Who said days of summer are lazy?

Much success has followed Newport-Mesa’s youth this summer as

several teams and individuals have showed why this is such a breeding

ground for athletes.

Their inspired play has given us here at the Pilot much to write

about during the sometimes slow summer days.

Whether it be boys and girls swimming in the Harbor View-Newport

Hills annual rivalry at the South Coast Swim Conference Finals or a

certain pitcher throwing a perfect game in the Mayor’s Cup, this

summer has provided our area’s youth the chance to shine in the

sports they love.

Let’s start with the Slammers, a Newport Beach-based girls

14-and-under soccer team that won first place in their division in

July at the 2002 Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in

Germantown, Md.

The Slammers defeated the Bethesda Eclipse, 2-1, in the final as

striker Alexa Orand scored the game-winning goal in the 34th minute

after Krysten Bradshaw tied the game with a goal in the 23rd minute.

The Slammers reached the finals after scoring two victories and a

1-1 tie in the tournament and beat the Arizona state champion in Salt

Lake City to qualify for the National Championships.

Coaches, state representatives and the National Championship

Committee selected Slammers’ goalkeeper Christi Yount as the

recipient of the Adidas Goalkeeper Award.

*Players have turned in some remarkable matches on the tennis

courts so far this summer, none more heart-stopping and

nerve-rattling than when Kaes Van’t Hof, the No. 2 seed in boys 18s

singles, made a rousing comeback against unseeded Kyle McDonald to

win the boys 18s singles title, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3), in War by

the Shore Junior Tennis Classic July 22-26 at The Balboa Bay Club

Racquet Club.

The Newport Beach resident and junior-to-be at Mater Dei High was

down one set and 5-2 in the second set, before he showed his

resiliency, breaking McDonald three times to win the set and

eventually the match.

After the match Van’t Hof said he had never been down that far and

came back to win a match, but was humble in his acceptance of the

12-inch tall hand-cut lead crystal vase awarded to the champion in

each age division, merely smiling and shaking hands with fans

congratulating him on his victory.

Newport Harbor’s girls tennis team should profit big time next

season if play by two girls at the recent Costa Mesa Junior Tennis

Classic is any indication.

Newport Harbor junior-to-be Vanessa Dunlap won the girls 16s

singles title over Newprot Harbor teammate Diana Khoury, 6-4, 6-2, in

the Costa Mesa Junior Tennis Classic last week as the two Sailors

teamed later in the day to capture the girls 16s doubles crown with a

6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over Bonnie Adams (Newport Harbor) and Jamie Steele

(Corona del Mar) in the first time Dunlap and Khoury played doubles

together.

Newport Beach’s Jake Fleming also won a singles title at the Costa

Mesa tournament in boys 14s singles, defeating Irvine’s Silvio Chiba,

6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2.

*In swimming, the Harbor View Dolphins took first in the South

Coast Swim Conference Finals Aug. 3 at El Toro High, garnering 1,609

combined points, 147 points better than second-place Lake Forest II

as Newport Hills took fourth overall with 1,189.50 points in the last

meet of the season.

Coach Ted Bandaruk’s Harbor View Swim Club team collected 19

individual victories and 18 wins in relay events throughout the age

divisions while Coach Greg Roberts’ Newport Hills squad collected 12

individual wins to go along with nine relay wins.

Among the standouts of the day included record-breaking

performances by Harbor View swimmers Matt Berry and Katie Indvik.

Berry set two records in the 50-yard freestyle and 25 back (17.81)

in the boys 7- and 8-year-old division.

Indvik broke three records in the girls 13-14 age bracket, winning

the 100 individual medley (1:05.50), the 50 butterfly (28.87) and the

50 breaststroke (33.34).

Many of the swimmers that competed Saturday have been swimming for

Newport Hills and Harbor View since they were toddlers and in

speaking with Bandaruk and Roberts at the annual meet between the two

programs a few weeks ago, both emphasized how much they enjoy

coaching swimmers that someday go on to play for Newport Harbor High

and Corona del Mar.

*The So Cal Storm, a 12-and-under traveling baseball team

comprised of players from Costa Mesa and Long Beach is currently

competing in the Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament in Cooperstown,

N.Y.

They began the single-elimination part of the tournament

Wednesday.

Costa Mesa resident Brandon Maurer is a member of the Storm and

threw a perfect game for the Costa Mesa National Little League

All-Stars against Costa Mesa American’s All-Stars July 30 in the

first game of the sixth annual Mayor’s Cup that pits the American

All-Stars vs. the National All-Stars.

Maurer was remarkable, striking out 13 as he struck out he side in

the both the second and third innings.

He used 64 pitches to stake Costa Mesa National to a 1-0 series

lead and they won the best-of-three series a day later in four

innings with the 10-run mercy rule, 11-0.

The Pacific Coast Girls Fastpitch 14-and-under softball team

Riptide is currently playing in the Triple Crown World Series Aug.

6-11 in Steamboat Springs, Colo., after finishing third at a

qualifying tournament Feb. 9 at Bonita Creek, their home field. More

than 40 teams are competing in a double-elimination tournament for

the top three teams in each pool as other teams that advance play a

single-elimination format.

*The first-year Newport Waves just returned home from their trip

to the 11-and-Under Travel Ball World Series in Overland Park, Kan.,

where they went 1-3. The No. 1-ranked team in California lost their

three games by a combined five runs.

“It was a hard way to finish and we came away saying to ourselves,

‘This stinks,’ but it was a good experience and taught our kids a

lot,” said Waves Manager Michael Griffin.

After games players swam in the hotel’s pool to cool off from

temperatures that Griffin said reached 104 degrees.

“(The traveling) was a rude awakening for us,” Griffin said. “Some

teams had to travel from Puerto Rico, but then there were others that

drove (from cities) in the Midwest.”

The Waves are now 54-15-1 in their inaugural year that continues

Saturday and Sunday at the 11-and-Under State Championships at Mile

Square Park in Fountain Valley.

Good luck to all teams still competing! Savor the rest of the

summer and these dog days we’re in.