisville scored again on a fourth-quarter penalty shot. Grossman finished with a game-high five goals. USC-bound teammate Nadia Dan had four goals.
The Royal of Simi Valley girls' water polo team won't be getting much rest this week. After playing only one game last week, the Highlanders have eight games this week.
"This next week is going to be interesting," Royal coach Matt Frazier said.
The Highlanders began the week with a 9-3 victory over Moorpark this afternoon.
Royal, which is two games behind Agoura in the Marmonte League standings, could essentially secure second place with another win Wednesday against third-place Thousand Oaks. The Highlanders remain at home Thursday for another Marmonte game against Westlake, then head to the Bonita tournament for a combined five games Friday and Saturday.
Heavy rain and lightening cut the Agoura girls' water polo team's practice to about 45 minutes Thursday, but there was no slowing the Chargers when they were back out in the rain this afternoon for a meeting of two members of the Div. II top 10. Agoura defeated visiting Royal 11-3 to essentially clinch a fourth consecutive Marmonte League title.
Agoura's Casey Flacks scored four goals and teammate Casey Clark clebrated her 17th birthday by adding three goals.
While Royal (14-4, 6-2) produced several erratic shots, Agoura (13-6, 8-0) didn't have much trouble getting the ball in the cage. One of the Chargers' most impressive scores came during an 8-0 run. With 3:54 left in the second period, Flacks had her back to the goal and was surrounded by three defenders, but lobbed the ball backwards over her head for the score. She had another no-look goal earler in the game with a back-handed shot at the post that put Agoura up 4-1.
In a game where there was as much water in the sky as there was in the pool, every Alemany player scored at least one goal in a 15-2 win over Flintridge Sacred Heart. Erin Manke led the Knights with 4 goals, 5 assists and 8 steals and Whitney Ukanis added 3 goals, 3 assists and 3 steals...
Water polo fans can see some of the country's premier players Saturday at Rio Mesa High in Oxnard. In conjunction with the 2008 USWP annual meeting, the U.S. men's and women's national teams will face Canada in an exhibition followed by an autograph session.
The women's game is at 5 p.m., and the men's at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors, students and children 5-12 years old.
The Birmingham of Lake Balboa water polo team looks to complete a second consecutive undefeated regular season when the Patriots face Cleveland of Reseda on Wednesday at Panorama High. Birmingham has not lost a game since the City Section brought the sport back last season as a co-ed sport. This year's teams have the added incentive of a postseason and Birmingham is a favorite to be playing in the Feb. 8 title game. The last obstacle in the way of perfect regular season is a Cleveland team that has been the Patriots' biggest challenge this season, losing just 9-7 in the teams' previous meeting.
Oct. 13: Daily News reporters focus on the Hart-Canyon game in their prep football roundtable.
Oct. 6: Oaks Chrsitian takes center stage in the weekly prep football roundtable