Briefly In Sports

May-Treanor, Walsh victorious in Russia

Newport Harbor High alumna Misty May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh won gold Saturday at the Federation Internationale de Volleyball Moscow Grand Slam.

Second-seeded May-Treanor and Walsh defeated top-seeded Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca of Brazil, 23-21, 21-15, in the championship match.

It was the 37th World Tour title for May-Treanor and Walsh, who split $43,500 in winnings. That number trails only Larissa and Juliana, who have 40. May-Treanor and Walsh improved to 12-6 head-to-head against their Brazilian rivals, though Larissa and Juliana had won the last three meetings, including at last month’s FIVB World Championships in Rome.

The FIVB returns to North America next week for the Quebec Open.

— From staff reports

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Locals Lofgren and Hogan shine at regatta

Esther Lofgren and JP Hogan share the same background. They’re both from Newport Beach, where they trained at Newport Aquatic Center. They both attended Newport Harbor High, where they competed in rowing. They both also have ties to Harvard University.

At the 2011 Henley Royal Regatta, they both represented extremely well.

Lofgren, a Harvard alumna who is on the U.S. national team, won two gold medals, helping the Americans win the Remenham Challenge Cup and Princess Grace Challenge Cup. Hogan, entering his third year at Harvard, took home the Prince Albert Challenge Cup as part of the Crimson 4v-plus July 3 at Henley-on-Thames, England.

Lofgren joined the U.S. women’s eight July 2, when another rower couldn’t compete because of injury. She helped the eight defeat Leander Club and Gloucester Rowing Club by 1 3/4 lengths and finish in 6 minutes, 38 seconds, which tied the event record.

Lofgren’s original boat, a U.S. quad, was also victorious. They beat an Australian quad by 1 1/4 lengths in 7:02.

Hogan and the Harvard rowers, plus a cox, won the Prince Albert Challenge cup in dramatic fashion. They came from behind in the semifinals, surpassing Newcastle University, and in the final, overwhelming Oxford Brookes University in front of a large crowd.

In the final, Harvard won by 1 3/4 lengths. Its time of 6:58 was just one second off its event-record mark from July 2.

— Steve Virgen