May, McPeak Advance at FIVB Event in China

Misty May and Holly McPeak moved closer to qualifying for the Sydney Olympics next month, advancing to Round 4 with a 15-5 victory over China’s Zhang Jingkun and Tian Jia early Saturday at the FIVB women’s beach volleyball tournament in Dalian, China.

May, a Newport Harbor graduate, and McPeak need one more victory Saturday to advance to the semifinals. If they finish in the top three of the tournament, they secure a berth on the Olympic team.

Also Saturday, El Toro graduate Elaine Youngs and partner Liz Masakayan, who still have an outside shot of overtaking May and McPeak, won 15-5 over Mexico’s Hilda Gaxiola and Teresa Galindo to advance to Round 4.

* Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana won two matches at the FIVB men’s beach volleyball event in Ostende, Belgium.

Blanton, a Laguna Beach High graduate, and Fonoimoana need to finish fourth or better this weekend to overtake San Clemente’s Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson for the final Olympic berth.

Kiraly dislocated his right shoulder Wednesday and probably won’t be ready to play next month in the Olympics. But Johnson would have an opportunity to select a new partner should his team maintain its points lead.

Blanton and Fonoimoana, seeded seventh, can clinch an Olympic berth by winning their first two matches today, including a morning match against second-seeded Jose Loiola and Emmanuel Rego of Brazil.

Blanton and Fonoimoana advanced to today’s Round 3 with a 15-6 first-round victory over Austrians Oliver Stamm and Nikolas Berger and a 15-4 second-round victory over Italians Andre Raffaelli and Maurizio Pimponi.

The biggest surprise of the day was the elimination of top-seeded Ze’Marco deMelo and Ricardo Santos of Brazil, who finished 17th.

TRACK AND FIELD

Bill Knocke of Huntington Beach won the 100-meter hurdles Friday in the 60-64 age group at the USA Track and Field National Masters Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Knocke, 60, finished in 15.49 seconds. Emil Pawlik of Jackson, Miss. was second in 15.74.

Winning titles on Thursday were Brad Slinkard of Dove Canyon in men’s 40-44 shotput (46 feet 11 3/4 inches), Mission Viejo’s Charles Brown in the men’s 45-49 pole vault (15-9) and Anaheim’s Chuck Gaudette in the men’s 35-39 pentathlon (2,982 points).

TENNIS

Fourth-seeded Tracy Lin of Anaheim defeated second-seeded Lejla Hodzic of Cupertino, 7-5, 6-1, in the semifinals of the U.S. Tennis Assn. Girls’ 14 Super National Championships in College Park, Ga.

Lin, the Southern California girls’ 14 sectional champion, will face fifth-seeded Polina Zaretser of Brooklyn, N.Y., in the final today. Zaretser beat Brintney Larson of Orchard Park, N.Y., 6-4, 6-4, in the other semifinal.