Anteaters poised for a Big (West) run

Steve Virgen

UC IRVINE AQUATICS COMPLEX -- Throughout his 36 illustrious years

of coaching at UC Irvine, Ted Newland, the Anteaters’ legendary head

man, knows where to go to maintain, and even advance his knowledge of

management and leadership.

Newland goes to the money.

He doesn’t read books on coaching. He reads books about money

making by Peter F. Drucker, an expert in management in the business

world.

So, it makes sense: When asked if the 2002 Anteaters will be

better than the 2001 version, Newland goes to the money, money man,

that is.

“We have (Jeff) Powers and that’s going to make a big difference

on our team,” said Newland, who has compiled a 670-303-5 record at

UCI and has the most wins among NCAA water polo coaches. “He’s going

to change the complexity on our team. It’s going to be interesting to

see how much he’s going to add to the team.”

Powers, a U.S. national team member, enters the season as Irvine’s

clear go-to guy. The Anteater senior is a prolific 6-foot-6,

225-pound two-meter man who redshirted last season. In Team USA’s

14-11 upset victory over water polo power Hungary July 26, Powers

scored a game-high four goals.

“Powers is at a whole different level,” Newland said. “He can do

everything. He’s real fast. He can counterattack aggressively. He

passes well. He knows how to communicate. He has grown up a ton in

the past year. He used to be hard to coach. It’s going to be hard for

people to stop him. It’s going to be fun for me. All this time, I’ve

been waiting for him to grow up and he’s finally grown up. This

season will be very exciting.”

While Newland approaches the season with much enthusiasm, he

recognizes Stanford, the defending national champions, as the team to

beat. Stanford, which returns NCAA Tournament MVP Tony Azevedo, is

coached by John Vargas, the former Corona del Mar High coach who

played under Newland at UCI in the early 80s.

Vargas, who will be in his first year, also coached the 2000 U.S.

Olympic team, and has two more national team members in addition to

Azevedo, Peter Hudnut and Jeff Nesmith.

“Stanford is going to be very, very good,” Newland said. “They

have so much talent. We’ll be able to contend because of Powers.”

The Anteaters will host the Cardinal, Oct. 25, and the two teams

will face off again Nov. 17 in Palo Alto.

Irvine will attempt to make a run for the NCAA title with the help

of their other two-meter man, sophomore Dreason Barry, and junior

driver Garrett Gentry. The Anteaters’ defense is led by goalie Doug

Finfrock, a senior. Irvine also possesses depth with the likes of

Phil Garcia and Rick Merlo.

Barry is a 6-9, 210-pound sophomore who has been steadily

improving throughout the off-season. He has added strength, and with

the added muscle, he has gained confidence.

“Barry is a good two meter-man, and it’s as if he’s been playing

for only a year,” Newland said of the big man from Eugene, Ore. “We

laugh at how primitive they were over there in Oregon. They had no

shot clock or game clock on the pool deck. To bring a guy like that,

takes time. Look at Powers. He started out not knowing much. His

dominating play, that didn’t just happen overnight. You have to

develop players.”

Last year, Irvine 7-15 overall this season and eighth at the MPSF

Tournament and, to say the least, Newland expects an improvement. The

Anteaters lost three seniors from last year and this season they add

to freshman left-handers, Brad Bartock and Nick White (need to double

check on these names). Newland said he anticipates to offset defenses

with the addition of the left-handers.

The Anteaters open their season at the Long Beach Mini Tournament

Sept. 7, and they will host UCLA, Sept. 8 at noon.