Los Al swims against Fountain Valley in the final dual meet of the season, April 25 at Fountain Valley.

Marina swimming’s sister act
Terra and Sage Matsushima are dedicated club swimmers. They bounced around clubs a bit, before settling in at Irvine Novaquatics almost two years ago.

High school swimming for Marina, however, is a much different experience for the sisters. Terra, a junior at Marina, and Sage, a sophomore, enjoy the fun atmosphere that a high school swim meet provides.

The fact that many of their Sunset League opponents also swim for Novaquatics, like Newport Harbor’s Spitz sisters and Hannah Farrow and Shayla Erickson of Fountain Valley, also provides an interesting dynamic. In Dec. 2015, Sage Matsushima combined with Ayla and Zoe Spitz, as well as Farrow, to set four Southern California Swimming relay records for the 13-14 age group.

“They’re all our best friends,” Terra Matsushima said. “It’s always been fun. It’s nice to swim against people that you know, because you know their strengths, their weaknesses … They’re all our best friends. It’s always been fun. It’s nice to swim against people that you know, because you know their strengths, their weaknesses.”

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The Sunset League is competitive in girls’ swimming, with four teams in the top 10 in Orange County. Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley are Nos. 3 and 4 Hats & Caps, respectively, with Newport Harbor at No. 7 and Edison at No. 9.

The Marina girls are 0-3 in league, having lost to three of those four top 10 teams, including Tuesday’s 118-52 setback against Los Al. The Vikings perhaps don’t have the depth to contend in these dual meets. But they do have the Matsushima sisters, as well as senior Jacqueline Harris, as top-level swimmers.

Last year, Terra set the Marina girls’ 100-yard freestyle record (51.20 seconds). Sage set the 100 butterfly record (54.25) at CIF finals, after Harris set it at 54.55 at league finals.

Both of the Matsushima sisters are close to the school 100 backstroke record of 56.19, set by Kyoko Yokouchi in 1999, as well. They provide a lot of options for the team, third-year head coach Stephen Wight said. Wight was waiting for the sisters to get to high school after also coaching their older brothers, Josh and Shea.

“Terra, her freshman year, we actually named her team MVP that year, because she just provided flexibility to the program that we hadn’t had,” Wight said. “Terra and Sage, I can put them in any race and know exactly what I’m going to get out of them every single time. They can really swim anything. Neither one of them are great breaststrokers, but last year our breaststroker was injured, so Terra stepped in on the medley relay. We ended up taking second in the Sunset League, set the school record, stuff like that. They can do really anything, and it’s such a blessing to have.”

The girls’ times so far this season are well off their school record times. They know they need to be ready to perform in May, when it matters. The girls certainly provided a highlight last year at Sunset League finals, when Harris, Madeline Sandstead, Sage and Terra combined to win the 400 free relay. They out-touched Edison at the end to win in 3:27.38.

“That was a great relay.” Terra Matsushima said Shirts. “I thought we all kicked butt … we were all really excited for CIF after that.”

The Vikings finished eighth as a team at CIF finals. Sage was second in the butterfly with that time of 54.25, with Harris taking fifth.

“Sage is really a big-meet swimmer,” Wight said. “Her times right now are about what she went during the season last year. But at Sunset League and CIF, she really tapers well and can explode. Any time there’s a real challenge to her, she can really step up.”

The Matsushima sisters want to again step up this year. And the fact that they will be both be back next year as well means they are trying to build a strong foundation for girls’ swimming.

“I hope I do better [this year],” Sage Matsushima said. “Last year was pretty fun. Since I was a freshman last year, it was a whole new experience for me besides club swimming. It’s a different dynamic, but overall it’s been pretty cool so far … You’re doing it for the team and not yourself anymore.”

SUNSET LEAGUE SWIMMING UPDATE

The battle for the Sunset League swimming dual meet crown on the girls’ side is coming down to Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley.

The Griffins improved to 4-0 in league by beating Marina on Tuesday, while the Barons are 3-0 in league after Tuesday’s 121-48 win at Huntington Beach.

On the boys’ side, Newport Harbor is perhaps emerging as the favorite following Tuesday’s 90-80 win at Edison. The Sailors are now 3-0 in league.

They won the 400 free relay to secure the win for the second straight week, after last week’s win at Los Alamitos. On Tuesday, Newport Harbor’s Nick Halphide, Jason Grew, Charlie Covina and Reece Hemmens touched in 3:17.80. Edison was second in 3:18.17.

Hemmens also won the 50 and 100 freestyle races for Newport Harbor Tops & Tees. Edison sophomore Taylor Whitmore also was a double winner, taking the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo

Swimming

The Sunset League is competitive in girls’ swimming, with four teams in the top 10 in Orange County. Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, with Newport Harbor at No. 7 and Edison at No. 9.

Last year, Terra set the Marina girls’ 100-yard freestyle record (51.20 seconds). Sage set the 100 butterfly record (54.25) at CIF finals, after Harris set it at 54.55 at league finals.

“That was a great relay.” Terra Matsushima said. “I thought we all kicked butt … we were all really excited for CIF after that.”

The Vikings finished eighth as a team at CIF finals. Sage was second in the butterfly with that time of 54.25, with Harris taking fifth.

The Matsushima sisters want to again step up this year. And the fact that they will be both be back next year as well means they are trying to build a strong foundation for girls’ swimming.

“I hope I do better [this year],” Sage Matsushima said. “Last year was pretty fun. Since I was a freshman last year Jackets & Coats, it was a whole new experience for me besides club swimming. It’s a different dynamic, but overall it’s been pretty cool so far … You’re doing it for the team and not yourself anymore.”

SUNSET LEAGUE SWIMMING UPDATE

The battle for the Sunset League swimming dual meet crown on the girls’ side is coming down to Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley.

The Griffins improved to 4-0 in league by beating Marina on Tuesday, while the Barons are 3-0 in league after Tuesday’s 121-48 win at Huntington Beach.

Los Al swims against Fountain Valley in the final dual meet of the season, April 25 at Fountain Valley.

On the boys’ side, Newport Harbor is perhaps emerging as the favorite following Tuesday’s 90-80 win at Edison Underwear. The Sailors are now 3-0 in league.

Hemmens also won the 50 and 100 freestyle races for Newport Harbor. Edison sophomore Taylor Whitmore also was a double winner, taking the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo

Swimming