‘Eaters athletics ranks among NCAA’s elite

UC Irvine finished second among NCAA Division I-AAA schools (those without football programs) in the annual Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings.

The standings are based on the performance of the overall athletic program, with points given for each sport.

The Anteaters, led by the men’s volleyball team’s national championship, finished No. 65 among all Division I schools, tops among Big West Conference representatives.

UCI received 100 points for the volleyball crown, 64 points for the men’s soccer team’s run to the NCAA round of 16, 52 for the women’s golf team’s 22nd-place finish at the NCAA Championships and 50 for the baseball team’s NCAA Regional appearance.

Senior Randall Tom earned 40 points for UCI with a strong showing at the NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships.

UCI also received 9.3 points from the men’s golf team’s trip to the NCAA Regional.

The Anteaters’ 315.3 points trailed only the University of Denver (396.5) among schools without football programs.

Stanford won the overall title for the 15th straight year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (85th), Long Beach State (103rd) and UC Santa Barbara (110th) were the other top Big West finishers.

In the NAIA division, Vanguard was No. 36 overall, the sixth-best showing among Golden State Athletic Conference schools.

GSAC members Azusa Pacific and Concordia finished Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, while Fresno Pacific was No. 4, Point Loma Nazarene No. 7 and Biola No. 16.

— From staff reports

UCI assistant job on hold

An impending threat of financial cutbacks in the UC Irvine athletic department will delay men’s basketball coach Pat Douglass’ attempt to replace recently departed top assistant coach Tod Murphy, Douglass said.

“The problem is, knowing what latitude I will have with cutbacks within the department and across campus,” Douglass said.

Douglass said he is awaiting guidelines from the athletic department, before he can act on finding a replacement for Murphy, who left after six seasons to become head coach at Gordon College, a Division III school in Wenham, Mass.

Douglass said Murphy, the Anteaters’ No. 2 all-time scorer, is ready to take over the challenge of running his own program.

“He produced some excellent scouting reports that were instrumental in us winning many games,” Douglass said. “He called the plays on offense and he helped our big men improve.”

Douglass said, ideally, he would like to fill the top assistant job with someone who has plenty of experience.

The UCI staff includes young assistants Ross Land and Rhett Soliday, both of whom recently completed their third season at UCI.

Douglass also said Joe Eberhard, a Corona del Mar High product who received a medical redshirt after being sidelined early in the 2008-09 season with a sports hernia, has left the program and plans to play at Irvine Valley Community College.

Eberhard, a 6-foot-5 forward, had three points and three rebounds in four games last season, before sustaining the season-ending injury.

Eberhard, originally recruited as a walk-on, was granted a one-year scholarship, Douglass said. The plan was to evaluate Eberhard’s performance last season, but the injury made that evaluation problematic.

Eberhard averaged 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a CdM senior, earning second-team All-CIF Southern Section Division III-A honors.

— Barry Faulkner

Ex-Anteaters in Serbia

Former UC Irvine student-athletes Colin Mello, Cole Bitter and Nick Goldsborough-Reardon will take part in the 2009 World University Games, beginning today and running through July 12 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Mello, a former UCI All-American, is a member of the United States men’s water polo team.

Bitter, who was also an All-American for the Anteaters, is serving as an alternate.

Goldsborough-Reardon, a backup setter on the 2009 NCAA champion Anteaters, will represent Australia in the men’s volleyball competition.

The American water polo squad will open Group D play today against Japan, then take on Poland Friday and Hungary Saturday.

Competition continues, with the title game on July 12.

Australia meets United Arab Emirates to open Group D play today. The Aussies meet the Czech Republic Friday and face off against Germany Saturday. Subsequent matches are scheduled against Poland (Monday) and Hong Kong (Tuesday).

— From staff reports