NCAA WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS : UC Irvine Opens Against Cal State Long Beach

LONG BEACH —  UC Irvine, winner of five of its final six regular-season matches and 2-0 against Cal State Long Beach, faces the 49ers in a first-round game in the NCAA water polo championships at 7:30 tonight at Belmont Plaza.

The Anteaters (20-7) are seeded fourth, one spot ahead of Long Beach (15-9).

“It is going to be tough,” Irvine Coach Ted Newland said. “I would much rather have been seeded third. The fourth versus fifth seed game is always a hard one.”

The Anteaters beat the 49ers, 6-3, Oct. 10 in Irvine and, 8-7, Nov. 5 at Belmont Plaza.

“I feel lucky to have defeated Long Beach the first two times,” Newland said. “It is not easy to face a team for the third time. They are a good-sized team and have a ton of experience. I have figured them to be one of the top two teams lately.”

Mike Burke, a 1987 San Clemente High graduate, is the 49ers’ leading scorer with 42 goals. Burke, a two-meter man, was a first-team All-Big West Conference selection. Thorpe Logemann, a sophomore driver and Troy High graduate, was named to the second team.

California (23-1) is seeded first, and will face eighth-seeded Navy (18-6) at 3 p.m. today.

“Cal is pretty much in a class by itself,” Newland said. “They have a lot more power than the other teams. It’s basically a competitive field, except for Cal, which is a step ahead of everyone else.”

The Bears are led by two-meter man Chris Humbert, an All-American and the only collegiate member of the U.S. national team. Humbert was the most outstanding player in last year’s tournament, scoring four goals in the championship game.