Colleges: Hitting the greens at UCI

Amara Aguilar

Repeat. That’s the goal of the UC Irvine men’s golf team.

Last year the team won the Big West Conference title for the first

time in school history. This year, the Anteaters want to taste the glory

again.

Already, the team has won one tournament, the Countrywide Home Loans

Intercollegiate held Oct. 16.

Last week, the Anteaters placed third at the Pacific Invitational.

Head coach Paul Smolinski talked about his team’s strengths and

weaknesses in an interview last week.

Let’s start with strengths. “The guys tend to hit a lot of fairways

and greens. They’re consistent with their ball striking,” Smolinski

said.

As far as weaknesses go, Smolinski said, “Some of the better teams

have players who hit the ball farther than a lot of our players do. But

we are an accurate team in general.”

Accuracy can definitely go a long way in golf. So can experience.

“We’ve got a fairly young team that has the experience of making it to

the NCAAs last year,” Smolinski added.

A young team with experience. It sounds contradictory, but it isn’t.

The team consists of one senior, three juniors, three sophomores and

three freshmen.

The three juniors -- Jeff Coburn, Ryan Armstrong and Mike Lavery --

are among the top players on the Anteaters’ squad, according to

Smolinski.

That means if the Anteaters are winning now, next year they could be

even better. Maybe even good enough to three-peat.

Golf is a spectator sport, too.

Standing room only is available at UCI’s final two men’s golf

competitions this fall. The team will play in The Prestige tournament at

Palm Desert Wilow Resort Nov. 5-6 and closer to home in the 49er

Collegiate Classic hosted by Long Beach State at Industry Hills Golf

Course Nov. 8-9.

“A lot of people don’t realize they can come out and watch,” Smolinski

said.

The inaugural UCI women’s golf team had it’s final match of the fall

season Oct. 23. The Anteaters placed third in the Matador Fall Classic at

River Ridge Golf Club in Oxnard.

Two freshmen finished in the top 10. Stella Lee placed third and

Walailak Satarak took sixth for UCI.

The team resumes play Feb. 18-19 at the Lady Aztec Invitational hosted

by San Diego State.

Did home advantage help Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take the No. 1 spot

while UCI women’s cross country team placed second at the Big West

Championships Saturday at the Cuesta College/Fairbanks Memorial Course?

It certainly didn’t hurt.

“It gave (Cal Poly) a good advantage,” UCI cross country coach Vince

O’Boyle said. “They ran a good race and had people come through for

them... I don’t want to take anything away from them. We hadn’t run that

course before.”

The Anteaters did have their chance earlier in the year, O’Boyle

noted, but instead of going to the Cal Poly SLO invitational, the team

competed in the Arkansas Invitational Oct. 13.

In addition to not having home advantage at the Big West

Championships, nerves were also working against the young Anteaters, who

do not have any seniors.

“There was a lot of nervous energy floating around,” O’Boyle said.

Despite that, the Anteaters did have two runners place in the top 10.

Sophomore Julie Manson (18:42.4) finished seventh and junior Tessa

Cendejas (18:45.1) placed eighth. Both runners earned All-Big West

Conference honors.

The Anteaters advance to the NCAA West Regionals in Tucson, Ariz. Nov.

10.

The men’s cross country team took seventh at the Big West

Championships. The team is young, with three freshmen and one transfer

included in the top seven runners.

“This men’s team has got some talent. We’ll see it in track, but with

cross country it takes time to develop distance,” O’Boyle said.

The reason for that, according to O’Boyle, is the freshmen have to

adjust to running five miles, rather than three as is required in high

school.

The Vanguard women’s soccer team defeated Hope International, 4-0,

Saturday to finish fourth in the Golden State Athletic Conference and

earn a playoff berth.

The team plays its first game of the postseason Nov. 3 against an

opponent to be determined. The Lions (9-7, 7-3 in the GSAC) are led by

seniors Annie Jacobs (a team-high eight goals), Jen Bird (All-GSAC in

1999), Betsy Nienhuis, four-year starter Brittany Braun, Erin Bongiorno

(an NAIA All-GSAC scholar athlete last year) and Elisabeth McCary.

Freshmen Sarah Higuera and Jenae Welch have also supported the Lions’

offense.

The Vanguard men’s soccer team ended its season with a shutout over

Hope International Saturday. The team finished with a record of 7-11-1,

4-6 in conference.

The Lions had a little international flavor on their roster.

Goalkeeper Tomasso Bianchi is from Canada and Joakim Ulfvebrand is from

Sweden.

Ulfvebrand, a senior nicknamed “Swedish Rocket,” ends a two-sport,

four-year career at Vanguard. He also played tennis for the Lions.