Peirsol, May strike gold

The top 25 Newport-Mesa sports stories of 2004, as selected by the

Daily Pilot sports staff.

1 Former Sailors win gold: Newport Harbor High products Aaron

Peirsol (three) and Misty May (one) captured Olympic gold medals at

the Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Peirsol, a swimmer who forfeited his remaining college eligibility

at the University of Texas to turn professional, became the fifth

swimmer to win the 100- and 200-meter backstroke at the same

Olympics. He also contributed to the victorious American 400 medley

relay team.

His winning time in the 100 back was 54.06 seconds, but he broke

the world record with a 53.45 clocking in the leadoff leg of the 400

medley relay final.

His winning time in the 200 back (1:54.95) broke his own Olympic

record, set the night before in the semifinals, but did not come

without some controversy. Peirsol was originally disqualified for

allegedly propelling himself while on his stomach, heading into his

final turn. But the sport’s international governing body later

overturned the ruling and Peirsol was awarded his gold.

May, who helped Newport Harbor and Long Beach State win national

championships during her indoor career, teamed with former Stanford

All-American Kerri Walsh to dominate the women’s beach volleyball

event in Athens.

May and Walsh, the No. 1 seed, won all seven matches and did not

lose a game. They defeated fellow Americans Holly McPeak and Elaine

Youngs in the semifinals, then polished off the Brazilian duo of

Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar, 21-17, 21-11, to claim the United

States’ first gold since women’s volleyball became an Olympic sport

in 1996.

2 Newport Harbor football: The Sailors overcame several injuries

to compile an unbeaten regular season and reach their sixth CIF

Southern Section title game in Coach Jeff Brinkley’s 19-year tenure.

Senior running back-linebacker Trevor Theriot earned Newport-Mesa

Player of the Year recognition after producing 1,328 rushing yards,

despite missing more than two games with a dislocated elbow.

Senior quarterback Kasey Peters was named Newport-Mesa Offensive

Player of the Year and senior middle linebacker Thomas Martin

collected Newport-Mesa Defensive Player of the Year laurels to lead a

talented cast.

The Sailors rallied for a dramatic 21-17 victory over Corona del

Mar in the Battle of the Bell in Week 3 and were 5-0 before opening

Sea View League play with a 10-10 tie against Foothill.

The Tars won the next four league games to claim the Sea View

crown, then earned playoff wins over El Dorado, Charter Oak and

Mayfair to reach the CIF Division VI championship game against Orange

Lutheran at Angel Stadium.

The Lancers took a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 35-6

triumph that finalized the Sailors’ record at 12-1-1.

3 Turmoil at Costa Mesa High: A string of coach resignations, then

one controversial firing, focused a negative spotlight on the Costa

Mesa High athletic program.

Bob Serven (boys basketball), Doug Deats (baseball) and Glenn

Mitchell (boys and girls track and field) all resigned within a

10-week span and, weeks later, Dave Perkins resigned as boys athletic

director.

The outgoing coaches cited, among other issues, problems with a

joint use facilities agreement between the city recreation department

and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and a lack of summer

pay.

Perkins was fired July 23 as football coach over what he said was

a misunderstanding involving a check mistakenly made out to him for a

summer football camp. The school refused to comment on the firing,

which was protested by players, parents, boosters, and others.

A Daily Pilot investigative series examined the issues and Costa

Mesa hired several new coaches.

Tim Postiff was named boys athletic director and Tom Baldwin, who

has since stepped down, coached the football team to a 2-8 season.

4 CdM baseball wins CIF crown: The Sea Kings defeated Pacific

Coast League rival Tesoro, 3-1, in the CIF Southern Section Division

IV championship game at Dodger Stadium to claim the program’s second

section title in five seasons.

Senior pitcher Blake Contant threw a complete-game three-hitter in

the final to improve to 12-2 and notch his fourth win of the

playoffs.

Junior Tyler Lance and senior Jeritt Thayer lashed RBI singles in

the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie and propel Coach John Emme’s

squad to its 17th straight victory.

Contant, bound for the University of Arizona, was the Newport-Mesa

Player of the Year.

Senior first baseman Barrett Sprowl was CIF Division IV Player of

the Year after hitting .500 with 53 hits, four homers and 25 RBIs. He

made one All-American team and is bound for USC.

Senior UNLV-bound designated hitter Josh Bradbury (.376 with 11

homers) and USC-bound senior pitcher-outfielder Todd Macklin were

among other standouts.

CdM, which opened the season 2-4, finished 25-5.

5 Purtzer wins Toshiba: Tom Purtzer, 52, seized the lead with a

tournament-record 60 in the opening round (11-under-par), then held

off former Arizona State teammate Morris Hatalsky to win by one

stroke at Newport Beach Country Club.

Purtzer, who entered the final round tied with Hatalsky at

11-under, shot 15-under 198 for the three-day event, played before an

estimated 80,000 spectators.

Purtzer pocketed $240,000 for the victory and the tournament,

which once again, contributed $1 million to charities including Hoag

Hospital.

6 UCI basketball stumbles: The Anteater men, who had produced

three straight 20-victory seasons that included two Big West

Conference regular-season titles, lost 10 of their last 12 conference

games to miss the eight-team Big West tournament for the first time

since 1997.

Seniors Adam Parada and Stanislav Zuzak had disappointing

campaigns and high-scoring sophomore guard Mike Efevberha was

suspended and later dismissed from the squad after what later became

a conviction on petty theft.

UCI, which lost its last nine road games, finished 11-17, 6-12 in

conference.

7 UCI baseball makes history: The Anteaters, just three seasons

removed from the program’s 10-year hiatus, accepted the school’s

first berth into the NCAA Division I regionals.

Coach John Savage, who later resigned to become coach at UCLA,

guided the Anteaters to a 34-18-1 campaign, which ended when they

suffered regional defeats by Arizona and Notre Dame in South Bend,

Ind.

Keyed by pitching and defense, UCI opened 22-6-1, before breaking

even in its final 24 games.

Closer Blair Erickson led the nation with 17 regular-season saves

and earned one national Freshman of the Year honor.

Erickson was joined by junior starting pitcher Brett Smith on the

first-team All-Big West squad and Smith was drafted 42nd overall by

the New York Yankees.

The school hired Dave Serrano, the pitching coach for national

champion Cal State Fullerton, to replace Savage.

8 Newport Beach Country Club wins Jones Cup: Head professional

Paul Hahn, men’s champion Jeff Wright, senior champion George Dahl

and women’s champion Debbie Albright combined to help Newport Beach

Country Club win the revamped Jones Cup community golf event at

Newport Beach Country Club.

Revised to include the four Newport-Mesa club’s women’s champions,

who competed for seven years in the Tea Cup Classic, the Jones Cup,

formerly contested by two-man teams from the four clubs, debuted as a

marquee event in Newport-Mesa golf.

The Newport Beach foursome, competing in a two best-ball format

(the top two scores on each hole count), birdied the final four holes

to pull away and win by three shots with a 5-under-par 66.

9 Vanguard win 31 games: The Vanguard University women’s

basketball team continued its impressive rise to national prominence.

Coach Russ Davis’ Lions set a school record for wins in a season with

their 31-3 campaign.

NAIA All-Americans Lisa Faulkner, a junior point guard, and Kelly

Schmidt, a freshman forward, helped the Lions reach the quarterfinals

of the NAIA tournament in Jackson, Tenn., where the No. 3-seeded

squad was defeated, 65-61, by Brescia University of Kentucky.

Faulkner, the Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year,

led the nation by averaging 9.8 assists per game, in addition to 13

points.

Schmidt averaged 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and shot 57.8% from the

field for the Lions.

10 Estancia boys wins CIF crown: The Estancia High boys volleyball

team claimed the program’s first CIF Southern Section title by

topping Orange Lutheran in the Division III final at Cypress College.

CIF Division III Co-Players of the Year Kris Hartwell and Josh

Kornegay led the Eagles to a 28-6 record. Coach Tracey Ingraham’s

squad opened the season ranked No. 1 in Division III and held form.

The Eagles did not lose a game in 12 Golden West League matches to

claim the program’s first outright league title since 1984.

Estancia swept its first four playoff foes, before dispatching

Orange Lutheran, 25-15, 25-20, 20-25, 26-24.

Hartwell and Kornegay were also Newport-Mesa Co-Players of the

Year and junior setter Trevor Holmes was an additional Newport-Mesa

Dream Team selection.

11 Back Bay girls water polo: On consecutive days in March, the

girls water polo teams from Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high

schools won CIF Southern Section championships.

Newport Harbor, the No. 1 seed in Division I, defeated four-time

defending champion Foothill, 10-8, in the title game to finish 27-3.

CdM, the No. 1 seed in Division II, pounded Peninsula, 13-3, to

claim its crown.

12 CdM girls volleyball: The Sea Kings swept Nipomo, 25-20, 25-22,

25-17, to win the CIF Southern Section Division III-A championship.

CdM went on to reach the semifinals of the Southern California

regional playoffs to finish 27-6.

UCLA-bound senior Jordan Smith shared CIF Division III-A Player of

the Year laurels.

13 Orange Coast face lift: With funds from a bond measure, Orange

Coast College completed renovations to its football stadium and

soccer field, installing synthetic FieldTurf on both playing

surfaces.

Planned work is scheduled for the baseball and softball diamonds,

as well as other athletic facilities.

14 Sommersell’s return: Andre Sommersell, who competed as a

freshman and sophomore at Estancia High, became the 29th Mr.

Irrelevant when he was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the 255th

and final pick in the NFL draft.

Sommersell, who went on to star at Fountain Valley High and

Colorado State, was feted in Newport Beach during Irrelevant Week

XXIX, before eventually being cut by the Raiders.

15 Breakers reign: The World Team Tennis franchise that calls

Palisades Tennis Club home, defeated the Delaware Smash, 23-17, in

New York to claim the WTT crown, a first in franchise history. The

Newport Beach Dukes lost the WTT final in 1992 and ’93.

Maria Sharapova, who played for the Breakers in 2003, made just

one appearance this season, before a sellout crowd of 2,076 at

Palisades 11 days after she had defeated Serena Williams in the

Wimbledon singles final.

16 CdM girls swimming: The Sea Kings earned the program’s first

CIF Southern Section crown by topping the field in the Division II

finals at Belmont Plaza.

CdM’s 238 points bettered Pacific Coast League rivals Northwood

(192) and University (189).

Freshman Stephanie Gabert set a division record by winning the

100-yard breaststroke in 3:36.02.

17 Newland’s milestone: UC Irvine men’s water polo coach Ted

Newland earned his 700th career victory when the Anteaters topped

Redlands, 19-8, on Sept. 4. Newland, who leads all collegiate coaches

in victories, finished his 39th season with a 714-345-5 career mark.

18 Stokke leads pack: Newport Harbor High freshman Allison Stokke

cleared 12 feet, 8 inches to win the CIF State girls pole vault title

and break her own national freshman record in the event.

Girls track and field also produced local CIF Southern Section

champions, as Corona del Mar’s Anne St. Geme won the Division III

1,600 (4:53.65) and the 800 (2:15.61) and Costa Mesa sophomore Jasmin

Day won the Division III high jump (5-8).

19 UCI women’s volleyball: The Anteaters made their second

straight trip to the NCAA tournament, before falling to Arizona in a

first-round sweep in San Diego to finish 18-11.

Senior outside hitter Kelly Wing was named second-team

All-American after capturing Big West Conference Player of the Year

laurels. She is tops at UCI in career kills (2,267), aces (172) and

digs (1,280).

20 Diamond draft: UC Irvine junior pitcher Brett Smith went to the

New York Yankees with the 42nd overall pick and eight other players

with local ties were chosen in the Major League draft.

Kyle Allen and Garrett Murdy, both former Orange Coast College

players each went in the 16th round, while UCI’s Matt Fisher and

Glenn Swanson went in the 33rd and 37th rounds, respectively.

Costa Mesa High senior Daniel Cooper (38th round) and Newport

Harbor High senior Brandon Jasper (43rd round) were also picked.

21 Daily Pilot Cup: The fifth annual youth soccer tournament for

Newport-Mesa schools expanded from 96 teams to 126 and went from five

days to six. There was also a silver division added to the usual gold

division.

But there were no changes among the gold division champions, as

Rea Elementary won the boys grades 5-6 title for the fourth straight

year.

Andersen won the girls 3-4 title for the third straight year,

while Carden Hall (girls 5-6) and Mariners Christian (boys 3-4)

defended their crowns.

22 OCC cross county: The Orange Coast College men’s and women’s

cross country teams both won state championships and produced the

individual state title winners, as well.

Sophomore Humberto Rojas became the first repeat men’s champion in

the 33-year history of the state meet as the men defended their team

title.

Ludi Valdez won the women’s crown for OCC, which has now won four

straight state team titles.

23 OC Marathon: Bill Sumner, the boys and girls track and field

and cross country coach at Corona del Mar High, resurrected the race

that had faltered in previous incarnations.

Kenyan Andrew Masurva won the men’s 26.2-mile event and Cheryl

Smith of Aliso Viejo won the women’s race on a rainy December Sunday.

24 Taylor Dent misses bronze: The former Corona del Mar High

tennis standout advanced to the bronze medal match at the Athens

Olympics, falling to Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, 6-4, 2-6, 16-14.

The three-hour, 25-minute match was the longest three-set singles

match in Olympic history.

25 Hayes’ Super Sunday: Orange Coast men’s soccer coach Laird

Hayes capped his ninth season as an NFL side judge by being selected

to work Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.

It was the second Super Bowl in three years for Hayes, a Newport

Beach resident.