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Orange County’s top girls water polo teams — Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and Newport Harbor — will compete in a major tournament for the second straight weekend but could encounter some roster twists at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
Three county players and two from San Marcos have been selected to the U.S. national team for a World Cup that starts in Greece on Tuesday.
Orange Lutheran coach Brenda Villa said her two players on the U.S. squad — junior Allison Cohen and senior Jailynn Robinson — could play through the semifinals on Saturday in Santa Barbara but then would need to leave for their national team trip.
Mater Dei sophomore Maggie Ryan, a transfer from The Bishop’s of La Jolla, is the other county player on the U.S. team.
The Monarchs (7-1) are the top seed for Santa Barbara after defeating Newport Harbor 15-9 in the finals of the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup.
Mater Dei dethroned two-time defending Holiday Cup champion Orange Lutheran in the semifinals 10-9.
The Monarchs’ Group A includes No. 8 seed The Bishop’s and Corona del Mar among others. The Bishop’s won the Villa Park Classic earlier this season.
Newport Harbor (11-2) is seeded second followed by defending Santa Barbara champion Orange Lutheran (9-1) and Oaks Christian (8-2).
The tournament begins Thursday with four play-in matches, including tournament newcomer Buena Park against Carlsbad in Group B and Los Alamitos against Clairemont in Group A.,
The semifinals Saturday are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. at Santa Barbara High. The final follows at 1:55 p.m.
Mater Dei captured the Holiday Cup for the first time last weekend. The Monarchs haven’t won the Santa Barbara TOC.
San Marcos’ players on the U.S. team are junior Charlotte Raisin and senior Lucy Haaland-Ford.
Please send water polo news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on X and Instagram
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