Locals collect silver medal at Speedo Cup

COLUMBIA, Miss. — The Orange County Water Polo Club’s 14-and-under team, including five Newport Beach residents, finished second at USA Water Polo’s 14th annual Speedo Cup national championship that concluded Nov. 11 at the University of Missouri.

Newport Beach residents Charlie Howarth, Daniel Stevens, John Walters, James Walters and Ben Zepfel are all members of OCWPC’s under-14 boys’ team.

OCWPC, representing the Southern Pacific Zone, advanced to the championship game of the Speedo Cup, the premier water polo tournament in the country for boys and girls 14 and under. The San Juan Capistrano-based team then lost a tough game against SET of El Toro, 10-9 in a sudden-death shootout, to earn a silver medal.

Howarth also received the Jody Campbell award.

The Speedo Cup designates one Campbell award recipient from each participating team. Campbell was a member of the U.S. men’s 1984 and ’88 Olympic teams and was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1994.

The OCWPC 14-and-under team went 2-0 in its three-team pool at the tournament, defeating teams from Miami and Chicago. OCWPC then toppled teams from Naperville, Ill. (14-4) and Pasadena (11-9) before losing in the final.

— From staff reports