Belden fuels club team’s national win

Recent graduates Anne Belden and Jordan Anae, from Newport Harbor

High and Corona del Mar, respectively, along with Newport Beach

resident Emily Klug each scored one goal to help lead the SoCal water

polo club team to a 9-8 victory over Santa Barbara and first place in

the women’s under-20 national championship at Capistrano Valley High

in Mission Viejo Sunday.

SoCal, which went 7-0 in the tournament, features graduates

Melissa Wheeler (Newport Harbor) and Brittany Fullen (CdM). The team

earned a berth in the final with a 9-8 victory against San Diego

Shores earlier Sunday in the semifinal.

Belden finished the tournament with 12 goals while Wheeler added

two. Belden and Wheeler were each named first-team All-Americans at

the tournament.

Newport placed 13th with a 9-2 victory against Washington

Saturday. Newport Harbor’s Marisa Cottam and Kally Lucas each tallied

a pair of goals while Sailor teammates DeeJay Trobman, Calli

Manderino, Katie Kepner, and Leah Robertson each scored once.

Robertson earned All-American honorable mention at the tournament.

Newport still alive

* YOUTH BASEBALL: The Newport Harbor Baseball Association Pony

All-Star team defeated Laguna Niguel, 11-1, in five innings Saturday

in the District 1 West zone-South division consolation semifinal at

the Los Alamitos Youth Baseball Field.

Newport will play for the consolation championship at 4:30 p.m.

today at the same site against the loser of Los Alamitos Red and La

Mirada. A victory would vault Newport into the section tournament.

Against Laguna Niguel, pitcher Jack Grace was on the mound for all

five innings for Newport Harbor.

Center fielder Ned Lyn led off the game with a walk, stole second

and eventually scored on a balk for Newport.

Newport added two more runs in the third inning, five in the

fourth and induced a 10-run mercy rule by scoring three times in the

fifth.

Cecil Whiteside scored the winning run when Cody Green singled him

home with the bases loaded and two outs.

Peter Kinney added a triple for Newport Harbor.

Matt Sarvak handled the catching duties, while Spencer Venegas and

Hunter Freeman manned the outfield with Nick Svendsen and Grant

Johnson in the infield.

Hone also pointed out the help from assistant coaches Larry Green

and Terry Freeman.

-- Rick Devereux

Powers propels USA

* WATER POLO: The United State’s men’s national water polo team

received two goals from former UC Irvine standout Jeff Powers and

defeated Japan, 7-4, Monday to open the FINA World Championships in

Montreal.

Powers, a member of the 2004 U.S. men’s Olympic team along with

former Anteater Ryan Bailey, who is also on the national team, gave

the U.S. a 1-0 lead and it wouldn’t relinquish the advantage.

Japan came within 4-3 to start the fourth quarter but Powers

tallied one of the team’s three goals in the final period to stave

off the rally.UCI graduate Rick Merlo is also on the team, as is

Corona del Mar High product John Mann.

Jakosky part of title

* VOLLEYBALL: Newport Beach resident Mariah Jakosky and the Laguna

Beach-based Roxy Beach Club volleyball team won the Junior Olympic

14-and-under title July 9-10 in Salt Lake City.

Coached by Steve Obradavich the team went undefeated in 11

tournament matches, defeating teams from Northern California,

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio and Texas.