UCI volleyball spends some time at the top

UC Irvine men’s volleyball coach John Speraw said he could write a book about his team’s momentus 2006 season. The Anteaters at least rewrote history, producing a host of unprecedented collective and individual accomplishments that headline the 2005-06 athletic year at UCI.

Volleyball: In his fourth season, Speraw, a former player and assistant coach at UCLA, guided a team with just one senior starter (captain Paul Spittle) to the No. 1 national ranking.

The Anteaters capped the program’s first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season title with a 21-match winning streak, allowing them to play host to the MPSF tournament.

Despite an MPSF tournament semifinal loss to Long Beach State, UCI earned an at-large berth to the four-team NCAA Championships at Penn State University.

In their first Final Four, the ‘Eaters lost a semifinal match to the host Nittany Lions, to finish 27-5.

UCI was ranked No. 2 in the final national poll.

Junior outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky was named National and MPSF Player of the Year and was also the school’s Male Athlete of the Year.

Speraw was selected National Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. and freshman libero Brent Asuka was National Newcomer of the Year.

Jablonsky and Asuka were first-team All-Americans and All-MPSF, while junior setter Brian Thornton and junior opposite Matt Webber were second-team All-Americans and second-team all-conference honorees.

Sophomore middle blocker Aaron Harrell was a third-team all-conference performer, while junior middle David Smith received honorable mention in all-conference voting.

Baseball: Coach Dave Serrano’s second season culminated in the program’s second trip to the NCAA Regionals in three years.

The Anteaters ended the regular season 36-22, 11-10 in the Big West Conference.

They lost both postseason contests, 3-2 to UCLA and 5-4 in 14 innings to Missouri to finish 36-24. It was the second-best single-season win total since the program joined the Division I ranks in 1978, topped only by 37 wins in 1980.

Despite finishing third and posting the conference’s second-best earned-run average (3.45), UCI had no first-team all-conference selections.

Freshman Scott Gorgen, the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, had to settle for second-team recognition, as did junior infielder Cody Cipriano and senior first baseman-designated hitter Jaime Martinez.

Gorgen was named to a handful of freshman All-American teams, while Cipriano, who hit .354, was the team’s Most Valuable Player.

Martinez whacked eight home runs to finish with 21 career dingers, breaking a school career record that had stood for 32 years.

Junior closer Blair Erickson had 13 saves to give him 40 for his career and senior Glenn Swanson capped a notable career by pitching the first nine-inning no-hitter in the program’s history, an April 25 home triumph over San Diego in which he fanned 14.

Junior Justin Cassel rounded out a strong pitching staff and was drafted in the 10th round by the Chicago White Sox.

Swanson signed with the Texas Rangers.

The ‘Eaters set school single-season records for stolen bases (107) and sacrifice hits (90).

Basketball: Coach Pat Douglass’ squad won its first eight conference games and led the eight-team circuit until its 12th conference game.

But after the perfect Big West start, the Anteaters lost three of their next four to fall into second place, where they would eventually finish.

Second place guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament semifinals, but a last-second three-pointer helped Long Beach State provide a stunning and disappointing end to the 16-13 campaign.

Senior point guard Aaron Fitzgerald was a first-team all-conference honoree after leading the Big West with 6.6 assists per game, seventh-best in the nation.

Senior guard Ross Schraeder became the school’s career leader in three-pointers (233) and he helped the team rank No. 2 nationally in three-point percentage (.420).

Douglass posted his 500th career victory as a four-year college coach with a win at Stanford, ranked No. 13 at the time.

Water polo: Marc Hunt’s first year at the helm in place of coach emeritus and resident legend Ted Newland finished with the No. 4 national ranking and an 18-12 record.

The team was 6-2 in the MPSF regular season, good for second place, but the ‘Eaters finished fourth in the conference tournament.

Senior Dreason Barry (66 goals) and junior Tim Hutten (64) were second-team All-American and All-MPSF honorees.

Hunt was named Southern Pacific Zone Elite Coach of the Year by USA Water Polo.

Sailing: Frank Tybor, Chris Trezzo and William Pochereva combined to capture the Intercollegiate Sailing Assn. Sloop national championship in October.

Coach Mike Pinckney’s program, ranked as high as No. 3 during the season, finished with the No. 11 national ranking.

Tybor and Whitney Loufek were named All-Americans and also garnered all-district honors.

The Anteaters also won the Moody Trophy in Rhode Island during the spring schedule.

Golf: A second-place finish at the Big West Conference Championship led to an at-large berth into the NCAA West Regional.

It was the fifth time in six years that Coach Paul Smolinski’s Anteaters advanced to the regional, where UCI finished 16th.

Sophomore Derek Uyesaka was third in the Big West Championship, Kenny Kim was fifth, while junior Brian Edick and sophomore Garrett Sapp tied for 11th.

Tim Cha was named Big West Freshman of the Year and Smolinski shared Big West Coach of the Year laurels.

Soccer: Junior Brad Evans, named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, helped the Anteaters produce a school-record seven conference victories.

Evans, a second-team All-Far West Region honoree, was first-team all-conference, as were junior teammates Anthony Hamilton and Cameron Dunn.

Senior Christopher Klotz was a second-team all-conference pick.

The team finished 11-6-3, 7-2-1 in conference.

Tennis: The big news came after the team finished 10-11, 2-2 in conference, when Coach Steve Clark resigned after 14 seasons and was replaced by former Anteater All-American Trevor Kronemann.

Sophomore Victor Lamm was first-team All-Big West in singles and, along with sophomore Alex Sundling, a second-team all-conference choice in doubles.

Junior Aaron Ellis was second-team all-conference in singles, while junior Mustapha Ulukan and freshman Trevor Dobson were second-team honorees in doubles.

Track and field: Senior Mike Beerer finished ninth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors, after winning the conference title for the second straight year.

Beerer’s top mark of 215 feet, 9 inches, was just three inches shy of a school record.

He was named UCI’s Male Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Junior Dayne Comrie won the Big West 400-meter hurdles crown and was conference runner-up in the 400.

Senior Brian Moon was third in the shot put (54-7 1/2 ) at the conference championships, where junior Shawn Maghzi was fourth in the decathlon.

Swimming and diving: Juniors Mike Cohee (two), Dan Simonsen and Eric Reilly won individual events at the Big West Conference Championships to help the Anteaters finish third.

Cohee won the 500-yard freestyle (4:27.18) and the 200 free (1:37.85), while Simonsen won his third straight crown in the 100 breaststroke (55.0) and Reilly topped the field in the 100 free (45.47).

Members of UCI’s conference champion relay teams included Cohee (200 free and 400 medley), Simonsen (400 medley), Reilly (200 medley and 200 free), sophomore Randall Tom (all three) and Eddie Erazo (both medley relays).

Cross country: Freshman Nick Mosey (23rd in 24:52.2 over 8,000 meters) was the lone Anteater in the top 30 at the Big West Conference Championships, where the ‘Eaters finished fifth.

UCI was subsequently 15th in the NCAA West Regional at Stanford.

Crew: The varsity eight finished second in the Parker Cup vs. Loyola Marymount and San Diego State.