U.S. Team, Croatia to Play Water Polo Exhibition

The U.S. national water polo team will play exhibition games against Croatia, the silver medalists at the 1996 Olympics, and Australia on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, beginning at 3:15 p.m. at Corona del Mar High. Admission is free both days.

The six-team international tournament begins Tuesday, with the championship match set for 3 p.m. May 11. All games will be played at Corona del Mar High.

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Carlos Palomino, former WBC welterweight world champion, will continue his comeback bid May 9 against Wilbert Garst in a 10-round bout at the Hollywood Palladium.

Palomino, of Westminster, returned to professional boxing in January after seven title defenses in his career from 1976-79.

Tickets, $25-$75, can be purchased through Ticketmaster at (714) 740-2000.

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The Mission Viejo Nadadores ran away with the title last weekend at the U.S. Diving Western National Championships in Lincoln, Neb.

The Nadadores won two gold and four silver medals at the two-day one-meter and three-meter springboard competition. They finished with 116 points. Runner-up Pacific Northwest Diving from Washington had 76 points. Crown Valley Diving of Laguna Hills tied for seventh with 44 points, and L’Equip of Irvine tied for 10th with 40.

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Carla Nasca, a senior at Upland High School, has signed a letter of intent to play tennis at UC Irvine, Anteater Coach Mike Edles said.

Nasca is the 19th-ranked singles player in girls’ 18 in Southern California. She is ranked fourth in doubles.

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Geoffrey Henderson, a 6-foot-8 senior from Westminster, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Lehigh, Coach Gary Dickson announced Tuesday. Henderson set a school record for blocked shots in a single season (38) and was an All-Golden West League honorable-mention selection.

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Alison Carr of Irvine Valley has orally committed to play basketball at Azusa Pacific, Irvine Valley Coach Lisa McNamee said.

Carr, a 6-foot-1 center from Tustin High, averaged 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in helping the Lasers finish 23-6 and win the Orange Empire Conference championship. Carr received first-team all-conference honors.

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Gabriel Armendariz of Mission Viejo shot a final round net 69 to tie for the championship of the President flight (handicap indexes of 3.5-7.4) of the SCGA Amateur Net Championship at Bakersfield Country Club. Dave Hellman of Mission Viejo won the Secretary Flight (indexes of 12.5-18.4) shooting a net 65 at Stockdale Country Club in Bakersfield.

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The Fullerton boys’ basketball team, with a combined 3.71 grade-point average, has been named the scholastic state champion for its sport for 1996-97. The Indians, under first-year Coach Bill Czech, finished 11-15, 3-7 in the Freeway League.

The Calvary Chapel and Laguna Beach boys’ basketball teams tied for third with 3.59 GPAs. Biggs High is the state’s top wrestling team (3.87 GPA) and Santa Maria Righetti (3.85) is the top girls’ basketball team.

The scholastic state championship program, begun last spring, is for teams and individuals competing in sports that offer state championships.

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Stanford’s Matt Fuerbringer of Estancia High has been named player of the week by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. after leading the Cardinal to a victory over top-ranked UCLA in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament final.

Fuerbringer, a senior outside hitter, had 17 kills, seven digs and one block as Stanford swept the two-time defending national champions and advanced to the NCAA semifinals, Thursday-Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.

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Alison Johnsen of Arizona was recently named national player of the week by the National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. for her performance against No. 4 UCLA and No. 25 Cal State Northridge. Arizona won all four games and moved from second to first in the national softball rankings. She also was named Pacific 10 Conference player of the week.

Johnsen, the 1994 Times Orange County player of the year while at Woodbridge, went 10 for 15 with two home runs and five RBIs. She also scored seven runs and had one stolen base.

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Rodrigo Garcia of Santa Ana won the 60-pound division at the 1997 Junior Olympics boxing tournament last weekend in Pasadena. Garcia, who represented the TKO (Turning Kids On) Youth Boxing Club of Santa Ana, began boxing a month ago when he turned 8. He attends Rosita Elementary.