San Diego Team Advances in Junior Tourney

Carlsbad High’s Vanessa Nygaard and Lincoln’s Shondell Robinson contributed 20 and 18 points, respectively, as San Diego’s Police Athletic League Girls’ 15-under Select Team rolled to a 92-76 victory in the AAU-USA National Junior Olympic Basketball Championships Monday in Charleston, W.Va.

The PAL Select team ran off 30 unanswered points in its defeat over the Michigan state champion. The victory improves the Select team’s record to 2-1 in pool play and moves it to the championship bracket, where the San Diegans will meet the Louisiana state champion at 10:45 today.

Also scoring in double figures Monday were Paula McNamee of Francis Parker High (16), Renee Demirdjian of Carlsbad High (15) and Jamie Shadian of Poway High (14).

GOLF

Jill Wery of San Diego is four strokes behind the leaders after the opening day of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in Wichita, Kan.

Emilee Klein of Studio City shot a 3-under-par 69 to take a share of the first round lead with Mei-Lin Paoi, of Kapaa, Hawaii, whose round was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the 14th hole at the 5,997-yard Crestview Country Club.

Among the day’s highlights was another ace by Debbie Kim, of Poway, who played a 4-iron on the eighth hole. Kim finished with a 3-over-par 75.

Klein and Paoi were two strokes ahead of Dina Taylor, of Debray, Fla., and Kacie Myers of Venice, Fla., Three players were all three shots off the pace. Wery (36-37--73) is tied with four other players at 1 over par.

The championship resumes today with the second round of stroke play. The 64 players with the lowest scores in the two stroke-play qualifying rounds will advance to Wednesday’s match-play format.