Briefs: UCI baseball ranked
UC Irvine is ranked No. 39 in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll.
The Anteaters were 41-25 last year and made their second College World Series appearance. UCI, which finished third in the Big West at 15-9, made the most of its at-large berth, defeating UNLV and top-seeded Oregon State twice in regional action in Corvallis, Ore.
The Anteaters then bested Oklahoma State in the first two games of the super regional round to punch their ticket to Omaha.
The Anteaters opened the College World Series with a 3-1 win over Texas before falling to Vanderbilt and the Longhorns to end an incredible postseason run.
UCI returns 20 lettermen and is led by senior catcher Jerry McClanahan, who hit .304 with 36 runs batted in, as well as Jonathan Munoz, who was voted second-team American Baseball Coaches Assn. All-West Region after batting .281 with 47 hits and 18 RBIs.
Elliot Surrey, Evan Manarino and All-American relief pitcher Sam Moore are expected to anchor the pitching staff. Surrey was 8-5 with a 2.32 earned-run average and went 2-1 in postseason. The lefty struck out 76 batters in 112 2/3 innings. Manarino was 4-4 with a 2.66 ERA.
The Anteaters open the season Feb. 13-15 at Fresno State.
— From staff reports
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UCI’s Privett honored
UC Irvine senior Cami Privett has been named All-West Region by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America.
Privett, a first-team All-Big West Conference performer, had two goals and four assists for UCI (7-9-3), for which she started all 19 matches.
Privett completed her career with nine goals and 17 assists in 61 starts and 71 matches. She had three game-winning goals.
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Fells’ big finish
UC Irvine product Darren Fells, a tight end with the Arizona Cardinals, completed his first NFL season with five receptions for 71 yards.
The 6-foot-7, 281-pounder, who played professional basketball abroad after a four-year basketball career at UCI, had all five of his catches in the final three games for the Cardinals, including two for 39 yards in the season finale against San Fransisco.
Fells’ longest reception was for 24 yards, but he also received praise in the latter part of the season for his blocking ability, which allowed him to move past veterans John Carlson and Rob Housler and into the starting lineup.
He also had one tackle on special teams.
— Barry Faulkner
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Lions’ Holsinger shines
Vanguard University junior Riley Holsinger has been named Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Week in women’s basketball.
Holsinger, a transfer from Spokane Falls Community College, averaged 24.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in three victories. She was 21 for 51 from the field (41.2%), and made 29 of 33 foul shots (87.9%).
In an 80-72 win over Victoria University in a home nonconference game on Dec. 29, the 5-foot-10 guard had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots.
In a 61-56 win over Evangel in the first of two games at the Biola tournament on Jan. 2, she had 24 points, eight rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
In an 80-62 triumph over Bethesda on Jan. 3 at Biola, she had 30 points and 11 rebounds to post her fourth double-double of the season.
Entering Tuesday’s GSAC road game against San Diego Christian, she was averaging 21.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest to help the No, 10-ranked Lions post a 9-3 record.
— From staff reports
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‘Eaters deliver toys
UC Irvine student-athletes and staff partnered with the UCI Police Department to deliver gifts to children receiving care at the UCI Medical Center on Dec. 18.
The annual Teddy Bear Toy Drive provides UCI student-athletes, staff members and law enforcement officers the opportunity to bring gifts and spend time with families. Gifts were delivered to children in areas such as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, burn and emergency units.
“I’m so grateful to take part in this amazing opportunity to give back,” said Jaycee McNally, a women’s water polo player. “I am so fortunate to be able to team up with the UCI Police Department and athletics to give back to the community and gain some valuable perspective. It was very humbling to see all the families and their strength. I hope to continue on to medical school after finishing my undergraduate degree at UCI and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from my experience today.”
Men’s soccer player Mats Bjurman was equally moved.
“It was an amazing experience to give gifts to so many brave young people,” Bjurman said. “It’s hard to describe how rewarding it was to give a gift to a young child going through so much, but I was honored to be able to do so.”
— From staff reports