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.