Orange County Roundup : Tennis Team to Compete in China

Bill Otta, Saddleback College tennis coach, and 16 players embarked Wednesday on an exhibition tour of China, becoming the first American tennis team to compete there.

The team is made up of eight men and eight women, most from Southern Californian community colleges.

Orange County participants are Fred Morris (Saddleback); Bruce Beinlich and Matt Devine (Cypress); Pat Bedley, Carrie Harris, Jill Quartaro and Amanda Brodie (Orange Coast), and Russ Spinkle (Fullerton).

The trip is sponsored by Amateur Sports Development USA, an organization that has sent numerous teams to foreign countries.

Marshall Adair, Saddleback College baseball coach, will hold a camp for players 10-18 on Saddleback’s Doug Fritz Field Aug. 4-8.

The camp will offer instruction in hitting, pitching, fielding and strategy. Baseballs will be provided, and players will have access to a batting cage.

Entry fee is $95 per player or $85 when two or more sign up. Registration deadline is Tuesday.

For more information, call 661-0677.

The Orange County PONY Bowl community college football game will be held Dec. 6 at Orange Coast College’s 8,000-seat LeBard Stadium.

PONY Sports and Leisure Inc. has agreed to sponsor the bowl for the sixth consecutive year. Last year’s game between Saddleback and Fullerton drew more than 7,000 spectators.

The Ken Aston Cup soccer tournament will be held Aug. 1-3 at the Youth Athletic Field in Mission Viejo.

The tournament, sponsored by American Youth Soccer Organization’s Area 11-L, is open to all registered AYSO boys and girls in Divisions I, II, III and IV. All players and coaches must have the approval of their regional commissioners and be sanctioned by their regional boards of director as a team.

For further information, call tournament director Chuck Goebel at 859-9114.

The AYSO will hold a series of summer soccer player clinics at Crown Valley Community Park.

There will be four sessions: Aug. 4-8, Aug. 11-15, Aug. 18-22 and Aug. 25-29, all from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. They are open to all boys and girls from 6 to 16 who are registered in AYSO.

Tuition for each five-day session is $60. For more information, call AYSO Area-L Director Jonathan Woods at 496-5396 or Geri Dendel at 492-6554.

Doug Domokos, who is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s longest continuing wheelie, will perform at halftime Friday night when speedway motorcycle racing resumes at the Orange County Fairgrounds after a one-week absence.

Domokos has wheelied around the top of the Empire State Building and set a world record with a 10-mile wheelie around the New Orleans Superdome. He once wheelied up San Francisco’s famous Lombard Street for a television feature.

First-division speedway riders will continue their quest for the 22 qualifying positions for the U.S. Championship. The cutoff date for qualifying points is Wednesday, with the top 22 riders from Southern California competing against eight riders from Northern California beginning Aug. 16 at Auburn.

Defending U.S. champion Alan Christian has been seeded directly into the championship. Steve Lucero of Riverside is the top points rider in Southern California. He is followed by Mike Faria, Christian and Brad Oxley.

There will be a free clinic for beginning soccer coaches at Rocha’s Athletic Footwear and Apparel store in Anaheim Hills Thursday at 8 p.m. The clinic, conducted by Colin McNeil, director of the California Soccer Academy, will focus on structuring soccer practices and developing children’s soccer skills. To register or for more information, call 779-1510.

An exhibition water polo match between AAU teams from Tustin and Costa Mesa high schools will be held tonight at 8 at Tustin High School.

The teams are two of 16 from the United States that qualified for the 15-and-under division of the 20th National AAU Junior Olympics to be held Aug. 3-10 at St. Louis. A $1 donation will go toward financing the teams’ trip.

Around the Area

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn., in conjunction with the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Assn., will conduct an ownership seminar for those considering owning a racehorse. The seminar will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 9 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Administration Conference room. Guest speakers will include Robert A. Sweeney, general manager of the CTBA. For more information, call Louis Nealon at the CTBA offices at (800) 225-2822. . . . The Newport Harbor Lawn Bowling Club will hold its annual men’s and women’s singles tournament on Aug. 4-5. The competition begins at 10 a.m. and runs through the afternoon. It is open to the public. For more information, call Bob Hicks at 644-4138.