Colleges: Saddling up for a tribute

Amara Aguilar

Many people remember Bill Mulligan for his saddle shoes.

On Friday night, the former UCI men’s basketball coach wore them as he

was honored during a tribute at the Bren Events Center.

“I think I got my first pair in 1972 when I was working at Riverside

Community College,” Mulligan said. “I’ve continued to wear them ever

since.”

With one UCI cheerleader on each arm, Mulligan made his way to center

court during halftime of the men’s basketball season opener against Saint

Mary’s. He stood smiling with his hands clasped in front of him as the

announcer read off his many accomplishments.

Mulligan coached the Anteaters from 1980-91, leading UCI to

first-round NIT wins in 1982 and 1986. He was named PCAA (now Big West

Conference) Coach of the Year in 1986, when the Anteaters defeated UNLV

twice in 12 days. The Anteaters defeated UNLV six times in the 1980s, the

most by any program in the nation.

“I’m most proud of beating UCLA twice -- once in the NIT (in 1986) --

and for six wins over Las Vegas when (Jerry) Tarkanian was at his best,”

Mulligan said.

Things were a bit different at UCI in those days. The Bren Center did

not open until 1987 and in Mulligan’s early years as coach, the UCI men’s

basketball team played in the much smaller venue of Crawford Hall.

People would cram into Crawford Hall to watch players such as Kevin

Magee, Tod Murphy, Scott Brooks, Bob Thornton, Ben McDonald and Johnny

Rogers.

Murphy and Brooks, both members of UCI’s Hall of Fame, ended up being

teammates on the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1990-91. Murphy was a

third-round selection by Seattle in the 1986 NBA draft. Brooks was not

drafted, but played 11 seasons in the NBA.

Murphy holds the UCI school record for career points with 1,778.

Thornton, McDonald and Rogers also went on to play in the NBA.

Magee, a first-team All-American and UCI Hall of Famer, holds the

school record for most points in a single game with 46. His jersey No. 44

hangs on a banner in the Bren Events Center.

Three new banners were unveiled Friday during the tribute to Mulligan.

The NIT banners commemorating UCI’s appearances in 1982 and 1986 as well

as one recognizing last year’s performance were introduced.

Mulligan’s eventful run at UCI ended when he left after the Anteaters

finished with a record of 11-19 in 1990-91. The year before that, UCI

ended the season 5-23. Although he has been long gone as coach, Mulligan

still attends many basketball games at the Bren Center.

“I enjoyed the school a lot,” Mulligan said. “I’m sorry we didn’t do

better at the end, but figured it was time to get out. I have fond

memories of the school.”

The UCI men’s basketball team seemed slightly shaky in the first half

of the team’s season opener Friday against visiting Saint Mary’s.

UCI trailed by four points at halftime and watched as the Gaels scored

10 unanswered points with less than four minutes left in the first half.

The Anteaters picked it up in the second half, though, going on a 20-7

run to earn a 71-64 nonconference victory.

“We have a long ways to go,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said after the

game. “We are playing more sophomores and have a ways to go as far as

maturity. We need more game experience.”

UCI had four sophomores playing in Friday’s game: Stanislav Zuzak

(three rebounds), Aras Baskauskas (four points, three rebounds), Matt

Okoro (two points, two rebounds) and Adam Parada (13 points, five

rebounds). They combined to play 76 minutes.

The Anteaters will face Pepperdine on Tuesday at the Bren Center. The

Waves were 22-9 last season and lead the series with UCI, 8-4.

The UCI women’s basketball team opened its season with a 59-48 win

over host University of San Francisco Saturday.

It was the first West Coast Conference opponent the Anteaters have

defeated on the road since 1995.

The Anteaters will host UNLV in their home opener Monday at 7 p.m.

UNLV has dominated UCI in the past, leading the series, 25-4.

In what may be his final collegiate men’s soccer game, UCI senior Jon

Spencer scored a goal and had two assists in the Anteaters’ win over Cal

Poly (4-13-1, 3-7-0) Sunday. Sebastian Galmarini added two goals and

Cameron Rossi made seven saves to give UCI a 3-0 victory.

The Anteaters earned a school-record 10 shutouts this season and

finished 10-4-6, 6-1-3 in the Big West Conference.

The team suffered its only conference loss at the hands of UC Santa

Barbara. The Gauchos defeated UCI, 2-0, on Friday to clinch the Big West

title.

The Big West does not have an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament

this season, so UC Irvine hopes for an at-large selection to the Division

I tournament draw, which will be announced today at noon.

Vanguard University’s Jordan Fredriksen made the All-Region team for

her performance in women’s soccer this season. Fredriksen, a Louisville

transfer who starred at Newport Harbor High, played in 16 games and made

55 saves with a 1.13 goals-against average.

Five Vanguard players made the grade this season to earn Academic

All-Golden State Athletic Conference honors. Megan Godfrey (women’s

volleyball), Matt Swift (men’s soccer), Beth Weidler (women’s cross

country), Erin Bongiorno (women’s soccer) and Betsy Nienhuis (women’s

soccer) earned the distinction.