Chix with Stix to play for fourth straight TOC title

Newport Harbor's Taury Hlinka, left, celebrates with teammate Jill Messersmith. (Photo by Kevin Chang / Daily Pilot)

Newport Harbor High will play for its fourth straight Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. Tournament of Champions title after scoring a 2-1 semifinal victory at Glendora Wednesday.

Senior Madison Wooters and junior Jill Messersmith scored one goal each, while Kirsten Rohan added an assist for Newport Harbor (19-4-2).

Senior Kelly Conant stood out on defense for the Sailors.

Newport Harbor will play against Huntington Beach at Edison Thursday at 3 p.m. for the TOC crown. It is the fourth straight time the teams have met in the TOC final.

The Oilers beat Harvard-Westlake, 2-0, in the other semifinal Wednesday.

Celebrities, athletes, poker pros expected at charity event

Actors Mark Paul Gosselaar (TV’s “Franklin & Bash) and AJ Buckley (“CSI: NY”), as well as two-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh (volleyball) are expected to appear at a special charity event Saturday at St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point.

Poker pros Michelle Lau, David Moskian and Joe Sebok will also be on hand for the fifth annual Ante Up for Autism “Gala and Casino Night,” that will benefit Talk About Curing Autism.

TACA is a national non-profit organization that provides support and resources to families across the nation.

More celebrities and athletes are expected for the event that raised more than $222,000 last year for families who are touched by autism. The event starts at 5 p.m. with photos on the red carpet.

It’s official: Kobe loves the Anteaters

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake, left, with Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant has made a cameo in a UC Irvine Athletics music video for its Welcome Week. It can be seen here.

He’s with the men’s and women’s cross country teams at the 1:55 and 5:05 marks. Love Shack, baby!

It’s not the first time the Los Angeles Lakers star has appeared in a promotional video for UCI. He also pumped up Anteater fans for the beginning of the UCI men’s and women’s basketball seasons. That can be seen here.

So what’s the connection to UCI for Bryant?

He does live close by in Newport Coast. Also, Bryant has his workouts coordinated by Ryan Badrtalei, a UCI men’s basketball assistant coach, according to a blog by ESPN reporter Diamond Leung. Bryant has been seen on the basketball court at UCI, lifting weights in the gym, running on the track, or swimming in the pool.

Bryant also shared “A Night with Kobe,” when he held a Q&A session at the university last year.

He has become a friend of UCI. But don’t expect him to change his nickname to the Black Anteater.

Newport Harbor’s Sary on AVCA All-American Watch List

Cinnamon Sary, a Newport Harbor High incoming senior, has been selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. High School Under Armour All-American Watch List for the upcoming girls’ volleyball season.

Sary, who has verbally committed to USC, was among 646 players from 38 states named to the Watch List, which serves as the starting point for the Under Armour All-American selection process.

In November, the AVCA will name 48 players as an Under Armour All-American, with 24 players being selected to both a first team and a second team. Each of the 24 players on the first team will be invited to play in the Under Armour All-American Volleyball Match & Skills Competition. The event will be held Dec. 16 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in conjunction with the 2011 AVCA Annual Convention.

For more information on the Under Armour Girls’ High School All-American volleyball awards program, visit www.avca.org/awards/all-america/high-school/.

Sary is the only Newport-Mesa player on the AVCA All-American Watch List. The setter was named to the Daily Pilot Dream Team the past two years. Last year, she led the Sailors (22-13, 7-3 in the Sunset League) with 774 assists and 120 blocks and finished with 230 kills, 176 digs and eight service aces.

She earned first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division I-AA honors, as well as first-team All-Sunset League recognition.

In July, Sary led the Orange County Volleyball Club 17 Blue team to the 17s national division title in the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships.

Sary was named MVP after helping OCVC to an 11-0 record in the tournament formerly known as the Junior Olympics.

She led Newport Harbor to three pool-play wins in the Ann Kang Tournament at ‘Iolani High on Honolulu, Hawaii Thursday.

Former Raider Nick Bell now a Costa Mesa High coach

Nick Bell played four seasons for the then-Los Angeles Raiders as a running back.

Bell, now 42, is a volunteer coach for the Costa Mesa High football team. He recently dealt with a near-death experience and vowed to give back to the community. He wanted to coach football. He says he doesn’t want to be paid.

Bell, a Costa Mesa resident the past two years, starred at Iowa before landing with the Raiders. He is regarded as one of the top backs in Hawkeyes history, helping Iowa to the Rose Bowl in 1990 against Washington, the winner.

Bell said he went to coach the Costa Mesa Mustangs on a whim. He wants to make an impact.

Continue reading: Mesa welcomes Bell

Hagestad leads after first round of Costa Mesa City

Stewart Hagestad

USC’s Stewart Hagestad of Newport Beach is the leader after the first round of the 39th annual Will Jordan Classic a.k.a. the Costa Mesa City Championship.

Hagestad, who qualified for the U.S. Amateur last month at Big Canyon Country Club, shot a 10-under-par 62 at the Mesa Linda Course Saturday to lead the championship flight.

Jason Bittick, the 2009 Costa Mesa City champion, is one stroke back at 63. Issei Suenaga, who shot a 65, enters Sunday’s final round at Los Lagos in third.

For the rest of the scores, click here.

X Team Tennis National Tournament coming

Six tennis players from Sage Hill School will compete in the X Team Tennis national tournament Saturday and Sunday at the Tennis Club Newport Beach.

There will be eight teams consisting of one boy and one girl in the World Team Tennis event, which features no-ad scoring. The team with the most games won wins, as they battle in singles and mixed doubles.

Sage Hill’s Liana Korber is on the No. 3-seeded team with Hutton McKenna of Laguna Beach.

The Lightning’s Katie Bick and Zuriel Aaron enter as the No. 4-seeded duo, while Sage Hill’s Lauren Hsu and Ryan Lee are seeded No. 6.

Sam Sherman of Sage Hill is paired with “rival” Deena Fahami of St. Margaret’s as the No. 8-seeded team. The tournament is a round-robin format. The teams will play 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

A.G. Longoria, who coaches the Sage Hill boys’ and girls’ tennis teams, is the tournament director.

Lofgren, Hogan Henley champions

Esther Lofgren and JP Hogan at the Henley Royal Regatta. (Photo courtesy of Ester Lofgren)

Esther Lofgren and JP Hogan share the same background. They’re both from Newport Beach, where they trained at Newport Aquatic Center. They both attended Newport Harbor High, where they competed in rowing. They both also have ties to Harvard University.

At the 2011 Henley Royal Regatta, they both represented extremely well.

Lofgren, a Harvard alumna who is on the U.S. national team, won two gold medals, helping the Americans win the Remenham Challenge Cup and Princess Grace Challenge Cup. Hogan, entering his third year at Harvard, took home the Prince Albert Challenge Cup as part of the Crimson 4v-plus July 3 at Henley-on-Thames, England.

Lofgren joined the U.S. women’s eight July 2, when another rower couldn’t compete because of injury. She helped the eight defeat Leander Club and Gloucester Rowing Club by 1 ¾ lengths and finish in 6 minutes, 38 seconds, which tied the event record.

Lofgren’s original boat, a U.S. quad, was also victorious. They beat an Australian quad by 1 ¼ lengths in 7:02.

Hogan and the Harvard rowers, plus a cox, won the Prince Albert Challenge cup in dramatic fashion. They came from behind in the semifinals, surpassing Newcastle University, and in the final, overwhelming Oxford Brookes University in front of a large crowd.

In the final, Harvard won by 1 ¾ lengths. Its time of 6:58 was just one second off its event-record mark from July 2.

Kids Tennis Play Day in Newport Beach

From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday The Tennis Club Newport Beach will be reserved for kids.

The Newport Beach Breakers will play host to Kids Tennis Play Day at Breakers Stadium. The youth tennis event is a product of a USTA and World Team Tennis partnership in an effort to promote tennis to children 10 and under.

The Breakers plan to have the youth, “enjoy tennis in a fun, non-threatening competitive environment,” according to a press release.

Kids Tennis Play Day will kick off the featured match against the Sacramento Capitals.

The tennis for children 10 and under will have equipment and courts scaled to kids’ size. Racquets are shorter and lighter, and the courts are smaller.

To learn more about the Kids Tennis Play Day and 10-and-under tennis, visit www.10andundertennis.com.

World Team Tennis, founded in 1974, features a unique format and includes multi-colored courts and on-court coaching.

Pete Sampras’ life much different now

My column on Pete Sampras and his life as a father featured references to a 60 Minutes interview, as well as other videos found on YouTube.

Sampras’ interview on 60 Minutes [click here].

This was a compelling interview with Sampras done by Mary Carillo [click here].

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras had a funny interview on the Craig Kilborn Show [click here].

Bridgette was Miss Teen USA in 1990 [click here].

Bridgette starred in the movie “Love Stinks [click here].

Continue reading: Sampras still boring? No