NOTES AND QUOTES for a Monday in the Napa Valley:

The 2007 season for the Napa Valley Tennis Association’s 3.5 men’s team came to a close at the U.S. Tennis Association-Northern California District Tournament. The Napa team was 19-4 overall and had a 1-3 record at the District level.

Napa opened by beating Round Hill Country Club of Alamo, 3-2. Todd Santiago (6-7, 6-4, 1-0) and Kyle McAhren (6-1, 6-3) won in singles, and Bruce Lamoreaux and Mark Glickstein won in doubles (5-7, 7-5, 1-0).

Santiago won in singles (4-6, 6-1, 1-0) and the team of Larry Gable and Matt Forbes won in doubles (6-4, 6-4), but Napa lost its match to Harbor Point of Mill Valley, 3-2.

In a 3-2 loss to Westlake of San Francisco, Santiago handed Jeff Amante his first loss of the season (6-1, 2-6, 1-0) and the team of Gable and Forbes won after losing the first set (3-6, 6-4, 1-0).

Westlake advanced to the NorCal USTA Sections in Carmel.

Emily Talley of Napa shot a 4-over-par 75 to finish third in the girls 15-17 division of the San Leandro City Junior, a Junior Golf Association of Northern California premier event that was held at Monarch Bay Golf Club Aug. 9. There were 74 players entered in Talley’s division.

She will start her senior year this fall at Justin-Siena High School.

Natalie Facchini of Napa returns at libero-defensive specialist for a UC San Diego volleyball team which earned a No. 4 national ranking in the 2007 Preseason CSTV/AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll, released on Aug.14.

The Tritons return 11 letterwinners from the 2006 squad, which went 26-3 and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals after capturing the Pacific Region crown.

San Diego begins the season on Thursday against Regis at the San Bernardino tournament. UCSD has nine consecutive road matches to start the year, including trips to San Bernardino and Hawaii, before opening the California Collegiate Athletic Association campaign on the road at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Facchini, a senior, holds the school’s single-season digs record and will aim for the career mark this year. She is a Vintage graduate.

Linda Reese of Richmond fired a 77 to win the championship flight low gross division of the Northern California Executive Women’s Golf Association semifinal at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo last month.

Reese and the other winners in each flight advance to the EWGA Championship, considered the largest amateur women’s golf competition in the country. The 36-hole championship finals will be held at the Hermitage Golf Course in Old Hickory, Tenn., Sept. 7-8.

The EWGA Championship begins at the chapter level with members competing

in individual stroke play in five flights based on USGA handicaps and a scramble team competition. First place low gross and low net winners in each flight and the winning scramble team advance to one of the 15 semifinal competitions held throughout the country.

The nine EWGA chapters represented in the Northern California area include

Fresno-San Joaquin, Gold Country/Auburn, Northeast Bay, Northern Nevada,

Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma-Marin-Napa, Stockton/San Joaquin and Tulare/Kings Counties.

For more information about the association and its membership, visit www.ewga.com.

The U.S. Amateur Championship gets under way today at 7 a.m. and continues Tuesday with stroke play qualifying on the Lakeside and Ocean courses at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

The field of 312 golfers will be reduced to the lowest 64 scorers, who will then advance to match play. All matches are 18 holes except the final match. The 36-hole championship final match is scheduled for Sunday.

All match play rounds will be held at the Lakeside Course, beginning Wednesday. A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday, followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday, and single rounds again from Friday-Sunday.

The Lakeside Course will play at 6,948 yards and par 35-35—70. The Ocean Course, which will be used for the first two days of stroke play only, will play at 6,786 yards and par 35-35—70.

The Lakeside Course set-up has a USGA course rating of 74.8 and a slope rating of 143. The Ocean Course set-up has a course rating of 74.0 and a slope rating of 136. An “average” slope rating in the U.S. is about 113.

Olympic Club members Joseph Bramlett, Spencer Fletcher, Randy Haag and Martin Trainor have qualified for the event.

The U.S. Amateur is open to amateur golfers who have a USGA handicap index not exceeding 2.4.

The champion receives an exemption into the 2008 U.S. Open and British Open, and a probable invitation to play in the 2008 Masters Tournament, if he remains an amateur. He also receives a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur field so long as he remains an amateur.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.ticketweb.com. Daily tickets are $15 and a weekly pass is $60. Other ticket options are also available. Children 12 and under are admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult.

The U.S. Amateur will have 10 hours of national coverage on The Golf Channel and NBC over the last five days of the championship.

The Olympic Club has hosted eight USGA championships, more than any other club in California except Pebble Beach. Included in the mix are four U.S. Opens and two U.S. Amateurs.

The 2012 U.S. Open will be contested on the Lakeside Course.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.