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Mater Dei’s girls water polo team defeated a growing rival Saturday to defend its title at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
USC-bound goalie Sienna Sorensen recorded nine saves and Kirra Pantaleon and Maggie Ryan each scored three goals as the Monarchs beat Oaks Christian 10-7 in the finals at Santa Barbara High.
Mater Dei (14-1) suffered its only loss in an 11-7 setback at Oaks Christian on Jan. 3. The Monarchs also fell to the Lions 12-11 last season in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Open Division. Oaks Christian went on to claim the title.
Sorensen earned tournament MVP while Pantaleon, a senior attacker committed to Stanford, took all-tournament honors.
In the final, Delaney Hook added two goals for Mater Dei, which became the first school since Laguna Beach in 2014-15 to repeat as Santa Barbara TOC champion.
The Monarchs have won six consecutive in-season tournaments.
In the semifinals, Mater Dei defeated Trinity League rival Orange Lutheran 12-9. Pantaleon netted four goals while Hook and Ryan each had three.
Sorensen made seven saves.
Liz Nicoloff and Bella Jurgensen each scored twice for Orange Lutheran and Eden Stanley tallied eight saves.
On Thursday, Orange Lutheran (12-4) plays host to Mater Dei in the Trinity League at Santiago Canyon College.
Oaks Christian beat Newport Harbor 10-7 in the other semifinal.
Newport Harbor bounced back to defeat Orange Lutheran 14-11 in the third-place match. ValeryVerdugo netted four goals, including three on penalty shots, and Gabby Alexson had three goals for the Sailors (16-3).
Allison Cohen and Nicoloff combined for seven goals for Orange Lutheran.