Gauchos

IRVINE — The only four-letter acronym in the Big West Conference is UC Santa Barbara. But for an emerging UC Irvine women's basketball program, it might as well be UC Stumbling Block. The visiting Gauchos, who came in with a 216-27 conference record since the 1995-96 season, and had won 17 of their previous 18 contests against UCI, extended that dominance with a 69-58 victory Thursday night at the Bren Events Center. The win knocked the Anteaters (11-5, 3-1 in conference)

COSTA MESA ? Orange Coast College sophomore Alexandra Wilson and freshman Britney McAleer drove in runs to put the Pirates on top, 2-0, after a half-inning, but the Gauchos answered with six in their first at-bat on the way to an Orange Empire Conference softball victory Monday. Wilson, a third baseman, went 2 for 2 with a double and sophomore second baseman Nicole Groom went 2 for 3 for the Pirates (12-20, 1-10 in conference). Freshman shortstop Brooke Bayer also had a hit for OCC. McAleer is a product of Costa Mesa High.

Steve Virgen After UC Santa Barbara displayed its dominance, and after the Gauchos showed why they're the 17th-ranked women's basketball team in the nation, UC Irvine looked to next year. That's really all there was left to do. UCSB, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, won its 20th straight Big West Conference tournament game, an 83-50 victory over the Anteaters Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center. "I'm very proud of this basketball team," UCI Coach Mark Adams said in reference to his team's turnaround season.

Tony Altobelli COSTA MESA - On paper, it looked like Mt. San Antonio College football team had its way with Saddleback's group last week. That's why the game is played on the field and not on paper. On the field, where it counts, Saddleback came from behind to knock off the nationally-ranked Mounties on the road, 26-23. For Coach Mark McElroy, he became the first Gaucho head coach to win his Saddleback coaching debut. Five Mt. SAC turnovers, a four-minute offensive explosion and a stingy fourth-quarter defense preserved the win for Saddleback, which will duel Orange Coast College tonight at 7 at OCC. Before that four-minute span in the third quarter, Mt. SAC was leading, 15-7, and in control of the game.

The No. 15-ranked UC Irvine women's water polo team held a 3-0 lead early in the second period, but No. 11 Santa Barbara rallied for a dramatic 6-5 win in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action Sunday at UCSB. Erin Lezak, a product of Irvine High, scored the game-winning goal for the Gauchos (14-9, 2-4 in the MPSF) with 18 seconds remaining to drop the Anteaters to 14-15, 1-6. Adelaide Perram scored for UCI to make it 3-0, but the hosts scored twice to cut the deficit to one by halftime.

Saddleback College's Michelle Manzo scored two goals, including the game-winner, to propel the visiting Gauchos to a 3-2 victory over Orange Coast in an Orange Empire Conference women's soccer contest Tuesday. The Gauchos (12-3-2, 8-2-2 in the OEC) scored the game's final three goals after Coast (5-7-2, 4-6-2) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the game's first 14 minutes. Coast freshman Jenny Chavis got behind the Gaucho defense thanks to an Emily Prather feed and slotted the ball into an empty net to begin the scoring in the seventh minute.

COSTA MESA — Perhaps more important than the championship plaque that came with the 73-49 victory in the title game of the Coast Christmas Classic Sunday, the host Orange Coast College women’s basketball team captured Orange Empire Conference rival Saddleback’s will to compete. The turning point, just more than 13 minutes in, was sudden, shocking and undeniable. And it pretty much ruined what, to that point, was shaping up to the kind of game that OCC Coach Mike Thornton expected.

Less than a week into the start of a new school year, UC Irvine men’s soccer players are already inundated with homework. And Anteaters Coach George Kuntz has never been more pleased to see his team surrounded by stacks of books. It’s Kuntz’s belief that the more his players are consumed with their routine, the less they will over-think the lesson plan that will unfold tonight in UCI’s Big West Conference opener at defending NCAA champion UC Santa Barbara at 8 at Harder Stadium.

IRVINE — The UC Santa Barbara men's basketball team played as if it had a two-day score to settle. Meanwhile, UC Irvine played as if it would settle for primarily letting one man score. The result Saturday night was a 64-59 Big West Conference win for the Gauchos, before 2,128 at the Bren Events Center. UCI (7-9, 1-1 in conference) lost for the first time in six home games this season, primarily because no one stepped up to provide a scoring complement to 6-foot-7 junior center Darren Fells.

COSTA MESA — The Orange Coast College baseball team jumped out early and held on for a 13-8 win over Orange Empire Conference rival Saddleback in the opening round of the four-team, double-elimination Southern California Super Regional on Friday at OCC’s Wendell Pickens Field. With the win, the second-seeded Pirates (32-13) will stay at OCC and take on Cypress today at noon. With the loss, Saddleback (29-19) will play at Golden West College at 11 a.m. and face Mt. San Jacinto in an elimination game.

IRVINE — UC Irvine sophomore Andrew Thurman continued his Big West Conference mound mastery Friday, throwing a four-hit shutout in the Anteaters 2-0 Big West Conference victory over visiting UC Santa Barbara. The win allows UCI to pull into a three-way tie for third in the Big West Thurman has now won four straight starts and pitched three straight complete games, beginning with a no-hitter at Long Beach State on April 20. In those four starts, Thurman has allowed just two earned runs and 10 hits in 35 innings.

The weather and the ocean swells were the biggest challenge for the Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high school sailing teams. They battled the cold, wind and rain as they competed in the Gaucho Regatta, put on last weekend by the UC Santa Barbara sailing team in Santa Barbara Harbor. At dawn on March 17, the two large sailing teams drove through the pouring rain to Santa Barbara in numerous cars. They towed their boats to sail against 28 other high school sailing teams from San Diego to San Francisco.

IRVINE - The UC Irvine men's basketball team does not have a senior this season. But it's nights like Wednesday that UCI Coach Russell Turner is happy to be saying goodbye to those exhausting their eligibility elsewhere. Visiting UC Santa Barbara, the three senior starters for which include Orlando Johnson, provided all the pomp and circumstance the Anteaters could handle on its way to an 85-62 win at the Bren Events Center. Johnson, recently named to the John R. Wooden Award midseason top-25 list, made nine of 11 field-goal attempts to finish with a game-high 25 points.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UC Irvine 61, UC Santa Barbara 53 SANTA BARBARA — The Anteaters' Kassandra McCalister had 21 points and six assists to lead all players in the Big West Conference game Thursday. Jacquelyn Marshall added 19 points and Methlyn Onogomuho had nine rebounds and four points for UCI (7-10, 3-2 in conference), which trailed, 22-21, at halftime. It was the Anteaters' first road win of the season and third straight win. The victory snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Gauchos (6-8, 1-2)

SANTA BARBARA - UC Irvine senior Miguel Ibarra was hoping for a second chance. After misfiring while all alone in front of the UC Santa Barbara goal early in the second half, the mental replay of the forward's squandered scoring chance might have made for a sleepless Saturday night. But Ibarra erased that image by connecting on the game-winning goal in the 67th minute to propel the No. 7-ranked Anteaters to a crucial 2-0 Big West Conference victory over the No. 10-ranked Gauchos in front of 5,417 at Harder Stadium.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team, which features four former Corona del Mar High players, including Scott Slaughter and Dylan Davis, nearly won its first NCAA championship, but lost in five sets to Ohio State Saturday at Penn State. The No. 8-seeded Buckeyes beat the No. 3 Gauchos, 20-25, 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 15-9, to win their first NCAA title in men's volleyball. UCSB had defeated Ohio State seven straight times prior to Saturday. It was the first time the Buckeyes beat the Gauchos.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — UC Santa Barbara middle blocker Dylan Davis, a Corona del Mar High product, has led the Gauchos men's volleyball team to the brink of history. Davis had a career-high 15 kills and set a tournament hitting record Thursday night as the No. 4-seeded Gauchos stunned top-seeded USC, 29-27, 24-26, 25-15, 25-18, in an NCAA Tournament semifinal at Penn State. UC Santa Barbara will play Ohio State on Saturday in the NCAA championship match. The Gauchos (18-14)

BASEBALL Orange Coast 9, Saddleback 7 COSTA MESA — Kevin Cho went three for five with three runs scored to lead the Pirates in the Orange Empire Conference game Tuesday. Matt Moynihan went two for three with three runs batted in and Jordan Beck went two for four with two runs scored for OCC (16-2, 2-1 in conference). Saddleback is 7-7, 0-3. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UC Davis 72, UC Irvine 45 DAVIS – Sophomore Tayler Champion finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in the Anteaters' Big West Conference quarterfinal game Tuesday.