Booth Knocked Out in Quarterfinals of U.S. Amateur

In a battle of former U.S. Girls’ Junior champions, Kelli Kuehne of McKinney, Tex., beat Kellee Booth of Coto de Caza, 1 up, in the quarterfinals of the 95th U.S. Women’s Amateur Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

Kuehne made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to advance to a semifinal match against Se-Ri Park of Korea. Anne Marie Knight of Australia and Wendi Patterson of Atlanta will play in the other semifinal today. The winners will meet Saturday in a 36-hole final.

After trailing Booth early, Kuehne made birdie on three of four holes to go 1-up on the par-five 11th. Booth evened the match with a par on 17.

“I hit a good, solid drive at 18 after I saw her hit hers right,” Kuehne said. “My caddie told me where to hit my putt, and somehow, I don’t know how, I hit it right in the hole.”

Booth won the 1993 Girls’ Junior, beating Kuehne in the semifinals, at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa. Kuehne won the 1994 Girls’ Junior title.

Thursday, Booth, a Santa Margarita graduate who will be a sophomore at Arizona State, beat Joellyn Erdmann of Little Chute, Wis., 3 and 1, in the third round. Kuehne beat Laura Philo of Amelia Island, Fla., 1-up, in her morning match.

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Mater Dei’s Mark Pozsgai has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Long Beach State, Becky Pozsgai, his mother, said Thursday.

Pozsgai, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter, was the team’s most valuable player all four years and was a two-time All-South Coast League selection. He helped the Monarchs reach the Southern Section Division I playoffs last season.

Pozsgai was also a key reserve on the Monarchs’ basketball team, which won the State Division I championship.