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Briefs: 2 locals set with U.S. unit

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Newport Beach residents Tumua Anae and Anne Belden will represent the U.S. women’s national team in upcoming water polo events including the FINA World League prelims and super final, as well as the Kirishi Cup.

Anae, a goalkeeper, starred at Corona del Mar High and helped USC win the NCAA championship in 2010.

Belden, an attacker who played at Newport Harbor High and UCLA, helped the Americans win the FINA World Cup in New Zealand last August.

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Team USA, ranked No. 1 in the world, will face Canada in the FINA World League prelims on May 20-21 at Corona del Mar High.

— From staff reports

Smith tops honorees

Orange Coast College freshman McKay Smith was named Co-Most Valuable Player in the Pacific Coast Conference in men’s volleyball.

Smith, a 6-foot-6 middle blocker, was one of three Pirates named to the first team.

Four players represented OCC on the second team and Travis Turner was named Coach of the Year.

Danny Baker, a freshman libero out of Corona del Mar High, and Richard De St. Jean, a sophomore middle blocker out of Newport Harbor High, joined Smith on the first team.

The trio helped the Pirates finish 16-3 and advance to the semifinals of the state tournament.

Chris Pratt, a 6-5 freshman middle blocker, Jeff Patton, a 6-7 sophomore outside hitter, James Anderson, a 6-1 sophomore setter, and Troy Tomasello, a 6-6 sophomore outside hitter, were second-team picks.

— From staff reports

Two Lions recognized

Vanguard University junior Gabriel Garcia is the lone Lion named to the All-Golden State Athletic Conference baseball team.

Vanguard senior center fielder Tyson Leighton was named to the conference’s Gold Glove Team for defensive prowess.

Garcia, a 5-goot-8 transfer from Cypress College, went 7-5 on the mound with a 2.00 earned-run average in 851/3 innings. He started 13 games, appeared in 15 and held opponents to a .230 batting average. He struck out 78 and walked 22, while allowing 73 hits.

Leighton posted a .969 fielding percentage with five assists and four errors. He was the lone Lion to start all 48 games and led the team with 10 home runs and 27 runs batted in. Leighton batted .295 for Vanguard, which finished 22-26, 16-20 in conference.

— From staff reports

Squillace lauded

Orange Coast College freshman Mike Squillace has been named All-Orange Empire Conference in men’s golf.

Pirates Coach Sean Collins is OEC Coach of the Year after guiding the Pirates to their second straight conference crown.

Tyler Stuffs from Saddleback is the Player of the Year.

— From staff reports

Ex-’Eaters in mix

Former UC Irvine All-Americans Jayson Jablonsky, Brian Thornton and David Smith are on the final 20-player roster for the U.S. men’s national volleyball team, which will compete in the 2011 Federation Internationale de Volleyball World League.

Jablonsky and Smith return to the squad, while Thornton joins his teammates from the 2007 UCI NCAA championship team in the World League for the first time.

A roster of 12-14 players will compete in each World League round.

The World League pits the world’s best 16 teams in competition for six straight weekends. The teams are divided into four-team pools. The top two teams from each pool advance to the final round, scheduled July 6-10 in Gdansk, Poland.

The Americans play host to Poland on June 17-18 in Illinois, face Brazil on June 24-25 in Tulsa, Okla., and play host to Puerto Rico on July 1-2 in Long Beach.

— From staff reports

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