Big West

Sophomore Itos Aikhionbare and junior Lacey Surak will represent the UC Irvine women's track and field team in the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Austin, Texas. Aikhionbare will compete in the discus throw Friday at 10 a.m. and the shotput Saturday at 4 p.m. She set the school record in the discus with a mark of 51.63 meters (169-5) in the Beach Invitational at Cerritos College April 20. Aikhionbare has a top mark in the shotput this season of 15.67 meters (51-5) that she recorded at the Oxy Invitational May 4. That mark is No. 2 in the UCI record book.

Boise State is joining the Big West Conference, the Big West Board of Directors announced Friday. Boise State, which initially competed in the Big West from 1996-2001, represents the third recent membership addition to the conference, which will have 11 members beginning next fall. The University of Hawai'i officially joined the Big West on July 1, 2012. San Diego State University and Boise State are simultaneously set to come on board effective July 1, 2013. "The Big West Conference welcomes an established, nationally recognized institution in Boise State at a time of unprecedented growth for its members," said Long Beach State University President Dr. F. King Alexander, Chair of the Big West Board of Directors.

UC Irvine senior Charles Jock has been named the Big West Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season. Jock, who was named to The Bowerman Watch List earlier Wednesday, won the 800 meters at Saturday's Big West Championships in 1 minute, 44.75 seconds, that leads the U.S. list this season. He also ran the second leg of UCI's 4x400 relay Saturday as the 'Eaters won the event for the fourth straight year. Jock ran his leg in 45.8 with other team members Dominic Jester, Chris Carson and Jacob Yowell joining forces to record a first-place time of 3:11.17.

UC Irvine has been picked to finish third in the Big West Conference men's basketball race in a media poll released Thursday. Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters, who return all five starters from a 12-20 campaign in 2011-12, collected one first-place vote and 153 points, topped only by Long Beach State (194 points) and Cal State Fullerton (164). In addition, UCI senior Mike Wilder was named to the six-player preseason all-conference team. Long Beach State, the defending conference champion, received 13 first-place votes, while Cal State Fullerton, with two first-team all-conference players returning, had six and Pacific had one. Big West newcomer Hawaii was picked fourth (132 points)

At 7-7, the UC Irvine men's basketball team is breaking even. It took overtime, of course, to produce the Anteaters' seventh victory of the season on Saturday, and "even" may be the theme in the Big West Conference, which tipped off with five games Saturday. Four games among Big West rivals were decided by 10 or fewer points on Saturday, with the lone exception being UCI's 68-57 overtime conquest of visiting UC Davis, which managed just one field goal in the final 10:33 of action, including a scoreless overtime session.

The Big West Conference and Fox Sports Networks announced a long-term media rights agreement Thursday that makes Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West, and Fox Sports San Diego the exclusive regional TV partners for Big West Conference sports commencing with the current 2012-13 season. This season, a minimum of 20 marquee events will be showcased across Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West, and Fox Sports San Diego, including regular-season men's basketball games, four men's basketball tournament quarterfinal games, and the women's basketball tournament championship game, as well as the soccer and track and field championships.

UC Irvine has been picked to finish second in the Big West Conference, according to a preseason poll of coaches released on Thursday. The Anteaters, who are ranked No. 30 in the preseason by Collegiate Baseball and No. 33 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn., received 82 points, including one of 10 first-place votes to land behind defending champion Cal State Fullerton. The Titans, who have won 10 Big West titles in the last 17 seasons, had nine first-place votes and 99 points.

LOGAN, Utah -- Sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea McCarthy collected five saves to record her first career shutout and junior midfielder Caroline Kabe converted a penalty kick in the 43rd minute to propel visiting UC Irvine to a 1-0 Big West Conference triumph over Utah State Sunday. The victory was the second of the weekend for the Anteaters, who come away from their first two conference contests with a 5-5 record, 2-0 in the Big West. UCI knocked off host Idaho, 2-1, Friday.

The UC Irvine women's volleyball team and UC Santa Barbara were both picked to finish third in the Big West preseason coaches poll. Defending champion Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was tabbed as the favorite, collecting eight first-place votes, while Long Beach State was selected second in the standings. UCI, under eighth-year coach Charlie Brande, returns all but one starter to the lineup this season and is led by All-Big West conference first-team selection Lauren Kellerman and honorable mention Kristin Kelley.

IRVINE - The offense is producing in bunches and the pitching is more than holding its own. But with one game left in the regular season, the UC Irvine baseball program may be on the verge of an eight-month break. Despite an 8-4 win that clinched the three-game Big West Conference series victory against visiting Long Beach State on Friday, the Anteaters (33-21, 15-11 in conference) can finish no better than tied for third in the conference. And even in that scenario, they would lose the tiebreaker to UC Santa Barbara.

Sophomore Itos Aikhionbare and junior Lacey Surak will represent the UC Irvine women's track and field team in the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Austin, Texas. Aikhionbare will compete in the discus throw Friday at 10 a.m. and the shotput Saturday at 4 p.m. She set the school record in the discus with a mark of 51.63 meters (169-5) in the Beach Invitational at Cerritos College April 20. Aikhionbare has a top mark in the shotput this season of 15.67 meters (51-5) that she recorded at the Oxy Invitational May 4. That mark is No. 2 in the UCI record book.

UC Irvine juniors Andrew Morales and Taylor Sparks were named Big West Conference pitcher and player of the week in baseball after leading the Anteaters to a series win against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Morales, named Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season, improved to 10-0 by striking out a career-high 190 in seven innings of an 11-1 series-clinching win over Cal Poly on Sunday. Morales registered 10 of his first 12 outs via the strikeout. He allowed four hits and walked one to lower his earned-run average to 1.79.

IRVINE - Six days after undergoing unexpected root canal surgery, UC Irvine junior pitcher Andrew Morales made the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo hitters experience roughly the equivalent of a trip to the dentist. Morales, recorded 10 of his first 12 outs with strikeouts and pitched seven shutout innings to help the host Anteaters earn an 11-1 victory over the Mustangs in the rubber game of a crucial Big West Conference baseball series on Sunday. With the win, Morales, a transfer from Rio Hondo Community College in his first Division I season, improved to 10-0 and lowered his earned-run average to 1.79.

UC Irvine senior Kristina Smith has been named Big West Conference Player of the Year in women's tennis. Smith, who was named first-team all-conference in singles and doubles, is UCI's first Player of the Year since 2005. She has twice been named first-team All-Big West in singles. Smith teams with junior Franziska Goettschling to earn her doubles recognition. Smith received honorable mention in all-conference doubles voting all three of her previous seasons. In addition, Marivick Mamiit is a second-team honoree in singles, while Anteaters head man Mike Edles shares Coach of the Year recognition.

WOMEN'S WATER POLO UC Irvine 7, San Diego State 5 IRVINE - The No. 2-seeded Anteaters advanced to Sunday's Big West Conference Tournament final behind 13 saves from Jillian Yocum and two goals apiece from Michaela Pierandozzi and McKenna Mitchell on Saturday at UCI. UCI (21-8), which shared the conference regular-season crown with Hawaii (20-9), will meet the top-seeded Rainbow Wahine Sunday at 4:15 p.m. Hawaii defeated Long Beach State, 10-5, in the other semifinal Saturday.

In a sport laced with head cases, narcissists and finger-pointers, a little altruism can be more difficult to find than a scholarship. So the stories behind regular-season Big West Conference titles for the UC Irvine women's and men's teams this spring are as refreshing as a properly chilled elixir of electrolytes. Anteaters women's coach Mike Edles said goodbye to productive seniors Courtney Byron, Hannah Holladay and Stephanie Hammel last season only to field a roster that included seven underclassmen and one senior.

WOMEN'S GOLF Big West Championships SAN LUIS OBISPO — Junior Ronnie Valerio finished tied for fifth and senior Michelle Park tied for seventh in the event completed Tuesday at San Luis Obispo Golf and Country Club. The Anteaters had a 54-hole total of 922, 41 shots off the pace of victorious UC Davis and 12 behind runner-up Long Beach State. Valerio shot 226, while Park shot 227. Freshman Luciane Lee tied for 17th at 234, while Sara Banke tied for 22nd at 235 and sophomore Brenna Carlson tied for 28th at 242. BASEBALL UC Irvine 1, Pacific 0 STOCKTON — Junior Andrew Morales pitched 81/3 shutout innings to improve to 9-0 and extend his scoreless-innings streak to 222/3 to help the visiting Anteaters win the rubber game of the Big West Conference series Sunday.

UC Irvine junior Andrew Morales was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after pitching 8 1/3 shutout innings against Pacific on Sunday to improve to 9-0. Morales, a transfer from Rio Hondo Community College, struck out eight, allowed seven hits and walked one in his career-long outing against the Tigers. He has now pitched 22 2/3 straight innings without being scored upon. He has not given up a run in his last four appearances, including three starts.