UCI earns NCAA berth

The UC Irvine women’s golf team earned the program’s first trip to

the NCAA finals by finishing tied for sixth Saturday at the NCAA West

regional at New Mexico State.

The Anteaters shot 298 Saturday and 906 for the three-day, 54-hole

tournament. It was their best 18-hole score of the tournament, having

shot 308 Thursday and 300 Friday.

Junior Carling Cho placed 20th with a score of 75-76-74--225 to

lead the Anteaters.

Freshman Jane Chin (78-74-74) and freshman Selanee Henderson

(79-74-73) tied for 26th with a 226 total.

Junior Angela Won (76-76-77) was 40th after carding a 229, while

freshman Kim Lorenzana placed 95th with a score of 84-77-81--242.

The top eight teams advanced from the regional to the NCAA finals,

scheduled May 17-20 at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.

UCLA and Tennessee tied for top team honors at the regional, both

finishing at 889. California (891), USC (892) and Oklahoma State

(898) rounded out the top five.

BYU shared sixth place with UCI, while Stanford (908) finished

eighth to grab the region’s last berth in the NCAA finals.

OCC’s Valdez triples

* TRACK AND FIELD: Orange Coast College sophomore Ludi Valdez won

three women’s events to lead a host of strong performances by Pirates

Saturday at the Southern California Community College track and field

championships Saturday at Saddleback College.

Valdez, an Estancia High product and a two-time state cross

country champion for the Pirates, won the 1,500 meters (4 minutes,

40.21 seconds) and also topped the field in the 5,000 and 10,000,

with times of 18:23.33 and 37:47.40, respectively.

Chavez elected not to try to defender her SoCal championship in

the 3,000 steeplechase.

Orange Coast sophomore Humberto Rojas, also an Estancia product,

won the men’s 1,500 in 3:54.35, but did not finish in the 5,000 and

did not compete in the 10,000 or the 3,000 steeplechase. Rojas

finished third in the 1,500 at the SoCal championships as a freshman.

OCC freshman Gabriela Santana was third in the women’s 1,500 in

4:44.38 and the 10,000 in 38.42.49. She also finished fourth in the

5,000 in 18:36.80.

Freshman Chris Burbach, the Orange Empire Conference champion in

the javelin, finished third in that event Saturday with a mark of 180

feet.

Freshman Aabria Lipscomb, the Orange Empire champion in the

women’s discus throw, was third in that event with a heave of 133-9.

She also finished ninth in the shot put (37-1 1/2 ).

Jose Casillas, a freshman out of Estancia, placed third in the

10,000 and fourth in the 5,000 with times of 31:43.33 and 15:14.83,

respectively, for the OCC men.

OCC sophomore Jason Valenzuela, the conference champion in the

men’s 3,000 steeplechase, was fourth in that event (9:44.86), while

sophomore teammate Patrick Fitzgerald was fifth in the steeplechase

(9:45.86).

Freshman Jewel Butler (4:47.56 in the 1,500), sophomore Joanna

Williams (5-0 in the high jump), and Tayler Cusick (36-2 1/2 in the

triple jump) each finished fifth in their respective women’s events.

The top six in the distance events, as well as all field events,

advanced to the State championships, scheduled Friday and Saturday at

American River College in Sacramento.

UCI holds off Tigers

* BASEBALL: UC Irvine held on to defeat host University of he

Pacific, 8-6, in a Big West Conference baseball game Saturday in

Stockton.

The Anteaters (21-17, 7-7 in conference) built a 5-1 lead over the

Tigers, who rallied to win the series opener, 6-5, Friday.

UOP (21-17, 6-11) rallied once again Saturday, scoring three in

the seventh and loading the bases after plating another run in the

eighth. But All-American closer Blair Erickson ended the

eighth-inning uprising by striking out center fielder Ramon Glasgow

to protect the Anteaters’ lead.

After a one-out ninth-inning single by UOP catcher Brandon

Gauttier, who homered and drove in two for the hosts, Erickson

induced a double play to record his eighth save.

Erickson’s relief effort, striking out three in 1 2/3 innings,

allowed starter Justin Cassel to earn the win for the fourth time in

his last four starts.

Cassel, now 7-2, breezed into the seventh, allowing just two runs.

But he wound up allowing five earned runs and seven hits in seven

innings, striking out four.

UCI leadoff man Ollie Linton, a freshman center fielder, went 3

for 5 with two doubles and drove in two to pace the visitors’ 11-hit

attack.

UCI junior catcher Mark Wagner extended his hitting streak to 13

games with a 2-for-5 day, while senior second baseman Brett Dalton

continued his recent hot stretch by going 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Fleming advances

* TENNIS: Newport Harbor High boys tennis sophomore Jake Fleming

finished second in the Sea View League individual championships

Thursday at Woodbridge to qualify for the CIF Southern Section

postseason.

Fleming defeated Woodbridge’s Shimpei Suzuki, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, in a

semifinal match but lost, 6-2, 6-1, in the championship match to

Woodbridge’s Michael McClune, ranked No. 19 in United States Tennis

Association boys 16s.

Fleming, who finished the season 42-5 in singles, will begin CIF

play May 20.

Sailors make statement

* LACROSSE: Junior Trent Sladics scored four goals while senior

Kyle Brown tallied three goals and an assist to lead the Newport

Harbor lacrosse team to an 8-3 come-from-behind victory over Corona

del Mar Thursday at Peninsula Park in Newport Beach.

The Sea Kings led, 2-1, before Newport scored seven straight goals

to take a commanding lead.

Donnie Hoover added a goal and one assist while Bobby Ward

(assist), Eric Dobson (two assists) and Stuart Ashurst (assist)

contributed to the scoring. Goalkeeper Andrew Morris made nine saves.

Newport advances to the playoffs against El Toro on at 5 p.m.

Thursday, at Serrano Middle School in Lake Forest.

Amiee misses cut

* GOLF: Newport Beach resident Danielle Amiee, playing in her

first LPGA tournament, did not make the cut after 36 holes of the

Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill Golf Club’s River Course in

Williamsburg, Va.

Amiee finished 14-over-par (79-77 -- 156) on the par-71 layout.

Rain washed out play Friday, forcing players to complete their second

rounds Saturday. All players who shot 4 over or better made the cut.

Amiee earned exemption into two LPGA tournaments by virtue of her

victory on the television series, “Big Break III: Ladies Only,” which

aired on the Golf Channel.

She will next compete in the Corning Classic May 26-29 at Corning

Country Club in Corning, N.Y.

Gray leads OCC pair

* GOLF: Justin Gray shot 8-over-par 152 (78-74) and finished in a

tie for 27th place to lead a pair of Orange Coast College men’s

golfers in the Southern California Community College regional

championships that concluded last Monday.

Jason Cassidy, Gray’s OCC teammate, finished at 155 (80-75) during

the two-day tournament on the par-72 Southern California Golf Course

in Murrieta.

John Gray of Palomar claimed the individual title by four strokes

with a 5-under 139 (67-72).

The top six individuals and four teams qualified for the state

championships, scheduled Monday at Riverbend in Madera.