Flamson an All-American selection

Newport Harbor High alumni has been earning accolades and high

praise as the college fall sports season draws to an end.

Brooke Flamson, a Newport Harbor standout in girls soccer, closed

out a star-studded career at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo by earning

All-American honors.

Flamson has been the Big West Conference’s Defensive Player of the

Year the past two seasons. The Mustang senior was named to the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas Women’s NCAA

Division I All-America third team last week. Her recognition marks

the first time a Cal Poly women’s soccer player has been named a

Division I All-American since the Mustangs joined Division I in 1994.

Flamson didn’t stop there in regard to earning honors. She was

also named to the NSCAA All-West Region First Team. She anchored the

Mustangs’ defense that led the Big West in allowing only 0.75

goals-per-game. This past season, she scored three goals and recorded

one assist. She started all 60 games she played in during her three

years at Cal Poly.

The Mustangs finished with a 14-7 record this season, winning

their fourth Big West championship and appearing in the NCAA

Tournament for the third time in the last four years.

* April Ross became the NCAA West Regional MVP after leading USC

to a sweep over Pepperdine Friday night, advancing the Trojans in the

Final Four. Ross, one of the greatest volleyball players to go

through the successful Newport Harbor program, recorded 10 kills,

seven digs, three service aces and a career-high six blocks in the

30-24, 30-20, 30-17 win over the Waves at UC Santa Barbara. The

Trojans advance to the NCAA Final Four for the fifth time in program

history and first time since 2000.

Also in the Final Four -- The University of Hawaii and senior

Jennifer Carey, another product of Newport Harbor High.

* Aaron Peirsol, a 2000 Olympics silver medalist and a world

record-holder in the 200-meter backstroke, broke a meet record on the

final day of the Texas Invitational as the University of Texas men’s

and women’s swimming and diving teams both captured team titles Dec.

7.

Peirsol, the phenom from Newport Harbor, has been providing Texas

with plenty of victories this season. He posted a meet record time

and NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the 200-yard back in 1:41.34,

over two seconds faster than the previous meet record of 1:43.38, set

by Jim Wells in 1994.

* Eddie Johnson, a Newport Harbor product who was also regarded

as the best punter in Orange Coast College history, helped Idaho

State University earn its third consecutive net punting title in NCAA

I-AA football. The Bengals averaged 42.7 yard per punt net, with

Johnson averaging 46.2 yards per kick, which was fourth in NCAA I-AA.

NCAA net punting is figured by subtracting punt return yards allowed

from a teams’ gross punting total, and dividing by the total number

of punts.

* In UC Irvine women’s basketball: This should be a big week for

the Anteaters, who play today at 5 p.m. at Birmingham Southern. UCI

Coach Mark Adam’s women’s basketball team will wrap up the week by

hosting Creighton Friday and also Air Force Academy Saturday.

Why is this week important for the Anteaters? Well, UCI is 4-1 on

the season and this week’s contests should go a long way as far as

providing momentum, confidence and a winning habit. Last year, the

Anteaters finished 8-20.

UCI has been strong in the clutch. In the last three wins, they

have outscored opponents, 32-19, in the final five minutes of

regulation.