Briefs: Powers scores two for U.S.
Former UC Irvine All-American Jeff Powers scored a pair of goals to help the USA Water Polo men’s national team defeat Australia, 7-5, in the quarterfinals of the FINA World League Super Final in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Friday.
Team USA will meet Croatia in a semifinal on Saturday, while Spain plays Italy in the other semifinal.
Powers, a two-time Olympian, scored back-to-back goals in the second quarter to give the Americans a 5-1 halftime lead.
Powers has been a member of the U.S. team in the previous two Olympics and is expected to compete in his third Olympics this summer in London..
Former UCI All-Americans Ryan Bailey and Tim Hutten, as well as Corona del Mar High product John Mann, are also members of the U.S. national team. Bailey is expected to play in his fourth Olympics this summer and Hutten his second.
— From staff reports
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Tickets on sale
Corona del Mar High will be the final site of a four-game exhibition series between the U.S. Olympic women’s water polo team and Hungary July 8 at 3 p.m.
The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. Tickets for the game are on sale at https://www.usawaterpolo.org.
Team USA, which won the gold medal at the 2012 FINA World League Super Final, is also playing against Hungary to open the London Games on July 30.
The exhibition series acts as a final tune-up for the Olympics. The four-game series starts at Stanford University July 2 at 6 p.m., followed by a match at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos July 4 at 7 p.m. The match on the Fourth of July will be followed by a fireworks show provided by the city of Los Alamitos.
Before CdM, the teams play at UC San Diego July 6 at 6 p.m.
The U.S. team features former Corona del Mar High standout Tumua Anae, a back-up goalie.
— From staff reports
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UCI women add 10
Two players whose names should ring familiar with supporters of UC Irvine athletics are among 10 recruits who will join the Anteaters’ women’s water polo program for the 2013 season, coach Dan Klatt announced.
Kelsey Thornton, whose brother Brian was an All-American setter for UCI’s 2007 NCAA championship men’s volleyball team, is a defender out of San Clemente High. Thornton’s father, Mike, is the women’s basketball coach at Orange Coast College.
Tess de Lange, whose brother Bo was a redshirt freshman on the men’s water polo team last fall, is another defender who joins the Anteaters out of St. Mary’s High in Stockton.
Other future ‘Eaters from Orange County schools include Emily Carson, an attacker from Dana Hills High, Kayla Colapinto, a goalie from San Clemente High, and center McKenna Mitchell from Foothill High.
Nicole Schmidt is from Notre Dame High in Puerto Rico, while Hanna Lancaster and Cambria Shockley (St. Lucy’s Priory High), Annika Nelson (Upland High) and Amber Stewart (Bonita High) will try to help UCI extend its postseason streak to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Thornton and Colapinto helped San Clemente win the CIF Southern Section Division II championship in 2011.
Shockley, a 5-foot-10 utility player, was a four-time All-CIF performer and the 2012 Sierra League MVP.
Stewart, a three-time All-American utility player, scored 366 goals in four seasons at Bonita. She contributed to the school’s CIF Division VI title in 2009 and helped it reach the final in 2011 and 2012.
Mitchell was twice All-CIF and the Century League MVP and she earned All-American recognition as a senior, when she scored 81 goals.
Carson netted 96 goals as a senior to share South Coast League MVP laurels and she was also named second-team All-CIF.
Schmidt has been a member of the Puerto Rican national team since 2007 and figures to compete with her country in the upcoming Pan-American Games.
Lancaster, an attacker, was a two-time All-CIF honoree, while Nelson is also a goalkeeper.
UCI was 25-8 and finished fourth in the NCAA Tournament in 2012, after going 23-9 and finishing fifth in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.
Klatt’s squad has won the last four titles at the Big West Conference Tournament.
“The focus on winning continues to be reflected in the recruiting classes,” Klatt said. “The players who are departing were major factors in our program and our incoming class will fill those absences in addition to adding depth.”
— From staff reports