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CORONA DEL MAR -- In a match without two spotlight players for two Orange County high school girls tennis powers, future stars had the opportunity to shine. Ali Walters seized the moment and won all three of her sets against defending CIF Southern Section Division II champion Troy High, and helped lead host Corona del Mar to a 10-8 nonleague victory Thursday. Corona del Mar junior Jill Damion is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury and Troy's Cosmina Ciobanu was on collegiate recruiting trips.

The Corona del Mar High football team continued its success rushing the ball through the early part of the season Friday night in a nonleague contest against Troy. But the Sea Kings had some company running alongside. Troy's tag-team backfield of junior Chris Ramirez and sophomore Derrick Coleman exploited holes forged by the offensive line and the Warriors' defense stymied CdM's final drive to stake a 25-18 victory in front of 2,000 spectators at Newport Harbor High.

The Corona del Mar High girls water polo team finished in the top four spots of the U.S. Junior Olympic tournament in San Jose. The lone high school team in the tournament, CdM defeated club teams Los Angeles Water Polo, 8-5, Park City, 14-2, Chino Hills Area Water Polo, 6-5, Commerce, 5-4 and Stanford, 4-3. Included on the team are Tamua Anae, Katie Indvik, Chelse Lyman, Ashley Chandler, Cari Levine, Kathryn Builder, Leilani...

The Corona del Mar High girls golf team won by the narrowest of margins, 211-212, in the Pacific Coast League opener at Newport Beach Country Club. CdM was led by Katie McKitterick at 1-over-par. Jonna Kim followed with a 42. The Sea Kings (3-0) play host to Beckman today. Pirates improve to 2-0 VOLLEYBALL: Kiwi Winkler showed her versatility with 19 blocks and 13 digs as Orange Coast College's women's volleyball team beat Cerritos, 30-16, 30-26, 30-15.

Typically, when two of the top four teams in the Southern Section meet, you have both teams sweating through a breathtaking finish. The 90 degree temperature accounted for the sweat, but the breathtaking finish never occurred. Peninsula, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section, won in a nonleague match, 14-4. Corona del Mar lost their first match of the year, yet showed a sense of determination in their initial setback of the campaign. Freshmen Natalie Zotovich and Danielle Kaiden impressed again.

Corona del Mar High outshot Newport Harbor, 224-284, in a nonleague match Tuesday at Newport Beach Country club. The Sea Kings were paced by medalist Katie McKitterick with a 3-under 38. Courtney Wright shot 43. Jonna Kim and Jessica Milner shot 47 and Kelly Kwata finished up with a 49. Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor will match up again Thursday at Big Canyon Country Club at 3 p.m. Sailors improve to 6-0 ...

It took a stretch of 137 seconds at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to eliminate much of the suspense over the outcome of the season-opening nonleague football game between visiting Corona del Mar High and Estancia Friday night. But by then, another uncertainty was all but gone for the Sea Kings, who earned a 26-6 victory before 900 spectators at Orange Coast College. Senior Matt Loyd, who did not touch the ball on offense last season, established himself as a productive tailback by rolling up 100 rushing yards on 16 carries by halftime.

The Corona del Mar High football team has lost its last two games, following a 2-0 start. But there are obviously some who believe the Sea Kings' showing against stronger competition in recent weeks, has actually bolstered there reputation. Voters in the CIF Southern Section Division IX poll have rewarded CdM (2-2) for the aforementioned losing streak, elevating the Sea Kings a couple spots to No. 6 ranking. Coach Dick Freeman is another who thinks playing tougher foes has better prepared his team for Pacific Coast League play, which begins Friday night at 7 against Calvary Chapel and Newport Harbor High.

SCORE BY QUARTERS -- Corona del Mar 0 6 13 7 - 26 Estancia 0 0 0 6 - 6 -- SECOND QUARTER CdM -- Burgner 2 run (kick failed), 1:31. THIRD QUARTER CdM -- Hillgren 21 pass from Mohler (run failed), 11:14. CdM -- Mohler 13 run (Albright kick), 4:00. FOURTH QUARTER Est -- Mills 1 pass from Watson (kick blocked), 11:47. CdM -- Folks 1 run (Albright kick), 8:35. A -- 900 (est.) INDIVIDUAL RUSHING CdM -- Loyd 23-187; Folks, 11-51, 1 TD; Mohler, 3-25, 1 TD; Burgner, 2-0, 1 TD; Wigley, 4-minus-15.

After viewing film of last year's team, knowing he will have several returners from a CIF Southern Section Division I semifinalist, first-year Corona del Mar High boys water polo coach Barry O'Dea doesn't believe much will change in the pool once the games begin next month. But what many of his players must deal with is the adjustment once again of a coaching change. O'Dea, 32, hired to replace 2004 Division I Coach of the Year Sam Bailey this summer, will be the program's fourth leader in as many years this fall.

For the Corona del Mar High football team, the light at the end of the Pacific Coast League tunnel is, in fact, obscured by an oncoming train. The league schedule forced the Sea Kings (3-3, 1-1 in league) to deal with PCL powers Northwood and Tesoro in the first half of their six-game league campaign. The latter half of that assignment, which began with a 21-0 road setback against Northwood Oct. 6, will occur Friday at Tesoro at 7 p.m. Tesoro (4-1, 1-0)

Ensign Middle School and Corona del Mar split matches Wednesday at Ensign. There was somewhat of a reunion on hand as both coaches from Ensign and Corona del Mar had played in the 1980s at Newport Harbor under UC Irvine women's volleyball coach Charlie Brande. The eighth grade Ensign boys won the first and third games, 25-14, 14-25, 15-8, for the win over their rival. In the third game, Clay Friend made three kills and a service ace in the final game to lead the Seebees.

Since the 2001 season, Northwood High has been the gold standard in Pacific Coast League football. Corona del Mar, which meets the Timberwolves tonight at 7 at Irvine High, may find out if its league title aspirations this season are merely fool's gold. The Sea Kings (3-2, 1-0 in league), ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division IX, have pinned their hopes on a sterling defense that last week recorded the program's first shoutout in 62 games, dating back to 1999.

If the Corona del Mar High football team is going to capture the Pacific Coast League title, it's going to do it with a dominant, play-making defense. Corona del Mar's league opener Friday night was a good start. The Sea King defense intercepted four passes, picked up three fumbles and scored three touchdowns in a 40-0 victory over Calvary Chapel at Newport Harbor High. The Sea King defense took over the game in the third quarter, coming up with turnovers on each Eagle possession.

The Corona del Mar High girls volleyball team was angry. It had reason to be. The defending CIF Southern Section Division III-A champion Sea Kings had stumbled to a 1-8 record through the early part of this season, and were in the fast lane to mediocrity. Until Thursday. "They were a little bit angry that they had lost all of these matches in the preseason," CdM Coach Bill Christiansen said. The anger fueled the fire, and the host Sea Kings responded with a 25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 25-15 Pacific Coast League victory over rival Laguna Beach, a victory that could trigger some momentum.

Junior twins and doubles partners Hayley and Miranda Young won 18 of 19 games to help lead Corona del Mar High to an 11-7 Pacific Coast League girls tennis victory over visiting Laguna Beach Thursday. The Sea Kings, ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division I, won 7 of 9 doubles sets to top the Breakers, ranked No. 3 in CIF Division I. CdM junior No. 1 singles player Michelle Atkins posted what Sea Kings Coach Brian Ricker called a crucial 7-5 win over Kelly Ammerman.

The Corona del Mar High football team has lost its last two games, following a 2-0 start. But there are obviously some who believe the Sea Kings' showing against stronger competition in recent weeks, has actually bolstered there reputation. Voters in the CIF Southern Section Division IX poll have rewarded CdM (2-2) for the aforementioned losing streak, elevating the Sea Kings a couple spots to No. 6 ranking. Coach Dick Freeman is another who thinks playing tougher foes has better prepared his team for Pacific Coast League play, which begins Friday night at 7 against Calvary Chapel and Newport Harbor High.

Typically, when two of the top four teams in the Southern Section meet, you have both teams sweating through a breathtaking finish. The 90 degree temperature accounted for the sweat, but the breathtaking finish never occurred. Peninsula, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section, won in a nonleague match, 14-4. Corona del Mar lost their first match of the year, yet showed a sense of determination in their initial setback of the campaign. Freshmen Natalie Zotovich and Danielle Kaiden impressed again.

The Corona del Mar High's boys water polo defeated visiting Edison, 13-8, in a nonleague match Wednesday evening. The Sea Kings were led by Tom Money and Jacob Murphy with three goals each. Netminder Phillip DiGiacomo contributed eight saves in the victory. CdM (4-5) visits Los Alamitos Friday in a nonleague match. Nonleague Corona del Mar 13, Edison 8 Score by Quarters -- Edison 1 2 3 2 -- 8 Corona del Mar 3 5 3 2 -- 13 -- Edison -- A. Martinazzi 2, Sonne 2, S. Martiazzi 2, Ricky 1, Seaberry 1. Saves -- Riley 8. Corona del Mar -- J. Murphy 3, T. Money 3, N. Jones 2, Schoenberg 1, K. Hersh 1, T. Kent 1, Sanford 1, Tutton 1. Saves -- P. DiGiacomo 8, J Kline 3. OCC still unbeaten VOLLEYBALL: The Orange Coast College women's volleyball team defeated host Mt. SAC, 30-25, 30-18, 30-20, Wednesday to move to 6-0 in the nonconference season.

The mutual respect that flowed between both teams in Friday night's Battle of the Bay at Orange Coast College was one obvious byproduct of the two neighborhood schools' athletes having shared relationships over the years. From the meeting of captains at midfield for the pregame coin toss, to interaction between players during the game, to the handshakes, smiles, words and emotion exchanged afterward, it was clear that these players, now rivals, had often been teammates in the past.