Briefs: ‘Eaters get best of 49ers

UCI claims Black & Blue Series trophy after baseball team clinches yearly multi-sport duel with Long Beach State.

UC Irvine won the Black & Blue Series trophy, the prize given to the annual overall winner of athletic competition between the Anteaters and Big West Conference rival Long Beach State, for the third consecutive year.

The trophy, created five years ago, is decided by point totals accumulated by teams in all sports that the two schools have in common.

UCI earned a 23-20 advantage over the 49ers, clinching with a baseball sweep of their conference series, May 28-30.

Victories recorded by UCI teams in the 2009-10 school year included men’s basketball, men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s water polo, women’s soccer, women’s tennis and men’s golf.

— From staff reports

UCI’s Collins honored

The UC Irvine Alumni Assn. recognized senior Lauren Collins as the Outstanding Student-Athlete at the 40th annual Lauds & Laurels ceremony May 13 at the Fairmont Newport Beach.

She was one of 18 individuals honored for their commitment to UCI. Awardees were selected by a committee of alumni, faculty, students and volunteers.

Collins won the high jump at the 2009 Big West Conference Track & Field Championships with a school-record mark of 6-11/4 and she finished 10th in the high jump at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

She broke her own school record in the heptathlon with 5,549 points in winning the Northridge Spring Break Open in March, 2009. She ranks No. 2 all-time at UCI in the 100-meter hurdles (13.96).

Collins won the heptathlon at the 2007 Big West Conference Championships with a then-school-record total of 5,512 points.

The sociology major was a four-time Big West scholar-athlete. She was recognized as UCI’s 2009-10 female Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year and UCI’s 2009 female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Collins was sidelined for the latter part of the 2010 season with a foot injury.

—From staff reports

Clark, DuFault shine

Sophomore Carson Clark and junior Jordan DuFault were named All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation by a vote of men’s volleyball coaches.

Clark earned first-team honors for the second consecutive year, becoming UCI’s only two-time first-team selection. The 6-foot-5 opposite led the team and ranked third in the MPSF in kills (5.01 per game) and points (5.79). He led the country in regular-season service aces with 48 which was a UCI single-season record. He also set the single-season record for attack attempts with 1,180 in 2010.

DuFault, a 6-4 outside hitter, was named to the second team after ranking ninth in the MPSF in both kills (4.04) and points (4.68). He also averaged 2.03 digs and 0.73 blocks per set. He was a third-team honoree as a sophomore in 2009.

— From staff reports

UCI adds recruits

Three community college All-Americans top a 10-man recruiting class for the UC Irvine men’s soccer team.

Yussif Alhassan, a native of Ghana, Africa, earned All-American recognition last season at Arizona Western College. The 5-foot-6 midfielder posted 16 goals and nine assists to help the school set a record for wins in a season with 16.

He was Player of the Year in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference as a sophomore in 2009.

Christian Hernandez was an All-American at Taft Community College last season. The 5-8 midfielder had nine goals and 10 assists to earn Central Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year laurels.

Hernandez was also a two-time All-CIF Southern Section performer at Palmdale High, where he produced 27 goals and 13 assists as a senior.

Miguel Ibarra, a 5-8 forward and midfielder, also earned All-American honors at Taft last season. He was named Central Valley Conference Midfielder of the Year as a freshman in 2008.

Joel vom Dorp, a 6-4 defender who will be a freshman next season, comes to UCI from Sweden.

Other incoming freshmen include: Marco Franco, a 5-10 defender out of Chino Hills High; Dennis Martinez, a 5-9 midfielder out of Knight High in Palmdale; Enrique Ruiz, a 5-6 forward-midfielder from Hamilton High in Los Angeles; Israel Sandoval, a 5-10 forward out of the Center for Enriched Studies in Sherman Oaks; and Christopher Santana, a 5-11 forward out of Bishop Union High.

Albert Lopez, a 6-0 midfielder who twice earned All-CIF plaudits at Orange Glenn High in San Diego County, transfers after one year at a community college. He will be a sophomore next fall.

— From staff reports