Local trio first-team All-Golden West League
Costa Mesa High juniors Jackie Havens and Jenny Sparks, as well as
Estancia junior Hillary Larson, have been named first-team All-Golden
West League, but the circuit’s girls volleyball coaches.
Havens, an outside hitter and setter, wrapped up her third varsity
season by leading the Mustangs in both kills and serve percentage.
Mesa (8-7) finished third in league to qualify for the CIF Southern
Section playoffs.
Sparks, a setter, also completed her third varsity season.
Havens, Larson and Sparks earned second-team all-league
recognition a year ago.
Costa Mesa junior outside hitter Lindsay Navarrette, as well as
Estancia freshman setter Stacie Watson and Eagle sophomore outside
hitter and setter Muriel Mason are second-team honorees.
Ocean View junior Jeniece Womack is the league’s Most Valuable
Player.
UCI’s Wing all-region
* VOLLEYBALL: UC Irvine junior outside hitter Kelly Wing has been
named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West Region
team.
Wing collected her first all-region honor after leading the
Anteaters to their first NCAA tournament win in school history, a
five-game victory over Missouri Dec. 5.
With Wing’s leadership, UCI set a school single-season win record
with 24 and had its its highest finish ever in the Big West
Conference (second).
Wing was voted Big West Player of the Week four times this season
and received her second all-conference honor after leading the Big
West in kills per game and ranking as high as ninth in the NCAA in
that category.
In three seasons, the outside hitter became UCI’s all-time leader
in kills (1,649) and set a school single-match record of 43 kills.
Douglass set for Hall
* BASKETBALL: UC Irvine men’s basketball coach Pat Douglass will
be inducted into the Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame during
a ceremonial dinner Feb. 19 in Bakersfield.
Douglass, in his seventh season as head coach at UCI, won 257
games in 10 seasons (1987-97) as head coach at Cal State Bakersfield.
His Roadrunner teams won three NCAA Division II championships,
including 1992-93 when Bakersfield went 33-0 to become the first
Division II team in history to complete a perfect season. He was
named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Decade by Division II
Bulletin.
Douglass, who led UCI to Big West Conference regular-season titles
in 2001 and 2002, was named the 2001 Big West Conference and NABC
District 15 Coach of the Year.
UCI’s next win will be the 100th victory for Douglass as the
Anteaters’ head coach . He is 99-80 at UCI and he is 475-198 in
22-plus seasons as a head coach on the four-year collegiate level.
Tars’ Lim gets second
* WRESTLING: Newport Harbor High senior Kid Lim, a wrestler in the
119-pound division, finished second in the Andrew Pena tournament,
which included 19 schools, at Irvine High Saturday.
Lim, pinned by an opponent from Troy in the final, earned
victories by scores of 10-2, 12-4 and 14-11, in succession to advance
to the final.
Kid is now 6-1.
Other Sailors who earned victories, but did not place included
senior Kyle Codey (two wins at 140 pounds), sophomore Victor George
(112) and sophomore Eddie Charcas (125).
Paulson just misses
* GOLF: Former Costa Mesa High golfer Dennis Paulson’s bid to earn
exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2004 fell short by one stroke after
a 2-under-par 70 in the final round of the National Qualifying
tournament Dec. 1 at the Orange County National Golf Center in Winter
Garden, Fla.
Paulson, who finished fifth at this year’s Greater Milwaukee Open,
shot 74-68-67-72-75-70--426 (6-under-par) to finish 35th, playing
both the par-72 Panther Lake and Crooked Cat courses.
He is among 47 players to receive full-exempt status on the
Nationwide Tour next year.
Paulson claimed the 2000 Buick Classic for his only PGA Tour
victory.
UCI’s Smith heralded
* BASEBALL: UC Irvine pitcher Brett Smith is ranked No. 30 among
the top 200 prospects in the Class of 2004 by Baseball America.
Smith, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior, is one of UC Irvine’s top
returning players this season. The right-hander was second-team
All-Big West Conference last spring, when he went 8-4 with a 3.71
ERA. He produced 87 strikeouts in 102 innings.
Smith was also recognized last year as one of Baseball America’s
top 50 college sophomores.
UC Irvine opens the season Feb. 10 at Pepperdine and hosts Cal in
the home opener Feb. 13.
Schmidt Lion of Week
* BASKETBALL: Vanguard University women’s basketball standout
Kelly Schmidt was named the school’s Lion of the Week.
The 6-foot freshman from Glendale, Ariz. amassed 44 points and 23
rebounds in two Golden State Athletic Conference games last week,
including 24 points and 10 rebounds in an 89-37 thumping of Biola
Dec. 2
Through five games, she led the Lions (4-1), ranked No. 3 in the
NAIA, with 22.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. She is also
shooting 62.5% from the field.
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