Speraw’s squad set the standard, so what’s next?

Moments after UC Irvine lost in a semifinal of the Mountain Pacific

Sports Federation Championship Tournament, Coach John Speraw made

sure to remind his men’s volleyball team of what it had accomplished.

The season of 2003 was a campaign of firsts for the Anteaters, yet

Speraw wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be the last time UCI achieved

success. That message came through in his postgame speech to his

players.

“After the [semifinal] match,” Speraw said. “I told the guys in

the locker room, ‘It’s easy to maintain tradition because success

breeds success, but the real challenge is establishing tradition.’

These guys went a long way in establishing tradition.”

Of course, the Anteaters were not pleased after losing in three

games to Pepperdine, the top-ranked team in the nation, but the

impact they made this season soothed their pains.

The ‘Eaters won 20 matches this season, setting a new

single-season record for victories. Take a look. They are starting to

show that there’s more to UCI than Pat Douglass and his men’s

basketball team.

Speraw’s squad won 12 MPSF matches, which also set a new school

record for conference wins. Need more evidence to prove UCI had a

groundbreaking season? UCI had never won a MPSF playoff match, but

the Anteaters did so this year with a momentous victory over

Stanford, in the Cardinal’s gym.

Believe it or not, UCI’s season actually seemed to show more

promise earlier this season. The Anteaters opened the season on a

10-match winning streak, the best start in the program’s history.

They also earned a No.1-ranking, which resulted in a record-breaking

crowd at the Bren Events Center and constant overflow of volleyball

fans at Crawford Hall.

“Jimmy [Pelzel] is coming back and he’s a first-team All-MPSF

player,” said Speraw, who completed his first year with UCI. “I think

we’re going to be much stronger next year. They are only going to get

better. We have some talented recruits coming in.

“What we achieved early in the year is something we can achieve at

the end of the year,” he continued. “I think this group didn’t know

what the vision was, but now they know that UC Irvine belongs as one

of the top programs in the country. We finished fourth in the country

and that’s good by anyone’s standards. But I think we can do better.”

Speraw said the key to next season will be replacing senior setter

David Kniffin. Other than that, Speraw expects a youth movement to

take over next year, as a group of seven freshmen will represent the

core of UCI’s future. That future now has some direction, Speraw

said, as the 2003 Anteaters set the standard.

Pelzel, who was also named first-team All-America, broke the

season record for kills (593), while Kniffin became the single-season

record holder in set assists with 1,632. Greg Ford, a former Orange

Coast College standout, now holds the school record for digs in a

season (243) and Spencer Bemus owns the service aces mark with 46.

Freshman Nic Vislay also set a school record, this one for

best-hitting percentage (.411) and most block assists (133).

“It was a tremendous year for Irvine,” Speraw said. “Charlie

Brande did such a great job of developing a program and bringing in

the right players. We began the year real fast and finished strong.

Now we want to take it to the next level.”

* The home of the Big West Championships in men’s golf should be

changed. Call it, Anteater Country Club or Zot Golf Course. For the

past three years, the UCI men’s golf team has owned Serrano Country

Club in El Dorado Hills.

The Anteaters did their best impression of the Lakers and won its

third-straight Big West championship April 22. UCI finished with a

36-hole total of 581, eight shots ahead of runners-up Long Beach

State, Idaho and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, teams which should

petition to change the site of the Big West Championships, so that

they can have a chance.

Senior Mike Lavery earned medalist honors with a two-round total

of 6-under par-138, including a final round of 4-under 68, while

junior Vinnie Poncino finished eighth, senior Jeff Coburn was 11th,

senior Ryan Armstrong placed 13th and freshman Ryne Rindfleisch was

23rd.

UCI will compete in the NCAA Regional Championships May 15-17.

Regional selections will be announced Monday, yet the Anteaters will

most likely compete in the West regional at Washington National Golf

Club in Auburn, Washington.

* It was a time of celebration for Douglass’ men’s basketball

team last week at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine, where Jordan

Harris, Mike Hood, Matt Okoro, Aras Baskauskas and Jeff Gloger were

honored with team awards.

Harris, a senior forward who averaged 12.7 points per game, was

named UCI’s Most Outstanding Player. Hood, the ‘Eaters’ senior guard,

was honored as team captain and also received the Coaches Award. The

high-energy Okoro was named the squad’s Top Defensive Player after

blocking 18 shots and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game.

Baskauskas, a graduate student in business administration,

received the team’s Scholar-Athlete Award. Ironically, that award was

a no-brainer. Gloger, UCI’s redshirt freshman point guard, was named

the Most Improved Player and he also received UCI’s Newcomer Award.

Gloger set an Anteater single-season record with 75 steals, which

ranks 10th in Big West history. Gloger, who averaged 8.2 points, also

led the team with 86 assists and was named to the Big West

All-Freshman team.

* Douglass’ Anteaters will be among the favorites to win the Big

West title in 2004, even though Harris and Hood are departing. UCI

won’t lose too much ground with the addition of Mark Hill, who told

the Daily Pilot in late March that he verbally committed to UCI. He

signed his letter of intent April 16.

Hill, a 6-5, 210-pound forward, has a winning background, but

perhaps the most fascinating facet of the young man is his pure

athleticism. He excelled as a wide receiver for the football team and

he also found success in track and field. He most likely could have

earned an NCAA Division I scholarship in football.

“Mark is very versatile and he can play inside and out,” Douglass

said. “We feel that he is a player who will be an immediate

contributor to our program.”