High School Water Polo Playoffs : Robinson Leads Royal Past Crespi in Opening Round, 13-6

Senior Steve Robinson scored 5 goals to lead Royal to a 13-6 victory over Crespi on Wednesday in the first round of the Southern Section 3-A Division water polo playoffs at Royal.

Devon Hurst added 4 goals, Andy Harding scored 2 and Todd Hurst and Martin Duncan each had 1 for Royal (16-6). Goalie Mike Joel made 10 saves.

The Highlanders, who under Coach Steve Snyder have qualified for the playoffs as Marmonte League champions for 8 consecutive seasons but never advanced past the second round, will meet Edison in a second-round match Friday. A coin flip this morning will determine the home team.

Royal raced to an 8-2 halftime lead and was never threatened by the Celts, whose 1981 2-A water polo title is the most recent by a Valley team.

Tom Woiwode scored 2 goals for Crespi.

Santa Monica 13, Thousand Oaks 3--The Lancers (9-10), second-place finishers in the Marmonte League, fell behind, 8-1, at halftime and were ousted in the first-round 3-A match at Santa Monica.

The Lancer goals were scored by juniors Jeff Warshaw, Steve Armstrong and Jason Helliwell.

Costa Mesa 9, Westlake 8--Costa Mesa, the defending 2-A champion, was extended before defeating Westlake (11-8), the third-place entry from the Marmonte League, at Costa Mesa.

Capistrano Valley 13, Glendale 8--The second-seeded Cougars dumped Glendale (11-13) in the first round of the 3-A playoffs at Capistrano Valley.

Palos Verdes 12, Crescenta Valley 7--The Bay League’s No. 1 representative had no problem with Crescenta Valley (15-6) in the first-round 3-A match.