AAU Coach Named Irvine Basketball Assistant

Mike McIlwain, a longtime coach of AAU teams at Riverside (N.Y.) Church, has been named UC Irvine assistant basketball coach, Coach Rod Baker announced Monday. He replaces Greg Vetrone, who has accepted an assistant coaching position at Nevada Las Vegas.

McIlwain coached such New York-area standouts and future NBA players as Kenny Anderson and Malik Sealy in various AAU tournaments. He also coached Kevin Simmons, who plays at Irvine.

McIlwain coached at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y., in 1982-83 and was an assistant there the previous three seasons.

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Saddleback College shortstop Pat Antrim and former Gaucho infielders Wade Jackson and Justin Drizos, now at Nevada, were selected in the major league draft, Saddleback Coach Jack Hodges said.

The New York Yankees picked Antrim, who set Saddleback records in hits (74) and stolen bases (37) this past season, in the 27th round. He also has signed a letter of intent to attend Long Beach State next season.

Jackson, Nevada’s second baseman, was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 43rd round. Drizos, the Wolf Pack’s first baseman, was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 49th round.

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Unbeaten featherweight Mike Semaza of Orange has signed an eight-fight promotional contract with Irvine Marriott promoter Roy Englebrecht.

Semaza, 26, who was guaranteed $15,000, will fight two six rounders, an eight-rounder and a 10-rounder this year and four 10-round fights in 1996 at the monthly Irvine shows, Englebrecht said.

Semaza is 13-0-1 with five knockouts.

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Edison’s Jason Bader, who finished fourth in the discus at Saturday’s State track and field championships with a throw of 171 feet 8 inches, has signed a letter of intent with UC Santa Barbara. Bader recorded the county’s third-best throw of the year at 180-7.

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Paul Nicotra, a catcher at Santa Margarita, has signed a letter of intent to play Division II baseball at North Alabama in Florence, Ala., next year. He batted .407 with 26 RBIs and scored 16 runs.

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The second high school roller hockey championships begin at 2:15 p.m. Saturday at The Pond of Anaheim.

Sponsored by the California Street Hockey Assn. in conjunction with the Anaheim Bullfrogs, the championships will feature two games, including the inaugural Division I final between Trabuco Hills and Huntington Beach and an all-star game to follow.

Though not sanctioned by the Southern Section, the roller hockey playoffs featured more than 40 high school teams from Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.

Admission is free, but parking is $6 in The Pond’s lot.

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Sheri Ross, girls’ athletic director at El Toro, has been selected as the 1995 recipient of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Assn. State Award of Merit. Ross has been Charger swim coach for 20 years.