Flesch and Van De Velde Fill Out Pelican Hill Field

Jean Van De Velde and Steve Flesch will play in the Hyundai team matches, tournament director Gary Pollard said Friday, completing the 24-player field for the Dec. 15-17 matches at Pelican Hill.

Van de Velde, from France, is best known for his runner-up finish in the 1999 British Open when he blew a three-stroke lead on the final hole, then lost a playoff.

Flesch, the 1998 PGA Tour rookie of the year, finished 16th on the 2000 money list.

ICE SKATING

Laguna Niguel’s Sasha Cohen, in her first season on the senior ladies’ Grand Prix circuit, is in fourth place after the short program competition Friday, the first day of the International Skaing Union Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Russia.

She trails Irina Slutskaya, who landed all three of her required jumps flawlessly to finish ahead of Elena Sokolova of Russia.

VOLLEYBALL

Kelley Kincheloe, a middle blocker for Mater Dei, has signed a letter of intent to attend Connecticut.

* Nathan Hagstrom, an outside hitter from Fountain Valley High, signed with Long Beach State.

WATER POLO

Cara Chlebicki, a utility player from Marina High, has accepted a scholarship offer from California to play water polo.

Chlebicki played on the gold medal-winning U.S. girls’ junior national team last summer.

SOFTBALL

Two Aliso Niguel softball players signed letters of intent, Coach Joe Miller said. Shannon Anderson, a center fielder who hit .356 last season, signed with Auburn, and Jessica Vernaglia, a third baseman who hit .448, signed with California.

* Dana Kenney of Rosary, who batted .427 last season and was a Times’ Orange County first-team selection, signed with DePaul.

MOTORSPORTS

Faced with an 80-hour deadline to complete the 1,679.54 miles of the Tecate SCORE Baja 2000 race that began Sunday, Orange County drivers found themselves battling for the top spots in several classes in the Ensenada-to-Cabo San Lucas race.

Among the closest races in any class involved two Orange County teams. In Class 10, Steve Myers, Dan Myers and Andrew Myers of Newport Beach clocked 41 hours 44 minutes 49 seconds, edging Brea’s Don Hatch in 41:45:08.

Johnny Campbell of San Clemente was the first man to cross the finish line. The Class 22 motorcyclist and his three co-riders made the trip in 30:54:12.