Breakers head to CIF Master Meet

Nine days after bowing out of the CIF-Southern Section Division II playoffs, the Laguna Beach girls’ water polo team returns to action today in the CIF Masters Meet.

Laguna, which lost in the Division II semifinal round to eventual division champion Dos Pueblos, will take on Riverside Poly at 4 p.m. at the Newport Harbor High pool.

The Breakers are seeded eighth in the 16-team, two-day, double-elimination tournament that concludes Saturday.

Riverside Poly, which won the Division III championship last Saturday, is the No. 9 seed. The winner of today’s match will face either top-seed and CIF Division I champion Newport Harbor or No. 16-seed Sonora in a winners bracket match at 7:30 tonight.

The losers of those two matches will play in an elimination game at 6 tonight.

Tournament games today will be played at the Newport Harbor, El Toro, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita pools.

All games Saturday will be played at the El Toro High pool. The consolation championship will be played at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the fifth-place game at 4:45 p.m., third-place game at 6 p.m. and championship final at 7:30 p.m.

The tournament is composed of the top four teams in both Division I and II, and the top two teams in Division III and IV.

Last year, Laguna, the Division II runner-up, reached the Masters tournament final where the Breakers were edged by then-Division I champion Foothill, 7-6.

And like last year, the Breakers are approaching today’s Masters tournament in a relaxed mode.

They held short practices Monday, Tuesday and Thursday that consisted of passing and shooting, Coach Chad Beeler said.

“We’re not taking it that seriously, just like our approach last year,” Beeler said. “In fact, we had a swim meet Wednesday, so the girls have been busy with that.

“We just want the girls to go out and have fun, to have a good lasting memory of playing polo.”

Today’s schedule

At Newport Harbor High

(2:30 p.m.)

No. 1 Newport Harbor vs. No. 16 Sonora

(4 p.m.)

No. 8 Laguna vs. No. 9 Riverside Poly

At Mater Dei High

(2:30 p.m.)

No. 5 L.B. Wilson vs. No. 12 Villa Park

(4 p.m.)

No. 4 Foothill vs. No. 12 Ayala

At El Toro High

(2:30 p.m.)

No. 6 Los Alamitos vs. No. 11 El Toro

(4 p.m.)

No. 3 Dos Pueblos vs. No. 14 Murrieta Valley

At Santa Margarita High

(2:30 p.m.)

No. 7 Santa Barbara vs. No. 10 Santa Margarita

(4 p.m.)

No. 2 Corona del Mar vs. No. 15 Arroyo Grande

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE TEAM

Laguna Beach High junior Annika Dries, a driving force behind Laguna’s sprint to a second-consecutive league championship, has been named the MVP of the Orange Coast League for the 2007 season.

Dries heads an all-league team that includes eight other Breakers.

All-Orange Coast League girls’ water polo team

MVP

Annika Dries, Jr., Laguna Beach

First Team

Natasha Schulman, Jr., Laguna Beach

Lexi Ross, Jr., Laguna Beach

Taylor Dodson, Jr., Laguna Beach

Jessie Holechek, Fr., Laguna Beach

Talhia Nunez, Sr., Costa Mesa

Ashley Rendon, Jr., Costa Mesa

Briana Williams, Jr., Costa Mesa

Dylan Conroy, Jr., Sage Hill

Sara Wesley, Sr., Sage Hill

Haley Kunert, Fr., Estancia

Second Team

Sarah Zuziak, Jr., Laguna Beach

Madison Duncan, Jr., Laguna Beach

Lauren Elliott, Sr., Laguna Beach

Jessica Shusko, Fr., Laguna Beach

Patricia Marty, Sr., Costa Mesa

Hannah Speer, Soph., Costa Mesa

Kayci Decker, Soph., Costa Mesa

Cameron Cline, Jr., Sage Hill

Meagan Kunert, Sr., Estancia