COLLEGES:UCI men turn tide, win title

Brian Pajer is no longer his own visual aid.

When it came to discussing the history of the UC Irvine men’s swim program, Pajer, in his third season as both men’s and women’s coach, could merely point to his chest to identify the last UCI men’s swimmer to qualify for the NCAA championships (as a senior in 1990).

But after the Anteaters claimed their first Big West Conference men’s swimming and diving title Saturday, with the completion of the four-day event at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach, Pajer can now point with pride to seniors Eric Reilly and Dan Simenson, as well as juniors Randall Tom and Eddie Erazo, as those who have earned the same distinction.

The aforementioned foursome combined to continue their dominance in the 200-yard medley relay, winning their third straight conference title in the second event of the meet Wednesday.

They also teamed to win the 400 medley relay, while Tom (200 individual medley and 100 butterfly), Reilly (50 freestyle) and Erazo (100 backstroke) also claimed conference crowns in individual events.

Both Tom and Reilly were also on the ‘Eaters winning 200 and 400 free relay quartets.

The inaugural conference title was a culmination for Pajer, who spent five years as an assistant coach before assuming the helm before the 2005 campaign.

“We’ve been adding pieces to the puzzle every year and, this year, everything just clicked,” Pajer said.

He noted senior captains Duke Krautim (redshirting with an injury this season) and Mike Cohee were integral in the leadership department, though he praised his entire senior class for their role in the title.

In addition to the aforementioned standouts, Pajer said freshman Chris Rosales was, perhaps, the leading unsung hero.

“[Rosales] improved his time in the 400 IM by 11 seconds to finish fourth in that event and had a great swim in the 100 breaststroke to finish third on the same day on Friday.”

Pajer said Friday was the turning point for the Anteaters, who finished with 820.5 points, 93 more than second-place UC Santa Barbara.

He also said that while dealing with the onset of a cold that coincided with the end of the conference meet, he has wasted little time spreading word of the men’s conquest to prospective recruits.

“Being the best team in the conference is something I would have enjoyed when I was competing here,” Pajer said. “To see our swimmers enjoy that experience was very exciting.”

Nagata, a 2006 All-American who was seventh in the 100 butterfly at the NCAA Championships, added a third conference crown in that event. She also won the 100 backstroke and was on one winning relay.

DePaul, a freshman, won three individual events and one relay and will join Nagata and the UCI men at this year’s NCAA meet, March 15-17 at the University of Minnesota.

Jones was dominant on her way to winning the one-meter and three-meter diving events. She was more than 51 and 43 points better, respectively, than the one- and three-meter runners up.

Pajer said Jones, a Los Alamitos High graduate, grew up working as a lifeguard at Belmont Plaza, which might have added to her comfort level during the conference meet.

Birthdays are important to UCI baseball coach Dave Serrano, who pledges to work his players into games on their special day.

Such was the case with Brock Bardeen Sunday, who added to the feel-good moment by lacing a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning of an 11-7 win over visiting Utah.