Palchikoff sets future with Bruins

Recent Corona del Mar High graduate Nik Palchikoff, a two-time

All-Newport-Mesa outfielder who helped the Sea Kings win the CIF

Southern Section Division IV title this past season, has verbally

committed to continue his baseball career at UCLA, he announced

Thursday.

Palchikoff, a lifelong UCLA fan, said the Bruins were his No. 1

choice, after also receiving recruiting interest from San Diego

State, Cal, Arizona and UC Davis.

Palchikoff hit .321 with five home runs and a team-leading 31 RBIs

for the Sea Kings in 2004. In two varsity seasons, he hit .345 (50

for 145) with nine homers, 50 RBIs, 53 runs and eight stolen bases.

He said he has not yet declared a major.

-- Barry Faulkner

Sprowl an All-American

* BASEBALL: Barrett Sprowl, a recent graduate of Corona del Mar

High and the CIF Southern Section Division IV Baseball Player of the

Year, has been named to the Louisville Slugger High School

All-American team by Collegiate Baseball, which honors the top 36

players in the nation.

Sprowl, a first baseman who plans to try out for the team at USC

next season, led the Sea Kings with 53 hits, 15 doubles and a .500

batting average.

Sharapova advances to final

* TENNIS: Maria Sharapova, who will play for the Newport Beach

Breakers for a second consecutive year in World Team Tennis, has

advanced to the Wimbledon singles final.

The 17 year-old Russian defeated 1999 Wimbledon champion and

former Newport Beach resident Lindsay Davenport, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1,

in Thursday’s semifinals. Sharapova is the youngest Wimbledon

finalist since Martina Hingis, who won the title in 1997 at 16.

Sharapova, the No. 13 seed, will face top-seeded Serena Williams

Saturday on centre court.

Top junior sailors to compete

* SAILING: Yacht clubs from the U.S. and overseas will be sending

their top junior sailors to this year’s Balboa Yacht Club Governor’s

Cup.

In addition to teams from Spain, New Zealand and Australia, eight

teams from throughout the U.S. will participate. The event, which is

the premier international junior match-racing championship in the

United States, will be held in the waters off Newport Beach July

19-24.

Balboa Yacht Club, as host of the Governor’s Cup, invites 12 yacht

club teams of three junior sailors each to match race identical

yachts for four days of intense round-robin competition. Nineteen

teams applied for this prestigious event. This year, for the 38th

annual running of the event, the competitors will be: Annapolis Yacht

Club, Annapolis, Md.; Balboa Yacht Club, Corona del Mar; Club Nautico

Javea, Alicante, Spain; Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, NSW,

Australia; Del Rey Yacht Club, Marina del Rey; Kaneohe Yacht Club,

Kaneohe, Hawaii; King Harbor Yacht Club, Redondo Beach; Newport

Harbor Yacht Club, Balboa Peninsula; Royal New Zealand Yacht

Squadron, Auckland, New Zealand; Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, NSW,

Australia; St. Petersburg Yacht Club, St. Petersburg, Fla.; United

States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y.

The Deed of Gift for the Governor’s Cup was granted in 1967 by

then Governor and later President Ronald Reagan. World class sailors

Paul Cayard, John Kostecki, Kelvin Harrap and Gavin Brady, among many

throughout the world, have emerged from this race to dominate the

America’s Cup and many other international competitions.

The regatta is recognized by U.S. Sailing as the United States

junior match-race championship. The top American team will be awarded

the 2004 U.S. Sailing’s junior match-racing championship golf medals

and be invited to the international youth match-race series in New

Zealand.

The yachts to be used will be modern, lightweight 21-foot sloops,

designed by internationally recognized yacht designer and BYC member

Alan Andrews, with sails by former Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and

BYC member Dave Ullman. The construction of the fleet was funded

entirely through the generous contributions of members of Balboa

Yacht Club.