By Ed Piper
La Jolla's girls water polo team, coached by Amy Jennings, is going to travel the hour-plus trip to Huntington Beach Tues., Feb. 22, to face Edison High in a CIF State Regionals playoff game.
While the Vikings feature All-Section Lulu Hirschfield, a dramatic success story in herself, and goalie Roxy Hazuka, plus a cast of solid star performers, the Chargers won only their second league title in program history this winter--and appeared in a CIF Southern Section division title game for the first time ever this month.
Hirschfield "was born profoundly deaf," her mother Anise shared recently, leading to her cochlear implant and resultant adaptation to the implant in one ear and hearing aid in the other. Besides the hearing ability, Lulu, a dominating presence in the middle of the offense, also has her blood sugar monitored and eats and supplements her intake at key times during the day to maintain her blood level.
At the other end of the pool, a new facility to match La Jolla High's beautiful Coggan Pool complex, Coach Nick Graffis's squad features Lily Larson, who scored four goals in a league-title thriller at Huntington Beach back in January. Madie Ambrose recorded 18 saves in that match against Huntington Beach, which tied Edison for the Wave League title, their fourth straight.
It's kind of like the Vikings dealing with long-time nemesis Bishop's, winners of 10 of the last 11 CIF San Diego Section championships. Edison won their second league title ever (sharing with HBHS) this winter, and wants to see how far they can go in the state playoffs.
Standouts besides Larson on the Chargers include sophomore Jillian Van Gemert; another Lily, this one Lily Worley; and Bridget Angelovic.
Edison finished second in CIF Southern Section to Yucaipa and sports a 16-11 record, many of those against top fellow teams.
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