Briefs: Interest for Sailor

Newport Harbor High standout defensive end Steve Michaelsen said he has returned from the Pacific Northwest, where he took unofficial visits to the University of Washington and Oregon.

Michaelsen, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior this upcoming football season, is being recruited by both Pacific 12 Conference schools, and two other programs in the conference, Colorado and USC, have shown interest. Michaelsen has received offers from Army and Navy.

Michaelsen earned second-team All-Sunset League and Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team honors after finishing with 58 tackles and two sacks as a junior.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

CdM softball hires Munoz

Corona del Mar High Athletic Director Don Grable announced Wednesday that the school has hired Kiki Munoz as its softball coach.

Munoz played softball at El Modena High and also at Cal State Fullerton, where she was named a second-team Division I All-American in her senior year of 2008. She was also a first-team All-Big West Conference selection that year, after batting .400 with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in.

The permanent job had been vacant since John Felicetti, who was in his third year, resigned on March 30. Longtime CdM coach Jerry Jelnick stepped in and coached the rest of the season for CdM.

CdM finished 7-21 in 2011, 0-10 in the Pacific Coast League. The Sea Kings have not won a league game since 2008.

—Matt Szabo

UCI picked fourth

The UC Irvine men’s soccer team, which won the Big West Conference regular-season title in 2010, has been picked to finish fourth in the conference coaches’ preseason poll released Wednesday.

The Anteaters, ranked No. 17 nationally by topdrawersoccer.com, lost the top seven goal scorers and six starters from last year’s squad that finished 14-3-3 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

UCI finished with 30 points in the poll that was topped by UC Santa Barbara (48 points), which received six of seven first-place votes.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (40 points), netted the other first-place vote. Cal State Fullerton received 32 points, while Cal State Northridge (20), UC Davis (14) and UC Riverside (12) rounded out the poll.

Coach George Kuntz’s UCI squad opens the season Aug. 26 at home against San Diego.

— From staff reports

UCI ranked No. 6

The UC Irvine men’s water polo team is ranked No. 6 in the Collegiate Water Polo Assn. national preseason poll.

The Anteaters, picked to finish ninth in the nine-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, received 70 points, trailing USC (99), Cal (95), UCLA (90), Stanford (86) and Pacific (76).

Coach Marc Hunt’s UCI squad finished No. 5 in last season’s final poll.

— From staff reports