Barry Faulkner
The spotlight that shone on Newport-Mesa athletes, teams, events
and issues in 1999 ranged from international in scope to one so tightly
focused, it was imperceptable outside a specific neighborhood.
From Lindsay Davenport's SportsCenter-leading Wimbledon victory to the
spectatorless confines of high school releaguing meetings and sparsely
occupied bleachers of a local Little League diamond, it remains the Daily
Pilot sports department's challenge to describe, distill and often
celebrate the stories that touch the Newport-Mesa Community. It was a
challenge undertaken more than 300 times the past 12 months.
This perennial task produced these Top 10 Newport-Mesa sports stories of
1999, as chosen by the Pilot staff.
1) Lindsay Davenport wins Wimbledon - The Newport Beach resident added
another crowning victory to her young career, topping seven-time champion
Steffi Graf, 6-4, 7-5, in a 90-minute final July 4 at the All-England
Lawn & Tennis Croquet Club.
Only the third American-born woman in the last 40 years to win the
sport's premier event, the 23-year-old Davenport added the traditional
silver plate trophy to her 1998 U.S. Open crown and her 1996 Olympic gold
medal.
She became the first player since 1990 to sweep all her Wimbledon
opponents.
Davenport, coached by Robert Van't Hof, spent much of the year atop the
Women's Tennis Association tour rankings and later won the Bank of the
West Classic at Stanford University with a 7-6, 6-2 triumph over Venus
Williams.
2) Newport Harbor High Football - Coach Jeff Brinkley's Sailors earned a
dramatic 19-18 come-from-behind victory over Sea View League rival Irvine
in the Dec. 10 CIF Southern Section Division VI title game at Orange
Coast College.
The win capped a 13-0-1 season, which allowed the Tars to join the 14-0
CIF Division V title team of 1994 as the only CIF champions in the
program's 69 varsity seasons.
A strong running game, keyed by record-setting senior Andre Stewart and a
powerful offensive line, combined with a stifling defense to help Harbor
outscore opponents, 442-117.
The Sailors tied Marina, 21-21, in Week 2, then won their final 12,
collecting the second Sea View title in Brinkley's 14-year tenure along
the way.
3) Toshiba Senior Classic - A five-hole playoff, which eliminated half of
its four-player field with a pair of eagles on the first playoff hole,
ended when Gary McCord, more famous, perhaps, for holding a microphone
than a putter, rolled in a birdie to claim the $180,000 first-prize check
March 14.
