CHATTER: LOCALS ON NATIONAL YOUTH WATER POLO TEAM.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

La Canada High of La Canada Flintridge's Devon Borisoff and Harvard- Westlake of Studio City's Brian Pingree have been selected to the U.S. men's water polo national youth team that will play in two international tournaments.

Borisoff and Pingree, All-Area first-team selections in 2005, were two of the 15 players selected to compete Aug. 4-6 against Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Serbia in Zagreb, Croatia, and Aug. 11-13 against France, Germany and Russia in Stuttgart, Germany.

The 15-player roster, featuring 14 athletes from California, was determined following a three-week training camp in Los Alamitos. The U.S. team will also compete in a tournament in December in Canada.

Borisoff and La Canada teammates Gamal Rady, Doug McNeese and Jordan Thompson were recently selected All-Americans by the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association. Crespi of Encino's Jon Bacon, Harvard-Westlake's Brian Flacks and Royal of Simi Valley's Adam Thomas were also recognized.

Louisville of Woodland Hills' Kasey O'Connor and Kristyn Ross, along with Thousand Oaks' Kat Plummer, were selected girls' water polo All- Americans by NISCA.

Montclair Prep of Panorama City, which won Southern Section 11-man football titles in 1990, 1992 and 1994, has decided to drop to eight-man football for the upcoming fall season.

Montclair Prep, which reached Div. XII championship games in 2000-01, posted a combined 8-22 record -- one win coming by forfeit -- the past three seasons. The Mounties went 0-9 last season under veteran coach George Giannini.

Although Montclair Prep graduated only six athletes from its 29-player roster last year, several individuals have left the team or transferred to other area schools, resulting in the decision to play an eight-man schedule.

Real So Cal, a local girls' club soccer team featuring athletes from Agoura, Camarillo, Chatsworth and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, recently captured the 15-under division championship at the Gothia Cup -- also known as the Youth World Cup -- in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Michelle Cruz scored twice and Brittany Held added a goal for Real So Cal in a 3-1 victory in the final over New Jersey's Matchfit Futbol Club.

Real So Cal, which qualified for the 124-team tournament after winning the Manchester Cup in May at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon, rebounded from a 1-0 loss in its first game to win eight in a row to capture the title.

San Gabriel Valley Babe Ruth's All-Star baseball team, coached by Crescenta Valley of LaCrescenta's Phil Torres, begins competition today in Alameda in the 16- to 18-year-old Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament.

San Gabriel Valley, featuring C.V.'s Dustin Emmons, Chris Johnson, Kris Kauppila, Kam Krise and Chad Nacapoy, plays either Alameda or Arizona at 5 p.m. today at College of Alameda.

San Gabriel Valley advanced by winning the Southern California Tournament on July 21.

The West Hills 12-year-old All-Star baseball team is competing in the Bronco Zone tournament in Whittier, the final step before the Pony World Series in Monterey. West Hills entered Thursday night's game against North Seattle with a 19-1 record.

Derek Perren hit two grand slams last weekend to keep the San Fernando Rockies alive in the Stan Musial Southern California district playoffs, which resume Saturday in Norco.

Perren, a Granada Hills High and Pierce College product who has committed to USC, hit the second grand slam in Sunday's victory over the Woodland Hills Cardinals. The first baseman is hitting better than .500 for the Rockies (27-7).

Heather Gripp contributed

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