Girls’ Water Polo: Kapana commits to UCLA

Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo senior goalie Carlee Kapana has verbally committed to UCLA, she said Sunday night.

Kapana is a big get for the Bruins. She is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, high school girls’ goalkeepers in the country.

“It just felt like home,” Kapana said. “The campus is beautiful and a bunch of my friends go there, basically the whole water polo team.”

Kapana was a first-team All-Sunset League and first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection last winter for the Sailors. She split time in the cage with Cleo Harrington, who is now at Harvard, but still managed to make 173 saves and help Newport Harbor (23-8) advance to the Division 1 title match for the third straight year.

She has also competed on various United States national teams. Kapana was the starting goalkeeper on the U.S. women’s youth national team that captured gold at the FINA Youth World Championships in Madrid, Spain this past August. Kapana was named the top goalie of the tournament.

Kapana plans to study art at UCLA, though she’ll probably go in undeclared. She said she also was considering Cal and Michigan as college choices.

“It was very stressful,” Kapana said of the recruiting process. “I just love it [at UCLA].”

Kapana can sign a national letter of intent on Nov. 12.

— Matt Szabo