All American

UC Irvine senior pitcher Danny Bibona was named first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball on Thursday. Bibona, a repeat first-team All-American, is the first UCI player to earn such distinction. The two-time Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year is 9-2 with a 2.10 earned-run average this season with 100 strikeouts in 90 innings. He missed his final three scheduled regular-season starts with inflamed rib muscles, but returns to the mound today to start against LSU in the opening round of the Los Angeles Regional at 2 p.m. at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium.

UC Irvine senior outside hitter Kelly Wing has been selected an American Volleyball Coaches Association second-team All-American for her feats during the fall season. Wing, the 2004 Big West Player of the Year, led the Anteaters to their third straight winning season at 18-11 and back-to-back NCAA appearances. She finished the season ranked fifth in the country in kills per game (5.78) and 26th in aces per game (.55). Wing, the lone representative from the Big West Conference on either first- or second-teams, earned her second All-American distinction in four years at UCI. She was recently tabbed AVCA All-West Region for the second consecutive year and ends her career second in the Big West career records in kills (2,267)

UC Irvine junior Jon Steller, a 6-foot-7 opposite who led the Anteaters in kills this season, has been named third-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. Steller, a third-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection, averaged 3.36 kills per game while posting a .312 hitting percentage in his first season as a full-time starter. He became a starter 12 matches into the season, averaging 4.56 kills, 1.41 digs and 5.15 points per game from that point. He fired a team-high 38 service aces this year which ranks fifth in the UCI season record books.

When "Snakes on a Plane" representatives called the All-American Rejects to see if they wanted to add a song to the upcoming Samuel L. Jackson movie's soundtrack, they didn't need to think about it much. "We were stoked. We were like, 'Yeah! A Samuel Jackson movie.' And the logo looked amazing ? these two snakes all wrapped around the plane," said Chris Gaylor, the band's drummer. "We were like, 'OK. This has to be done.'" Even better, it gave them an opportunity to remix and fine-tune their song "Can't Take It," which was not as polished as others on their album, Gaylor said.

UC Irvine senior Jeff Powers has been selected a 2002 first team All-American by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. Powers led the Anteaters this season with 74 goals, which ranked second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. He also was a first team All-American in 2000 before redshirting in 2001. Anteater sophomore Dreason Barry (Eugene, Ore./North Eugene HS) was named a third team All-American after scoring 66 goals, which ranked fifth in the MPSF.

IRVINE — UC Irvine sophomore driver Brandon Johnson was named third-team All-American by the Assn. of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. Johnson led the Anteaters with 68 goals this past season, ranking second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 2.62 scoring average. He had six goals in three separate games during the season. He was named second-team All-MPSF. Coach Marc Hunt’s Anteaters, who were 11-15 in 2008, return their top five scorers next year plus starting goalkeeper Matt Johnson, Brandon’s twin brother, who had 186 saves this past season.

honors BREN EVENTS CENTER - Jerry Green, UC Irvine's all-time scoring leader, received a vote of confidence from the media as he awaits the NBA Draft in June. Green has been named honorable mention All-American by Basketball America, a monthly publication based in North Carolina. He and Tony Brown from Utah State were the only selections from the Big West Conference. Green was named honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press for the second straight season in March.

The Newport-Mesa Jr. All-American Football Junior Clinic Seahawks won their first game of the season against the Long Beach Cowboys, winning, 13-6. The defense was led by David Kidushium, Jack Belli, Nick Tripi and Jake Taylor, who limited the Cowboys to a single touchdown. With the game all tied up, the Seahawks marched down the field, led by solid runs from Anton Byrd and Kyle Chene to score with three minutes left to play. The offensive line, which aided the winning drive, included Mickey Miela, Austin Ford, Andrew Fulcher and D.J. Hauser.

Two UC Irvine standouts and two others out of Newport Harbor High have been recognized on the American Volleyball Coaches' Assn. All-American teams in men's volleyball. UC Irvine stars Carson Clark and Kevin Tillie were named to the first team, as was former Sailor Kyle Caldwell of UCLA. Weston Dunlap, a UCLA senior who played at Newport Harbor, was a second-team honoree. Clark, a 6-foot-6 opposite, is a four-time All-American, having also earned first-team honors in 2010.

Vanguard University senior Paige Halberg earned second-team NAIA All-American recognition in women's basketball after leading the Lions to a 23-7 record and their 11th straight appearance in the NAIA national tournament. Halberg, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 11.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists, playing mostly point guard due to injuries to others. Her 45 steals and 30 blocked shots also led the team and her basketball IQ and versatility allowed her to fill several roles for Coach Russ Davis' Lions, who were ranked No. 12 in the final national poll.

NEWPORT BEACH — The Corona del Mar High boys' tennis team is young this year, with just two senior starters. One could say the Sea Kings grew so much in a couple of hours Friday afternoon at The Tennis Club. Junior Alec Adamson, freshman Henry Gordon and freshman Chaz Downing were playing side-by-side on three singles courts at the Corona del Mar All-American Invitational Tournament. The opponents were three seniors from No. 3-seeded Torrey Pines. Only Downing was able to win, as the more experienced Falcons won two of the three close sets.

CORONA DEL MAR - It has never rained on the Corona del Mar All-American Invitational Tournament. CdM boys' tennis coach Brian Ricker said Tim Mang, the longtime CdM coach and All-American Tournament director, likes to brag about that fact. Mother Nature doesn't appear so kind for the 13th year of the two-day tournament. Rain is expected Saturday, so Mang moved up CdM's first-round match against Sage Hill. The two schools started the prestigious tournament Thursday, a day early.

CORONA DEL MAR - The lineup has been pretty stable for the Corona del Mar High boys' tennis team early in the season. Coach Brian Ricker has had to make relatively few changes. On Wednesday, he did move junior Alec Adamson from singles to doubles due to a sore right shoulder. The move worked out fine. Nobody had to shoulder too much of the load as the Sea Kings earned a big nonleague victory. Everyone won two sets as CdM, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 coaches' poll, earned a 12-6 home victory over No. 5 Palos Verdes.

Kyle Kelley admitted that being named to the prestigious Parade All-America Football Team - as one of the top 50 high school players in the nation - was a surprise. But that honor, which was released by the magazine earlier this month, certainly could not have surprised college recruiters from Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Oklahoma, Florida, North Carolina State, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Utah and Colorado. Those were the schools that offered Kelley a football scholarship, at least, "those are the only ones I can think of right now," he said.

While many kids his age are trying to figure out which video game to put into the Xbox, Matthew Hutnyan is thinking on a much bigger scale. Hutnyan lives in Irvine and is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Red Hill Lutheran in Tustin. But he is anything but your average middle schooler. He stands out among his peers, literally, at 5 feet 8, 170 pounds, and also boasts a 4.0 grade-point average. An academic scholarship is a goal of Hutnyan's after his four years of high school at Orange Lutheran.

UC Irvine senior men's soccer midfielder Miguel Ibarra has been named first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America. Ibarra, who shared Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the Anteaters to the conference regular-season and tournament championships, helped UCI reach the NCAA Tournament and finish 16-6-1. He had nine goals and eight assists to lead the team with 26 points (two points for a goal and one for an assist)

COSTA MESA - Vanguard University men's soccer coach Randy Dodge said his players did their jobs Wednesday to help the Lions record a 3-0 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over visiting Point Loma Nazarene. Doing their job has been more difficult than it appeared on Wednesday for the Lions, because those jobs have been changing virtually game-by-game. Injuries, red-card suspensions and other factors have created a fluid lineup for Dodge, who has had just one player, junior defender Chris Marvin, start all 13 games this season.