Tennis: Saunders to guide ‘Eaters

Mike Saunders has been named men’s tennis coach at UC Irvine, a position he held on an interim basis last season.

UCI was 17-9 under Sanders in 2016, including a streak of seven consecutive victories in March. The Anteaters won 11 of its last 15 matches.

Four UCI players earned first-team All-Big West Conference honors last season

Saunders is a UCI graduate who won two Big West singles titles and served as team captain under coach Greg Patton his junior and senior seasons, when the team was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation.

Saunders was also a Big West Scholar-Athlete and recipient of UCI’s Student-Athlete Challenge Award, which recognizes the university’s most improved student-athlete. He also was voted Most Inspirational and Most Improved player by his teammates and coaches.

Saunders played professionally in satellite and challenger events around the world. He later coached former UCI player and coach, Trevor Kronemann, and his doubles partner David Macpherson, who had a ranking as high as No. 11 on the ATP tour.

More recently, Saunders has coached WTA player Maria Elena Camerin and some of the nation’s top college and junior players.

Saunders resides in Laguna Beach with his wife Amanda, daughter Stella, and son Owen.

— From staff reports

— From staff reports

Fernandez competing

Former UC Irvine standout Pete Fernandez is competing in the Web.com Tour event that began Thursday and runs through Sunday at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward.

This is the professional debut for Fernandez, a four-time All-Big West Conference honoree.

Fernandez earned a spot in the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae by shooting 5-under-par 67 in Monday’s qualifier at Boundary Oak Golf Course in Walnut Creek. He was one of 12 players to qualify from a field of 174.

Through 36 holes on Friday, Fernandez was at five-under 135, 12 shotsoff the lead.

The tournament has a purse of $600,000 with the winner earning $108,000.

As a senior at UCI in 2014-15, Fernandez was named first-team All-Big West his final two seasons after earning second-team honors his first two seasons.

Fernandez led UCI with a 71.52 average as a senior, posting four top-10 finishes and a pair of top-20 showings. He shot 63 in the first round and was medalist at the Del Walker Intercollegiate in March 2015, leading to Big West Golfer of the Month accolades.

Fernandez, who finished second at the 2015 Big West Championship, recorded 18 top-10 finishes in his career.

He was medalist in the 2014 Anteater Invitational at Mesa Verde Country Club.

— From staff reports

— From staff reports

Lions lauded

Vanguard University had eight teams earn NAIA scholar-team distinction for the 2015-16 academic year.

Women’s basketball led the way with a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average, which was also tops in the Golden State Athletic Conference and second in NAIA Division I.

Women’s cross country (3.44), women’s volleyball (3.40), softball (3.33), women’s track & field (3.30), women’s soccer (3.28) and baseball (3.09, best in the GSAC) were also recognized.

Vanguard student-athletes combined for a 3.13 GPA in 2015-2016, improving on their 3.06 GPA from 2014-2015. Women’s track & field saw the largest increase, from 2.96 to 3.30.

“Having eight scholar-teams is a tremendous accomplishment for our athletic department and for Vanguard University,” Lions Athletic Director Rhett Soliday said in a statement. “Our emphasis on holistic development is evident in the performance of our student-athletes in the classroom this year, and they have shown a deep desire to perform at a high level both in their sports and in every other area of their lives.”

Teams must have earned at least a 3.0 GPA to be considered.

— From staff reports

— From staff reports