Ncaa Championships

The UC Irvine men’s golf team has been to the NCAA Championships twice before, but the Anteaters will try for an unprecedented accomplishment in the tournament that starts today on The Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West, Lafayette, Ind. UCI will attempt to make the final cut of 15 teams which is determined after the third round, a feat that previous Anteater teams did not complete in 1992 and 2001. The 72-hole tournament will have 18 holes of competition each day, with final day being Saturday.

Off-season weight training began Monday for the UC Irvine men's volleyball team, which capped its 2012 season with the program's third national championship in three seasons. Scott Kevorken, a sophomore middle blocker in 2012, said it was different not seeing departing seniors such as Carson Clark, Dan McDonnell, Kevin Carroll, Will Montgomery and Austin D'Amore. D'Amore sat down with me following the team's on-campus celebration last week to add some perspective on his four years in the program.

TRACK AND FIELD NCAA West Regional EUGENE, Ore. — UC Irvine juniors Lauren Collins and Alisha Misiaita qualified for the NCAA Championships following their performances Saturday at Hayward Field. Collins finished third in the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 1/2 inch to finish third, as the top five finishers in individual events at the regional advance to the NCAA Championships at Fayetteville, Ark., June 10-13. Amber Kaufman of Hawaii-Manoa won the event at the regional with a mark of 6-1 1/2 . Misiaita placed fifth in the shot put with a mark of 50-10 1/4 as Sarah Stevens of Arizona State was first at 55-9 3/4 . The UCI men’s 4x400 relay just missed earning a berth in the NCAA meet.

TUCSON, Ariz. ? The UC Irvine men's golf team concluded its season on the third day of the NCAA West Regional at the Tucson National Golf Club on Saturday. The Anteaters were in eighth place overall going into Saturday's action, but fell to 16th place by shooting a six-over-par 294 to finish with a three-day score of 861. Arizona and Florida tied for the first place with 54-hole totals of 827. Other teams advancing to the NCAA Championships include Arizona State (840), Washington (840)

UC Irvine senior Eddie Erazo was named Big West Conference Athlete of the Week in men’s swimming, following his performance at the recent UC Irvine Nike Cup. Erazo won the 200-yard butterfly in 1 minute, 44.54 seconds on Nov. 17 at Belmont Plaza to set a meet record and qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. He also posted times of 49.14 in the 100 butterfly, 49.57 in the 100 backstroke and 1:50.50 in the 200 individual medley at three-day event.

Newport Harbor High product Esther Lofgren was one of three Radcliffe Crew (Harvard) rowers named recently to the Pocock All-America Lightweight Team. A first-team selection, Lofgren has been instrumental as a junior six seat in the varsity eight for Radcliffe. She helped the Crimson place 11th at the NCAA Championships after missing the championships the previous year for the first time since 1997. Lofgren, who began as a member of the Newport Aquatic Center junior team, attends Harvard, whose women's rowing team competes as Radcliffe Crew.

UC Irvine senior Eddie Erazo was named Big West Conference Male Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual events at the Big West Championships, completed Saturday. Erazo won the 100-yard backstroke, in a meet record 47.89 seconds, the 100 butterfly (47.60) and the 200 fly (1:43.82). Erazo is qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second straight season in all three events. He was named Big West Athlete of the Week twice this season and is a 10-time Big West champion.

Steve Virgen UC IRVINE -- The UC Irvine men's golf team will try to make like the Lakers and win its third championship this year. Yet, unlike the Lakers, the Anteaters, the back-to-back Big West Conference champions, don't plan to wait to turn on the switch late in the season or in the playoffs. UCI Coach Paul Smolinski wants that proverbial switch on throughout the year, especially since there are lofty goals. The Anteaters are setting their sights on Stillwater, Okla.

The UC Irvine women's golf team will be making its first trip to the NCAA championships in the program's four-year history when play begins Tuesday at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. UCI, which finished in a tie for sixth at the NCAA West regional to qualify for the finals, is currently ranked 26th in the nation by Golfstat.com. The Anteaters join Ohio State, Duke, Furman, Pepperdine, Virginia, Tulane, Florida, Washington, Auburn, Texas A & M, Missouri, Arizona State, Tulsa, Purdue, Michigan State, Arkansas, UCLA, Tennessee, California, USC, Oklahoma State, Brigham Young and Stanford in the tournament field.

Off-season weight training began Monday for the UC Irvine men's volleyball team, which capped its 2012 season with the program's third national championship in three seasons. Scott Kevorken, a sophomore middle blocker in 2012, said it was different not seeing departing seniors such as Carson Clark, Dan McDonnell, Kevin Carroll, Will Montgomery and Austin D'Amore. D'Amore sat down with me following the team's on-campus celebration last week to add some perspective on his four years in the program.

If they aren't the two best teams in the nation, they are, perhaps, the most undeniable. UC Irvine (25-5), ranked No. 2 in the final national poll and seeded No. 1 in the four-team NCAA Championship, takes on No. 1-ranked USC (24-5), the No. 2 seed, in the NCAA title match Saturday at 7 p.m. at USC's Galen Center. The Anteaters, who have won two of three matches with the Trojans this season, are aiming for the program's third national crown. UCI, in its fourth Final Four in seven seasons, won NCAA championships in 2007 and 2009.

LOS ANGELES - There was nothing to lose … but the season itself. And there is, after all, nothing more important in the extant life of a college athlete. The UC Irvine men's volleyball team gave a lesson on life extension, rallying twice in three days from an 0-2 deficit in games to claim victory and the title of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament at USC's Galen Center. Saturday night, it was a 20-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-21, 15-12 win over Stanford, as the No. 2-ranked Anteaters followed up their thrilling five-game win over top-ranked USC on Thursday with yet another improbable comeback.

Five more golfers will crash this year's Jones Cup. The neighborhood tradition will include players from Irvine's Shady Canyon Golf Club for the June 27 event at Newport Beach Country Club. The team of five will include director of golf Brian Gunson and head professional Kirk Manley. Manley went to Big Canyon Country Club for last year's Jones Cup, and Gunson said he and others discussed the idea of participating in the Jones Cup. "We wanted to take part in team play and it's good to get together," Gunson said.

The UC Irvine men's volleyball team shook its late-season slump to handle visiting UCLA in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament quarterfinal on Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The win ended the season for the No. 5-ranked and No. 5-seeded Bruins, whose coach, Al Scates, retires after 50 seasons and 19 NCAA titles. The win also propels the No. 2-ranked and No. 4-seeded Anteaters (22-5) into the conference tournament semifinals against No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded USC on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at USC's Galen Center.

TRACK AND FIELD NCAA West Regional EUGENE, Ore. — UC Irvine juniors Lauren Collins and Alisha Misiaita qualified for the NCAA Championships following their performances Saturday at Hayward Field. Collins finished third in the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 1/2 inch to finish third, as the top five finishers in individual events at the regional advance to the NCAA Championships at Fayetteville, Ark., June 10-13. Amber Kaufman of Hawaii-Manoa won the event at the regional with a mark of 6-1 1/2 . Misiaita placed fifth in the shot put with a mark of 50-10 1/4 as Sarah Stevens of Arizona State was first at 55-9 3/4 . The UCI men’s 4x400 relay just missed earning a berth in the NCAA meet.

PROVO, Utah — Just by making the four-team NCAA Championship, UC Irvine, Penn State, USC and Ohio State have reached great heights this season. But it’s the 4,551-foot elevation that occupied the minds of coaches before things got going Thursday at Smith Fieldhouse at BYU. UCI Coach John Speraw said the Anteaters may be most prepared to play with the altered flight of the ball, particularly on serves. “This team has played there more than any other team except BYU,” Speraw said of the old building in which BYU plays its home matches.

UC Irvine women’s cross country coach Vince O’Boyle refers to it as the nine-inch problem. When he says it, he lifts both index fingers to his temples, illustrating the roughly nine inches between the ears that he believes can be the biggest hindrance to young runners and their quest for collegiate success. But, with a roster laced with talented veterans who have already cleared myriad mental hurdles during the course of their career, O’Boyle, entering his 27th season at UCI, believes the Anteaters could wind up inching their way toward at least a run at the Big West Conference crown this season.

The UC Irvine men’s golf team has been to the NCAA Championships twice before, but the Anteaters will try for an unprecedented accomplishment in the tournament that starts today on The Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West, Lafayette, Ind. UCI will attempt to make the final cut of 15 teams which is determined after the third round, a feat that previous Anteater teams did not complete in 1992 and 2001. The 72-hole tournament will have 18 holes of competition each day, with final day being Saturday.