‘Eaters upset Bruins

The UC Irvine men’s water polo team, 7-15 a year ago, justified

prognosticators who believed things would be much different this year

on Sunday afternoon.

Coach Ted Newland’s Anteaters, ranked seventh nationally, rallied

to upset visiting UCLA, 10-7, in the nonconference season opener for

both teams.

The Bruins, ranked No. 2, scored the only goal of the second

quarter to take a 5-4 halftime lead.

But the Anteaters, who were eighth last year in the Mountain

Pacific Sports Federation and finished at No. 9 in the final NCAA

poll, got off the deck to outscore the Bruins, 4-0, in the third

period.

Dreason Barry, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound sophomore from Eugene, Ore.,

scored four goals to lead the winners. Senior Jeff Powers, like Barry

a two-meter man, added three goals to UCI’s statement-making triumph,

as did sophomore Rick Merlo.

Powers, a 6-6, 225-pound member of the U.S. national team, and

Barry scored two goals apiece in the decisive third quarter. Barry’s

goal with 6:14 left in the period erased UCLA’s halftime advantage.

Barry then put UCI in front for good with an extra-man goal with 2:55

left in the third. Barry scored only 15 goals in his freshman season

last fall.

Powers, who redshirted last season after earning first-team

All-American honors in 2000, scored twice more to close out the

third-quarter dominance and likely propel the Anteaters closer to

defending champion and top-ranked Stanford, coached by former Corona

del Mar High head man John Vargas, in the next NCAA poll.

Senior Matt Flesher and sophomore Brett Ormsby led the visitors

with two goals apiece, while sophomore Peter Belden, a former CIF

Southern Section Division I Player of the Year at Newport Harbor

High, joined teammates Ted Peck (University High) and Josh Hewko (San

Clemente High) with single goals for UCLA.

UCI senior goalie Doug Finfrock, a returning starter, made 13

saves to anchor the defense.

UCLA’s Brandon Brooks finished with 11 saves.

The Anteaters compete next in the Southern California Tournament,

Saturday and Sunday at USC. Newland’s squad faces UC Santa Barbara in

pool play Saturday at 10:20 a.m., then squares off against Pepperdine

Saturday at 3.

The Bruins will get a chance to avenge Sunday’s upset when they

host UCI Nov. 2.

Newland, in his 37th season at the UCI helm, improved to 671-303-5

to increase his all-time NCAA career victories record.