Costa Mesa sends seven to CIF Division I finals

* WRESTLING: Seven Costa Mesa High wrestlers qualified for the CIF

Division I finals Feb. 21-22 following their efforts at Golden West

League finals Thursday at Santa Ana High.

Because of injuries, Mesa only suited eight wrestlers in the 14

possible weight classes.

Carlos Ibarra (103 pounds), Silvio Estrada (130), Matt Grubisich

(140), Jesse Franco (145), Adam Donovan (152), Mike Simonoff (160)

and Sergio Cabrera (135) all advanced to the finals Thursday before

losing and will compete at Westminster High in the CIF individual

finals at Westminster High.

Mesa wrestlers faced stiff competition. Franco lost to Santa Ana’s

Scott Becerra (ranked sixth in the state) and Simonoff dropped his

match to Ray Mueller, who is rated fourth in the state and also

attends Santa Ana.

Mesa, along with Calvary Chapel, Santa Ana and El Modena, will

travel to Temecula Valley High School for Saturday’s CIF Division I

meet that will feature the top 16 teams in the division.

Friedrichs paces Sage Hill victory

* BOYS SOCCER: Two goals from Zach Friedrichs paced host Sage

Hill School to a 4-2 Academy League win over Oxford Academy Thursday.

Sam Sankuchen assisted on Zack Milder’s goal in the 25th minute to

give the hosts a 1-0 lead. In the 37th minute, Anthony Kinaly’s shot

hit the post but rebounded toward Chris Chiboucas, who put it in for

Sage Hill’s third goal.

The Lightning (8-5-5, 3-3-5 in league) dominated play, said Coach

Noureddine El Alam.

Ethan Tanney made eight saves and Cesar Arriaga stopped three

shots in goal for the Lightning, who finish second in league with

Whitney’s loss Thursday to St. Margaret’s.

“Depending on the St. Margaret’s game we didn’t know if we were

going to be second or third,” El Alam said. “If Whitney would have

won and Oxford beaten or tied us, we would have been out. It turned

out to be a great day.”

Sage Hill advances to the CIF Southern Section Division VI

Playoffs next week.

Roeser’s goal lifts Sage Hill, 9-8

* GIRLS WATER POLO: A last-second goal by Stephanie Roeser at

two meters gave the Sage Hill School girls water polo team a 9-8

nonleague triumph over visiting Los Amigos Thursday at Corona del Mar

High.

Hayden Hutchison scored six goals and Brittany Forest added one

for the Lightning (9-7) in its final regular-season game.

Sage Hill goalkeeper Kira Neal made nine saves.

Sage Hill will look forward to getting a possible at-large berth

in the CIF Southern Section Division V Playoffs.

*--*

Nonleague

Sage Hill 9, Los Amigos 8

Score by Quarters

Los Amigos 4 1 2 1 -- 8

Sage Hill 1 5 2 1 -- 9

Los Amigos -- Yarina 5. Sage Hill -- Hutchison 6,

Stephanie Roeser 2, Brittany Forest 1. Saves --

Neal, 9

*--*

Anteaters’ Gabbe named Big West Conference Scholar Athlete of Year

* HONORS: UC Irvine’s Wendy Gabbe, the lone senior on the

Anteaters’ women’s basketball team, has been named the UCI/Big West

Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Gabbe, an English major, will be honored at a banquet held March

13 at the Coast Anaheim Hotel. She is the third women’s basketball

player to earn this award, joining Leticia Oseguera (1996-97 and

1997-98) and Shannon Anders (1999-2000).

UC Irvine Slobounov is Big West Conference Co-Athlete of Week

* HONORS: UC Irvine Sophomore Gonny Shimura has been named the

Big West Co-Athlete of the Week for his performances at Cal Poly and

UC Santa Barbara last week. Shimura won the 100-yard butterfly

(51.50) and the 200 backstroke (1:52.28) against UC Santa Barbara in

a close meet. He won the 100 back (53.15) against Cal Poly, helping

lead the way to a 122-96 win for the ‘Eaters.

The Anteaters will next be in the pool at the Big West

Championships that will be held February 26-28 at Belmont Plaza in

Belmont Shore.