Hirsohn, 11, wins two USTA junior tennis titles in same week

By Marty James

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Wednesday in the Napa Valley:

Quinn Hirsohn of Napa hung up his Little League cleats and began his summer tennis season by winning two U.S. Tennis Association junior tournaments in the 12-and-under division last week.

On July 30, Hirsohn capped a run through the ladder of the 106th annual San Francisco Junior Open in Golden Gate Park with a 6-1, 6-2 win in the finals against Jeffrey Vulis of San Francisco.

On Sunday, four days later, Hirsohn followed suit with another open championship, this time defeating Maxwell Wedecke of Petaluma in three sets at the San Marin Junior Open in Novato.

Hirsohn, 11, will be starting the sixth grade this fall at Sunrise Montessori. He is a product of the Napa Valley Tennis Association junior program at Vintage High School, which is directed by head pro Rick Hanover and his assistant, Ross Yarlott.

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Brett Wallace is off to some kind of a start in professional baseball.

The Justin-Siena graduate and third baseman for the Quad Cities River Bandits of Davenport, Iowa was named as the Class A-Midwest League Player of the Week for the period lasting from July 28-Aug. 3.

Wallace, the 13th overall pick of the 2008 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, batted .429 with 12 hits, including two home runs, four extra-base hits and nine RBIs, while hitting safely in all seven games. His RBI and hit totals were tied for the league lead during the week.

The two-time Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year from Arizona State was 5-for-7 during a doubleheader against West Michigan.

He is batting .346 with five home runs and 21 RBIs through 28 games.

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Tom Long has been named as an assistant coach for the Napa Valley College baseball team. Long is a Vintage High graduate who played for coach Bob Freschi at NVC in 2006. Long played the last two years at Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock.

Long, a coach for the Napa junior American Legion team this summer, will be working with the catchers and will be the Storm’s first base coach.

“Tom is a wonderful addition to our club,” said Freschi. “He has a tremendous background in the game and great knowledge of the game.

“I knew when he was playing at NVC, that he would make a great coach someday. I am glad and pleased that Tom is able to join our staff at NVC.”

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Bruce Lamoreaux, a retired school teacher who carried the Olympic torch in 1996 and is involved with the Napa Valley Tennis Association, will be the guest of the KVON Sportsvine Saturday. The hour-long show, hosted by Terry Simpkins, Charles Kennedy and Mark McLeod, airs at 9 a.m. on KVON 1440 AM.

Lamoreaux also volunteers for the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon. Lamoreaux carried the torch in Seattle.

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Former Justin-Siena star Vicky Deely scored 16 points for San Francisco in a 95-76 win over Bay Tide Sunday in the semifinals of the Bay Area Women’s Pro-Am Summer Basketball League playoffs at Kezar Pavilion.

Deely led Justin-Siena to its first-ever CIF North Coast Section Division IV championship and a spot in the finals of the Northern California Regional playoffs. The 6-foot power forward will play for UC Davis on a full-ride scholarship in the fall.

San Francisco advances to Saturday’s 2 p.m. championship game against Bay City.

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Gregory Lane Hunter of St. Helena completed his 15th consecutive San Francisco Marathon, held on Sunday, in a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes and 14 seconds.

Hunter finished 674th out of 4,358 runners and 13th out of 130 runners in his age division who completed the challenging, hilly, and scenic 26.2-mile race course.

Hunter has completed 81 marathons overall and his time qualified him to compete in his 15th consecutive Boston Marathon on April 20, 2009.

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Gary Hallberg’s final-round 70 allowed him to finish in a tie for 14th at the U.S. Senior Open, the best performance among those players in the field with Colorado ties. Hallberg, a Castle Pines resident, finished 72 holes at 5-over 285.

Hallberg, who represented Silverado Resort at one time on the PGA Tour, is 45th on the Champions Tour in earnings ($279,805 through six events).

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Vintage High will be opening a new eight-lane all-weather track and synthetic turf practice football/soccer field for the 2008-09 school year, but the school is still in need of equipment for its track and field program.

The Crushers are in need of hurdles. Businesses or individuals can help in this area by purchasing individual hurdles. For $100, you can purchase a hurdle and have the name of your business or your individual name on the board that goes across the hurdle.

Donations can be sent to Vintage High School in care of Dave Shipp, athletic director, 1375 Trower Ave., Napa, CA 94558.

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Kevin Alexander of Napa tied for 20th, shooting a 4-over-par 75, at a U.S. Mid-Amateur Sectional Qualifying Monday at Green Valley Country Club in Suisun.

Only the low four individual scorers advance to the championship, Sept. 6-11 at Milwaukee Country Club in River Hills, Wis.

The event is open to those with a USGA handicap index of 3.4 or lower. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

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

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