Peninsula tops Tars in title game
The Newport Harbor High softball team committed five errors that led
to five unearned runs in a 5-1 loss to Peninsula in the title game of
the Cypress tournament Saturday at Arnold Cypress Park.
Senior pitcher Ashley Gleason was victimized by the fielding
miscues, as she absorbed her first loss in three decisions, despite
striking out nine and allowing just three hits.
Gleason tripled and scored on Casey Lucas’ groundout for the Tars’
only run.
The Tars defeated St. Joseph of Lakewood, 1-0, in the championship
semifinals Saturday, as freshman Jane Messersmith pitched a two-hit
shutout for her first varsity victory.
Messersmith struck out five and walked only two.
Gleason tripled on the second pitch of the game and scored on a
Lucas single.
Gleason, Messersmith and Lucas earned all-tournament recognition.
Cypress tournament
Championship
Peninsula 6,
Newport Harbor 1
Score by Innings
*--*
Pen. 0 0 3 0 0 2 1 - 6 3 0
NH 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 5 5
*--*
Alnes and Kadota; Gleason and Bass. W -- Alnes. L -- Gleason, 2-1.
2B -- Yuraguchi (P). 3B -- Gleason (NH).
Schmidt recognized
* BASKETBALL: Vanguard University sophomore Kelly Schmidt tops a
list of Lions recognized All-Golden State Athletic Conference in
women’s basketball as Player of the Year.
Schmidt, a 6-foot forward, is joined on the first team by senior
point guard Lisa Faulkner and sophomore center Rachel Besse.
Vanguard’s Russ Davis, who led the Lions to their third straight
conference crown, is the Coach of the Year.
Schmidt led conference scorers by averaging 21.6 points per game
and also chipped in 7.5 rebounds per contest. She shot 53% from the
field in the regular season.
Faulkner, the Player of the Year last season in the GSAC, averages
more than 10 assists per game, tops in the NAIA. A first-team
All-American as a junior, she averaged 12.9 points and 3.8 rebounds
in the regular season.
Besse, 6-3, averaged 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds and shot 53.3%
from the field. She is also an imposing defender and talented shot
blocker.
It is the fourth time in eight seasons Davis has been named Coach
of the Year.
Wright Academy MVP
* BASKETBALL: Sage Hill School junior Haywood Wright has been
named Most Valuable Player in the Academy League by the league’s
coaches.
Wright, a 6-foot-2 forward, averaged 11.3 points to help the
Lightning share the league crown with Brethren Christian.
Sage senior Katie Puishys joined Wright as a first-team performer.
Sophomore Kaitlin Tyre and freshman Katie McKeon represent the
Lightning on the second team.
Senior Vicky Gutierrez received honorable mention.
Estancia places fifth
* VOLLEYBALL: The Estancia High boys volleyball team finished
fifth at the 32-team Foothill tournament following three wins Saturda
at the Saddleback Volleyball Center in Lake Forest.
The Eagles defeated Laguna Hills, 25-20, 25-19, Century, 25-19,
25-12, and University, 19-24, 25-16, 15-11.
The Eagles, who were playing without some of their players for the
first half of the day due to the SAT, lost to Laguna Beach, 24-26,
24-18, 15-9, Saturday.
Estancia plays host to Orange in the Golden West League opener
Wednesday at 5 p.m.
UCI edges Loyola
* TENNIS: The UC Irvine women’s tennis team defeated Loyola
Marymount, 5-2, Saturday in a nonconference match at Anteater Tennis
Stadium.
Inna Agababian and Anna Bentzer defeated Kimi Kaloi and Tamara
Tanner, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles for UCI (6-7), and Hui Leow and Becky
Bernhard defeated Serena Fermin and Erin Ivey at No. 2 doubles to
earn the doubles point.
Bentzer swept Fermin, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 singles as Agababian
defeated Ivey, 6-4, 0-6, 7-5, at No. 4 singles and Bernhard defeated
Patrycia Hubl, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 5 singles.
Izabela Mijic defeated Tanner, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 2 singles to give
the Anteaters the victory.
UCI will play host the University of Central Florida Tuesday at
1:30 p.m.
Lions split twin bill
* SOFTBALL: The Vanguard University softball team split a
doubleheader against visiting Azusa Pacific Saturday in Golden State
Athletic Conference action.
The Lions were victorious in the opening game, 8-6, thanks to a
3-for-4 performance at the plate by designated hitter Heather Durham.
Durham had an RBI triple in the first inning and eventually scored on
a throwing error.
Jennifer Olvera hit a bases-loaded, two-run single up the middle
as part of a five-run fifth inning that gave Vanguard a 7-1 lead to
help the Lions hold off held off a four-run seventh inning by the
Cougars.
First baseman Lauren Manriquez gave Vanguard a 1-0 lead in the
first inning of the second game when she singled home Olvera and
Olvera’s single to left scored Durham in the third inning for a 2-0
advantage.
But the Cougars, who improve to 20-4 and 2-2 in the conference,
scored three times in the fifth on two Vanguard errors for the
eventual game-winning runs.
Vanguard (4-12, 2-4) plays at Bethany Monday at 1 p.m. in a
nonconference game.
Golden State
Athletic Conference
Game 1
Vanguard 8,
Azusa Pacific 6
Score by Innings
*--*
APU 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 - 6 8 2
VU 2 0 5 0 0 1 x - 8 10 1
*--*
Franks and Mickelson; Olvera, Rynda (5), Emmel (7) and Benson. W
-- Olvera, 3-1. L -- Franks, 10-3. Sv -- Emmel (2). 2B -- M. Alkire
(AP), R. Alkire (AP), Yoshizu (AP), Mauro (V), Manriquez (V), Smith
(V). 3B -- Durham (V).
Game 2
Azusa Pacific 3,
Vanguard 2
Score by Innings
*--*
APU 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 - 3 6 1
VU 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 - 2 7 3
*--*
M. Alkire. and Paxton; Mahan, Keltner (5) and Benson. W -- M.
Alkire, 2-0. L -- Mahan, 0-5. 2B -- Durham (V), Olvera (V), Dyer (V).
Sage quartet shines
* SOCCER: Sage Hill School has four girls soccer players named
first-team All-Academy League by the circuit’s coaches.
Lightning seniors Rebecca Gordon and Laura Gordon, along with
sophomore Emily Webb and freshman Kellee Kim, are first-team
honorees.
Senior Amy Werblin, sophomore Kara Percival, and freshman Claire
Josephson are second-team choices.
The Lightning standouts helped the team post a 21-1-1 record
heading into Tuesday’s CIF Southern Section semifinal against
top-seeded Arrowhead Christian.
CdM finishes 18th
* VOLLEYBALL: The Corona del Mar High boys volleyball team went
3-1 to advance to the Bronze Final of the San Diego Tournament of
Champions Saturday at Carlsbad High.
CdM beat South Torrance, 25-17, 26-24, in the morning match,
followed by a, 25-19, 25-10, win over Royal.
The Sea Kings edged powerhouse Loyola, which is ranked No. 3 in
CIF Southern Section Division I, 25-17, 15-25, 15-13.
The Sea Kings, ranked No. 4 in Division II, lost, 21-25, 25-14,
15-9, to Long Beach Wilson in the Bronze Final to finish 18th out of
40 teams.
CdM, which improves to 8-3, finished 5-3 in the two-day
tournament.
Senior outside hitter Tom Welch had 23 kills on the day, but his
twin brother, Kevin, registered a day-high 16 kills against Loyola.
Setter Phil Bannon had 66 assists in first three matches while
Grant Almquist finished with 21 assists against Wilson.
The Sea Kings play at Irvine Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
UCI is upset victim
* VOLLEYBALL: Unraked USC earned a 30-23, 30-27, 39-37 upset
victory over visiting UC Irvine, ranked No. 12, in a Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation men’s volleyball match Saturday.
USC (6-17, 2-13 in conference) overcame a 21-16 deficit in the
third game to hand the Anteaters (6-17, 4-12) their eighth straight
loss.
Matt Webber and Jayson Jablonsky had 14 and 13 kills, respectively, for UCI, and setter Brian Thornton had 93 assists.
Chichester singled out
* ATHLETICS: UC Irvine Athletic Director Bob Chichester is
included in Blake Enterprise magazine’s list of the 50 Most Powerful
Blacks in sports.
Chichester is among seven college athletic directors honored on
the list that includes agents, promoters, athletes, corporate
executives and owners.
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