Four HBWPC teams medal during weekend

Huntington Beach Water Polo Club had four girls’ teams medal during tournament action last weekend, led by a first-place finish by the 18-and-under “B” team in the Inland Empire Challenge held in Murrieta.

Huntington Beach defeated Empire Water Polo Club (Temecula), 15-3, and San Diego Shores ‘B’, 10-1, on Saturday. The squad came back Sunday go edge Rose Bowl, 8-7, in the semifinals.

In the title game against Regency (Mater Dei High), Huntington Beach fell behind, 1-0, in the first quarter but scored three goals in the second to open up a 4-1 lead and went on to defeat Regency to win the gold medal.

The Huntington Beach 18-and-under girls ‘A’ team took second place at the United States Club Championships at Walnut Creek. The team defeated Socal of Tustin, 8-6, in the semifinals, but fell to Santa Barbara, 9-4, in the final

Huntington Beach’s 16-and-under ‘A’ team suffered a tough loss, 9-8, to the eventual division champion San Diego Shores team in the semifinals of the U.S. Club Championships. San Diego Shoes scored the winning goal on shot at the buzzer after Huntington Beach had scored the tying goal with eight seconds left. The 16U “A” team came out strong and built a lead over perennial power Commerce in the third-place game and went on to register a 12-9 victory to win the bronze medal.

Also competing at the IE Challenge was the Huntington Beach 16U “B” team, which earned a silver medal after falling to Elite of Murrieta in the division final. Huntington Beach had defeated Socal in the semifinals.

“This is unprecedented for our club to experience this level of success, to have four teams medal in one weekend,” said Huntington Beach Coach Natalie Benson, who is a two-time Olympian. “We are in a good spot as we approach the national championships in two weeks.”

Huntington Beach Water Polo Club will send 10 teams to the Junior Olympics Water Polo’s National Championships that begin July 30 and run through Aug. 7. The tournament will be held in Irvine and surrounding area pools.

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Loschiavo headed to Nationals

Brandon Loschiavo of Huntington Beach is headed to the U.S. Diving National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., in early August. Loschiavo earned a spot at Nationals by finishing in the top six in all three 14-15 boys’ springboard and platform events in a recent competition in Tucson, Ariz.

Loschiavo’s top finish was in the 1-meter springboard, where he won a bronze medal. His best dive on 1-meter was a forward one-and-one-half somersault with a full twist that earned him 50.60 points. He finished fourth on platform and fifth on three-meter springboard.

Loschiavo is competing this week at the Amateur Athletic Union Diving National Championships in Riverside. He qualified for the event by earning qualifying scores at local dive meets throughout the year.

— Jessica Pollack, Community Correspondent

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Rachel Hall and Rose Kyler of Huntington Beach played on the Seal Beach Volleyball Club’s 13-Tony’s team that won bronze at the USA Volleyball Junior Nationals on June 29.

Hall, a setter and four-year member of the team, and Kyler, a defensive specialist, played on a Seal Beach team that competed with 48 club teams from around the country in Atlanta.

The 13-Tony’s team entered the tournament as the No. 28-seed and won nine consecutive matches without losing a set during the first three days. The team suffered its first loss in the semifinal round.