Mountain Pacific Sports

UC Irvine sophomore Melissa Fernandez, the women's water polo team captain who was second in scoring for the Anteaters, has earned the program's first All-American honor. She received honorable mention from the American Water Polo Coaches Association. Fernandez scored 47 goals this season while leading the team in scoring in eight games. She strung together a team-best nine-game scoring streak. She was the only Anteater to be named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week by scoring three goals at fourth-ranked California, and four goals at 15th-ranked University of the Pacific during the week of March 4. Fernandez was a Big West Scholar-Athlete for the second consecutive year.

The UC Irvine men's volleyball team will visit Stanford at 7 p.m. Friday in its third appearance in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. The Anteaters (19-10, 12-10) are the No. 5 seed in the eight-team event, after posting a school record for regular-season conference victories. UCI finished tied with Cal State Northridge and the University of Pacific, but got the highest seed by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Stanford (17-11, 14-8)

Andrew Stoddard's three goals led No. 2 California past sixth-ranked UC Irvine, 11-7, in the final Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's water polo contest of the season for both teams at Spieker Aquatics Complex Saturday. The Golden Bears (16-5, 5-3) jumped out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter and led 7-3 at halftime. Attila Banhidy, Will Quist and Todd Hylton (Costa Mesa High) added two goals each for Cal. Russell Bernstein had eight saves in goal for the Bears.

SEATTLE - UC Irvine senior Kareen Nilsson placed third in the 3,000-meter race (9:50.12) at the University of Washington indoor track and field invitational Saturday. Freshman Amber Nefas finished fifth in the 400 meters (58.03) and sophomore Lauren Adams was ninth (58.76). Freshman Erin Curtis was sixth in the pole vault (11-11 3/4) and fourth in the consolation final of the 60-meter dash (7.90). Junior Tynisia Edwards placed seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 37-9 1/2 and sophomore Jenny Liou was eighth in the mile run (5:03.

UC Irvine senior All-American Jimmy Pelzel has been named Lauds & Laurels Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year. The award recognizes a student-athlete who has participated in and made significant contributions to their sport and team and exhibited outstanding sportsmanship. Pelzel will be recognized at a banquet May 27 at The Westin South Coast Plaza. Over the past 33 years, the UCI Alumni Association has presented the Lauds & Laurels Awards to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of alumni, students, faculty, staff and community friends of UC Irvine.

WOMEN’S TENNIS UC Irvine 4, Cal State Northridge 0 INDIAN WELLS — The Anteaters breezed in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament Saturday, advancing to today’s title match against regular-season conference champion Long Beach State at 9 a.m. at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Senior Becky Bernhard rolled at No. 1 singles, winning 12 of 15 games, while Rebecca Kwan and Jessica Broadfoot won in singles and doubles for the Anteaters (16-8)

Visiting Cal broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning and never looked back, defeating UC Irvine, 10-4, in a nonconference baseball game Sunday before 986 at Anteater Ballpark. The win allowed the Golden Bears (5-4) to avert a sweep in the three-game series, evening UCI's record at 2-2. Designated hitter R.J. Brown and right fielder Danny McCarthy paced UCI's six-hit attack with two hits apiece. UCI starter David Huff lasted three innings, giving up three runs on six hits.

The No. 18 UC Irvine women's water polo team (3-2, 1-0) upset No. 9 UC Santa Barbara 8-7 Saturday afternoon in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match in Santa Barbara. The Anteaters stormed out the gates to take a 4-0 lead after the first period with two goals from sophomore Robyn Kaake and a goal each from freshman Jessica Lewis and senior Erica Nicholson. The Gauchos fought back as they cut the UCI lead to 5-4 at halftime. The Gauchos outscored UCI 3-0 to start the second half taking a 7-5 lead.

The UC Irvine women's golf team is in fourth place after the first day of the Peg Barnard invitational at the Stanford Golf Course. Host Stanford leads the 13-team field with a 295 after the first day. Denver is in second, eight shots behind with a 303. Washington is third at 304 and UC Irvine is fourth with a first round total of 306. San Jose State's Ashley Gomes is the tournament leader, shooting a 1-under-par 71...

UC Irvine senior middle blocker Kyle Weichert has been named an Academic All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation scholar-athlete for men's volleyball. Weichert, a graduate student in urban and regional planning, was also named to the College Sports Information Directors of America All-America All-District VIII men's at-large first team this year. Chosen four times as UCI's Big West Conference men's scholar-athlete, Weichert averaged 2.06 blocks per game and was ranked 12th nationally and fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in blocking average (1.36)

The USC women's water polo team defeated Stanford, 11-7, on Sunday to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship in Berkeley. The next day, the Trojans were awarded the top seed for the NCAA Championship, which begins May 10 and is hosted by Harvard. USC (24-1) features junior co-captain Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Harbor High) and seniors Nicolina McCall (Newport Harbor) and Chelsea Silvers (Newport Beach-Mater Dei). Gilchrist is the second-leading scorer (41 goals)

UC Irvine senior Kevin Tillie and sophomore Michael Brinkley have been named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to lead four Anteaters recognized by men's volleyball coaches. Juniors Collin Mehring and Scott Kevorken were second-team honorees for No. 3-ranked UCI (22-6, 18-6 in conference), which tied for second in the MPSF and is the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament. UCI plays host to No. 7-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday at 7 p.m. UCSB (15-15, 11-13)

UC Irvine head men's volleyball coach John Speraw was named 2012 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year after capturing the MPSF Tournament and qualifying for the NCAA Championship. Speraw, in his 10th year at UCI, led the Anteaters to their fourth NCAA Championship appearance after the Anteaters won their second MPSF Tournament with a pair of five-set, come-from-behind wins in the semifinal and final. UCI was the fourth seed for the tournament, after finishing in a three-way tie for second a 17-5 record.

UC Irvine junior Carson Clark has been named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in men's volleyball for a third straight season. Clark, a 6-foot-5 opposite, is joined on the first-team by senior outside hitter Cory Yoder. Senior outside hitter Jordan DuFault is a repeat second-team honoree, while freshman middle blocker Scott Kevorken was named to the All-Freshman team. Clark is second in the MPSF in kills (4.55) and points (5.24) per set). He ranks fourth in aces per set (0.42)

WOMEN’S TENNIS UC Irvine 4, Cal State Northridge 0 INDIAN WELLS — The Anteaters breezed in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament Saturday, advancing to today’s title match against regular-season conference champion Long Beach State at 9 a.m. at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Senior Becky Bernhard rolled at No. 1 singles, winning 12 of 15 games, while Rebecca Kwan and Jessica Broadfoot won in singles and doubles for the Anteaters (16-8)

No one would think UC Irvine's biggest shark in the pool feared the sea. But Colin Mello did. Instead of bodysurfing with the rest of his water polo teammates, Mello stayed behind. The kid who grew up in the country in the Central Valley preferred playing in the sand to catching waves. "Colin was known for going out there and digging a hole," said UCI second-year head coach Marc Hunt. "He's finally kind of coming around." It took some time after spending so much of it the last three years at the beach with his team to face his phobia.

The No. 18 UC Irvine women's water polo team (3-2, 1-0) upset No. 9 UC Santa Barbara 8-7 Saturday afternoon in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match in Santa Barbara. The Anteaters stormed out the gates to take a 4-0 lead after the first period with two goals from sophomore Robyn Kaake and a goal each from freshman Jessica Lewis and senior Erica Nicholson. The Gauchos fought back as they cut the UCI lead to 5-4 at halftime. The Gauchos outscored UCI 3-0 to start the second half taking a 7-5 lead.

UC Irvine senior middle blocker Kyle Weichert has been named an Academic All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation scholar-athlete for men's volleyball. Weichert, a graduate student in urban and regional planning, was also named to the College Sports Information Directors of America All-America All-District VIII men's at-large first team this year. Chosen four times as UCI's Big West Conference men's scholar-athlete, Weichert averaged 2.06 blocks per game and was ranked 12th nationally and fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in blocking average (1.36)

The UC Irvine women's golf team is in fourth place after the first day of the Peg Barnard invitational at the Stanford Golf Course. Host Stanford leads the 13-team field with a 295 after the first day. Denver is in second, eight shots behind with a 303. Washington is third at 304 and UC Irvine is fourth with a first round total of 306. San Jose State's Ashley Gomes is the tournament leader, shooting a 1-under-par 71...

UC Irvine senior All-American Jimmy Pelzel has been named Lauds & Laurels Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year. The award recognizes a student-athlete who has participated in and made significant contributions to their sport and team and exhibited outstanding sportsmanship. Pelzel will be recognized at a banquet May 27 at The Westin South Coast Plaza. Over the past 33 years, the UCI Alumni Association has presented the Lauds & Laurels Awards to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of alumni, students, faculty, staff and community friends of UC Irvine.