U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : Roundup : Feldman Falls Short of Gold but Wins Spot on U. S. Team

A silver-lined cloud was hovering around Encino’s Alexandra Feldman on Wednesday night as Diane Simpson basked in the glory of U .S. Olympic Festival gold.

Simpson, a 1988 Olympian from Evanston, Ill., won the gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics in resounding fashion, scoring 75.85 points and leaving a capacity crowd of 3,262 at the Yukon High gym on their feet.

Feldman, the U. S. national champion, turned in a solid performance and managed to move a spot in the standings after an inconsistent third-place showing in the first round.

“Tuesday I had a really bad day,” Feldman said. “Today I just wanted to enjoy myself and have fun and I did much better.”

Simpson, who finished second at the nationals, joins Feldman and Jenifer Lovell of Miami on the U. S. team that will compete at the world championships in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Sept. 27-Oct. 1.

“I’ve regained my confidence, composure and performance level,” Simpson said. “I’m ready for the world championships and I think the whole team will do well.”

Feldman, 19, who described her Olympic Festival performance in a word--”unsatisfactory”--promised a better showing next month.

“At the world championships I will be ready,” she said.

Joining the three top finishers on the U. S. squad will be Jennifer Haase, 14, of Valencia.

Haase, who will make the trip as an alternate, placed fourth with 70.95 points.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

It had been a frustrating Olympic Festival for Don MacLean but now, due in part to his own strong performance, he has something to remember it by--a medal.

MacLean, a UCLA sophomore, led the West to a 98-74 win over the South in the bronze medal game at Lloyd Noble Arena in Norman.

The former Simi Valley High standout scored a game-high 21 points on 10 of 17 shooting. He also led in rebounding with 13.

Earlier in the week, MacLean had complained about his lack of playing time in key situations. But the 6-10 forward ended up averaging 13 points and scoring in double figures each time out.

The West, coached by Lou Campanelli of Cal, finished with a 2-2 record.

“I thought the West team was the most improved team we saw this week,” South Coach Don DeVoe said. “They played so much better than the time we saw them in pool play four days ago. They killed us inside with MacLean and Adam Keefe. It was hard stopping those guys.”

Keefe, a 6-9 Stanford sophomore, had 15 points and was five for five on field-goal attempts.

Mitchell Butler, a UCLA-bound freshman from Oakwood School, had eight points for the West. Adonis Jordan, a former Cleveland High standout headed for Kansas, scored four.

TABLE TENNIS

Carol Davidson, competing in her fifth Olympic Festival, is starting a personal medal collection.

The 30-year old North Hollywood resident won her second medal of the tournament--this one a gold in the women’s doubles event.

Davidson teamed with Kerry Terrel of Richland, Wash., to defeat Jane Chui of Bedford, Mass., and Louise Nieves of Brooklyn in the gold medal match.

She already had won a bronze medal in mixed doubles and will have a chance to triple her pleasure today in the singles competition.

Davidson, the 1986 U. S. women’s amateur singles champion, has won eight Olympic Festival medals in her career.

FAST-PITCH SOFTBALL

Having made a habit of stealing hits away from opponents with spectacular catches on defense, Priscilla Rouse made sure she hit hers where fielders don’t roam.

Rouse, a former Kennedy High and Cal State Northridge standout, slugged a two-run home run as the West defeated the North, 3-0, at Hall of Fame Stadium.

Debby Day, a former Burbank High standout, got the shutout for the West, which evened its record at 2-2.

Day, who pitches for the University of Texas, Arlington, scattered seven hits and struck out six. Her catcher was Janet Sherman, who played at Granada Hills High and UCLA.

BASEBALL

Derek Wallace, a former Chatsworth High standout, went 3 for 5, but the West lost its second game in a row, this time 11-8, to the South at All Sports Stadium.

The West had 15 hits and knocked out South starter Chris Roberts of Middleburg, Fla., in the sixth inning.

Roberts, who left the mound with his team trailing, 8-4, made up for it at the plate.

He had five hits, including a solo home run that ignited a four-run rally that enabled the South to tie the score, 8-8, after seven innings. He then singled and scored the winning run in the eighth.

MEN’S SOCCER

Lance Killian of Vancouver, Wash., had two goals and an assist as the West secured a spot in Saturday night’s gold medal game with a 3-0 over the South at Hafer Park.

Cam Rast of Simi Valley was credited with an assist on Killian’s second goal, which put the game out of reach at the 76:25 mark.

TEAM HANDBALL

Mike Hurdle, Denny Fercho and Kevin Withrow of the West combined to score the first five goals of the game, but the North rebounded for a 17-14 victory at the State Fairgrounds.

Jeff Fruin of Camarillo led the West with five goals, including half of the team’s eight in the second half.

Fercho, of Camarillo, and Withrow, of Thousand Oaks, each finished with three goals. Hurdle, of Reseda, had two.