Briefs: UCI pair honored

UC Irvine senior Trent Baxter and sophomore Mitch Wise were named third-team All-American by the Assn. of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches for the 2011 season.

Baxter, a senior driver, had 55 goals for Coach Marc Hunt’s squad, which finished 17-12 and was ranked No. 5 in the final Collegiate Water Polo Assn. national poll.

Wise, a second-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation performer, led the ‘Eaters with 70 goals from his driver position.

Wise, who also earned MPSF All-Tournament recognition, ranked second in the conference with 2.41 goals per game.

Baxter scored a career-high six goals in a 13-12 win over Long Beach State and was named the conference’s Player of the Week. He ranked seventh in the MPSF with 1.90 goals per contest.

— From staff reports

UCI’s Reyes shines

UC Irvine senior third baseman Tommy Reyes was voted Big West Conference Player of the Week in baseball Monday.

In three weekend wins at the Urban Invitational at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, Reyes batted .417 (five for 12) with two doubles, a triple, three walks and three stolen bases.

In Friday’s 5-3 triumph over Alabama State, the leadoff man doubled and scored the game-winning run. He then went two for three with two runs batted in a 5-1 verdict against Southern on Saturday, when he reached base in four of five plate appearances and stole a career-high three bases.

In a 5-2 win Sunday against Texas Southern, Reyes tripled and doubled to produce a career-high four RBIs, including the tying run in the second inning and the go-ahead run in the fourth.

Through Monday, Reyes is hitting .353 with a team-best six RBIs.

— From staff reports

Two locals honored

Orange Coast College sophomore Will Ligon and Irvine Valley sophomore Ramon Mejia, a Corona del Mar High product, were named first-team All-Orange Empire Conference by the league’s men’s basketball coaches.

Ligon, a 6-3 guard, averaged 18.2 points for the Pirates, who finished 9-19, 4-8 in conference. He had 77 three-pointers this season to bring his career total to 166, which ranks No. 2 all-time at OCC behind Jason Garey (186 from 2002 through 2004).

Mejia, a 6-1 guard, averaged 13.2 points per game for the Lasers, who finished the regular season 22-6, 9-3.

Josh Smith and Darnell Taylor of Saddleback were Co-Players of the Year and Saddleback’s Andy Ground was named Coach of the Year.

— From staff reports

OCC’s Engeln lauded

Orange Coast College sophomore Ashley Engeln was named second-team All-Orange Empire Conference in women’s basketball.

Engeln, a 5-7 guard, led the Pirates (11-18, 3-9 in conference) in scoring at 12 points per game. She made 53 three-pointers in her only season at OCC after transferring from Johnson & Wales University in Denver.

Aunjanay Chambers of Fullerton was named Player of the Year.

Margaret Mohr (Cypress), Debi Woelke (Fullerton) and Alicia Berber (Riverside) shared Coach of the Year honors.

— From staff reports

Lavery is 38th

Former UC Irvine men’s golfer Mike Lavery shot one-over-par 72 in Sunday’s final round to finish 38th at the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship in Bogota, Colombia.

Lavery finished with a 72-hole total of par 284 at Country Club de Bogota.

— From staff reports