Tidland, Richardson Qualify for U.S. Amateur

Chris Tidland of Placentia and Scott Richardson of Dana Hills will be playing in the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship after qualifying Monday at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach.

Tidland, a former Valencia High standout who will be a junior at Oklahoma State, shot 73-72 and was the top qualifier. Richardson, a Dana Hills resident who played at Saddleback College last spring, shot 71-76.

The U.S. Amateur is Aug. 24-29 in Houston.

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Cypress’ Tiger Woods and John Mercer of Mesa, Ariz., defeated Jason Buha of Farmington Hills, Mich., and Mark Wilson of Menomonee Falls, Wis., Monday in four-ball match competition on the first day of the American Junior Golf Assn. Canon Cup at Stanford Golf Course.

Woods and Mercer, representing the West team, won the match, 2-up, on the par-71 course.

Also participating for the West were Kellee Booth of Cota de Caza and Holly Carriker of San Antonio, who beat the East team of Wendi Patterson of Atlanta and Heather Hoffman of Metamora, Ill., 6 and 4. Alicia Allison of Santa Ana and Grace Park of Phoenix tied Shauna Estes of Orangeburg, S.C., and Laura Moore of Diamondhead, Miss.

In mixed four-ball play, Allison and Darren Angel of Northridge were defeated, 2 and 1.

The West team leads, 9 1/2 to 5 1/2, after the first day of the three-day event.

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Alden Weaver, a Foothill High School water polo standout, teamed with Vatche Sirijian as goalkeepers to help the Tustin-based SoCal Water Polo Club defeat two Northern California teams in the water polo National Junior Olympics, at DeAnza College in Cupertino.

Weaver’s team, which competes in the 17-year-old age group, defeated West Valley, 21-2, and Marin, 13-2.

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In the Speedo Junior National Championship West in Minneapolis, the Mission Viejo Nadadores girls’ 800-meter freestyle relay team of Tracey McCalley, Allison Handwen, Catherine Carone and Cheryl Murphy won with a time of 8:35.25.

Katie Simmons of the Irvine Novaquatics took second in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.34); Murphy of the Nadadores was second in the 100 backstroke (1:05.74) and Alison Mijares of Golden West was second in the 400 freestyle (4:22.73).

The Novaquatics boys’ 800 freestyle relay (Dawson Hughes, Jason Lezak, Andrew Lazenby, Matt Cornue) also took second in 7:51.79.

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Gray Dougherty and his team from Newport Beach finished sixth in the pre-qualifying round in the International Naples Sabot Junior Championships yacht competition in Long Beach.

Finishing in eighth place was Jimmy Herman and crew of Huntington Beach. Elimination rounds begin today with 52 teams scheduled to race.