Rivals are now Bruins

Childhood friends who became water polo stars at Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar will be teammates at UCLA.Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo phenom Clay Jorth and Corona del Mar boys’ water polo star Jacob Murphy grew up friends. The two were junior lifeguards together and hung out at the beach.

Then Jorth went to Newport Harbor and Murphy went to Corona del Mar and they became rivals -- in the pool anyway.

Jorth and Murphy were in each other’s company again recently when they took a recruiting trip to UCLA together. Jorth was also considering USC and Cal. Murphy also had his eyes on UC Santa Barbara, Cal and Brown.

But in the end, they both chose to be Bruins. Both players signed letters on intent with UCLA on Tuesday.

“It was a hard choice -- USC, Cal and UCLA were all in the running,” Jorth said. “Each school has a great water polo program and academics. You can’t go wrong with any choice. Ultimately it came down to a gut feeling. I guess you can say I felt most comfortable at UCLA.”

Murphy said Cal was a close second, but familiarity was a factor in picking UCLA. Bruins’ assistant coach Matt Flesher used to be an assistant at Corona del Mar.

“I’ve always felt that Los Angeles is my home and I really like the coaching staff,” Murphy said. “Matt Flesher and Adam Krikorian are great coaches and I really like the guys on the team a lot.”

Murphy, who combined with teammate Tom Money to score close to 200 goals last season when the Sea Kings reached the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals before losing to Jorth and the Sailors, will now get a chance to play against Money, who signed with USC.

“Aside from scrimmages in practice, I don’t think I’ve ever played against him,” Murphy said. “It’ll be weird. But to tell you the truth, I can’t wait.”

Murphy, a first-team All-CIF Division I selection, is not a natural two-meter man, but he developed into a good one when Corona del Mar needed him to be. He said at UCLA, he expects to be a two-meter defender or a utility player.

Jorth had 48 goals and led Newport Harbor in assists despite missing part of the season to play for Team USA in the Junior World Championships in October. Jorth was also playing with a bum knee. Five weeks ago, he had surgery on a torn ACL in his left knee.

“I actually tore it in the summer, but decided to play out the season before having surgery,” Jorth said. “It was a little loose at times and I don’t think I had the legs I used to have, but now it’ll be strong and ready to go for college.”