Briefs: Newport golfer survives

Newport Beach resident Stewart Hagestad won a pair of matches Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the Southern California Golf Assn. Match Play Championship at Sandpiper Golf Club in Santa Barbara.

Hagestad defeated Alex Angard of Encino, two up, in the quarterfinal, after he topped Kevin Dougherty of Murrieta, two and one, in the round of 16.

Hagestad will face Brandon Gama of Santa Barbara in one semifinal Wednesday, beginning at 7:50 a.m.

At the same tournament, Jake Knapp, a recent Estancia High graduate bound for UCLA, was eliminated in the round of 16 by Kevin Fitzgerald from Riverside.

The final is scheduled Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

— From staff reports

Costa Mesa winners

Patrick Woodward won the First Flight Division at the 40th Will Jordan Classic, better known as the Costa Mesa City Championship, completed Sunday at Costa Mesa Country Club.

Woodward had a 36-hole net score of 138. He shot a gross total of eight-over-par 80 on the Los Lagos course and a net of 74. He shot even-par 70 on Mesa Linda for a gross total and a net of 64.

John Meehan and Roy Stock tied for second at 139.

Justin Fong won the Second Flight Division with a total net score of 134. His net on Los Lagos was 68 and 66 on Mesa Linda.

Scott Atlas and Wayne Chumbley tied for second at 135.

Andy Horner won the Senior Flight Division (gross) shooting 145. He beat Jeff Thomas in a playoff after shooting 74 on Los Lagos and 71 on Mesa Linda.

Lou Beshoff and Howdy Doan both shot 146.

Tommy Lacerra won the Senior Flight Division (net) with a 141. He shot 75 on Los Lagos and 66 on Mesa Linda.

Jim George shot 142 for second and Peter Daley was third with 143.

— From staff reports

Locals to Canada

Newport Harbor High incoming senior water polo players Dan Stevens and Curtis Fink, as well as Corona del Mar incoming seniors Reid Chase and Kyle Trush, are on the United States junior national team that will be competing at the UANA Junior Pan American Championships beginning Thursday in Montreal, Canada.

Former Newport Harbor goalie Chris Whitelegge, who now plays for UC Santa Barbara, is also on the U.S. squad.

Stevens and Trush are defenders for Team USA, while Fink and Chase are attackers. Stevens, Fink and Chase were all Newport-Mesa Dream Team selections last fall for their respective teams.

The U.S. team also includes Max Irving of Long Beach Wilson. Irving played with Stevens and Fink for Newport Beach Water Polo Club at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics, where Newport Beach earned a bronze medal on July 31.

Team USA scrimmaged against USC on Monday before heading off to Canada.

— From staff reports

CdM’s Munoz resigns

Corona del Mar High softball coach Kiki Munoz has resigned to accept a coaching position at Santa Ana College, CdM Athletic Director Don Grable said Tuesday.

Grable said the school is looking for a new coach and interested applicants can send a letter of interest and a resume to him at dgrable@nmusd.us by Aug. 23.

The Sea Kings were 9-16, 0-10 in the Pacific Coast League, in Munoz’s only season.

[Munoz] did an awesome job, so we are very sorry to see her go from a school standpoint,” Grable said. “But we are happy she gets to pursue her dream to coach in college. Hopefully, we can find someone with her energy, passion, experience and knowledge of the game [to replace her].

— From staff reports

Eagles hire Lester

Just last week, the Estancia High softball program put in a new outfield fence.

The Eagles have a new head coach to go along with it. Carrie Lester has been hired to coach the team, she said Monday.

Lester has been a volunteer assistant with the Eagles for the past two years. Marcus Franco, who was head coach, resigned after a year to spend more time with his family.

“I played on an adult league team for a long time,” said Lester, 40, for whom Estancia is her first head coaching gig. “[Softball has] always been a passion ... I’m very excited to be at Estancia.”

Lester, a Costa Mesa resident, is a reading teacher at Estancia. She takes over a program that went 9-18, 4-6 in the Orange Coast League last year.

The Eagles have not made the playoffs since 2009, but Lester is optimistic. She has a two-time Newport-Mesa Dream Team selection in incoming senior Rachelle “Ray” Reynolds.

“For a while, she was our only girl who played outside of high school,” Lester said of Reynolds.. “You can look for Ray to hit some home runs out of the park. She has already hit a couple in practice.”

Lester said two other Estancia players, Kelly Hinkle and Leticia Ortega, have joined Reynolds on the Sharks travel-ball team. And Estancia didn’t lose any seniors to graduation.

Franco said he thinks Estancia can excel under Lester, who retains assistant coach “Papa” Joe Salcedo.

“She’ll do a great job,” Franco said. “The girls love her. She’s really good at delegating.”

— Matt Szabo