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A new girls water polo tournament will debut Thursday with a small but impressive field.
The Newport Invitational, hosted by Newport Harbor High, features six of the top-seven ranked teams in CIF-SS Division 1 among its eight entries.
No. 1-ranked Newport Harbor (16-1) and No. 2 Laguna Beach (19-3) are the top seeds and will be joined by No. 3 Orange Lutheran (12-5), No. 3 Mater Dei (12-3), No. 6 Foothill (10-8) and No. 6 San Marcos (15-8). Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei, along with Foothill and San Marcos, are tied this week in the coaches poll.
The teams will be joined by The Bishop’s (10-2) and Carlsbad from the San Diego Section for a three-day event that concludes with the final Saturday at Newport Harbor at 4:10 p.m.
“I always try and challenge my kids to the best of their ability and felt like this tournament provided five games that are at, or above, my team’s level and will challenge us the most,” San Marcos coach Chuckie Roth said of joining the tournament. “It’s a big challenge for us but we are up for it.”
For the Southern Section teams, the tournament will put some of the final touches on their resumes for selection to the inaugural CIF-SS Open Division playoffs. The Open Division will seed teams based on rankings regardless of league affiliation.
The Newport Invitational debuts on the same weekend as the tradition-rich Irvine SoCal Championships, which features 24 teams — eight few than its regular total. Los Alamitos, Corona del Mar, Agoura and Harvard-Westlake are the top-four seeds.
The final is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Woollett Aquatics Center.
VILLA PARK GIRLS WATER POLO WINS TOURNAMENT
St. Francis-bound Alexis Stewart scored 19 goals in five matches, including the game-winner in a 6-5 win in overtime against Xavier Prep in the final, to lead Villa Park’s girls water polo team to the Gold Division title of the Ocean View tournament.
In the Platinum Division, JSerra defeated Beckman 5-3 in the third-place match. Long Beach Millikan edged Downey 8-7 in the final.
Brea Olinda defeated Villa Park 10-7 in a match that could determine the North Hills League title.
EDISON TO OPEN NEW POOL
Edison is scheduled to host the first girls water polo matches in its new 42-meter pool on Tuesday at 5 and 6:30 p.m. Huntington Beach and Marina will play first, followed by Edison and Fountain Valley.
The Chargers are ranked No. 1 in Division 2. San Juan Hills in second.
SUNNY HILLS COACH REACHES MILESTONE
Sunny Hills girls soccer coach Jeff Gordon, in his 32nd season, recently earned his 600th career victory in humble fashion.
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“I didn’t tell anybody,” he said. “I don’t like all that pomp and circumstance. Five hundred, we celebrated.”
Gordon, 53, reached the milestone in the Lancers’ 4-0 victory against Fullerton on Jan. 18.
“What I like to do is help my players become champions,” said Gordon, who has led the Lancers to three CIF and 19 league titles.