Uc Irvine

There's nothing like the allure of college basketball's March Madness -- with the brackets, the office pools and the constant hoops action. But it's October. What's a fan to do? Across the country, basketball nuts have traditionally packed collegiate arenas for late-night events that celebrate the start of practice. Blake Sasaki, assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions at UC Irvine, watched the spirited events as a young basketball fan. Now he is trying to replicate the excitement on his campus.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan GLENDALE -- The University of California Irvine baseball team will christen its new team and field against the University of San Diego on Jan. 25, 2002, and a local player will be there every step of the way. R.J. Brown, a senior baseball player from St. Francis High, will be more than a spectator during the festivities. Brown will be on the field as a member of the Anteaters, as they start their first season since dropping the sport after the 1992 season.

With the regulars taking the week off from competition, the UC Irvine men's cross country 'B' team finished seventh in the UC San Diego Triton Classic Saturday. UCI totaled 175 points led by John Peate, who finished 34th in 27 minutes, 8.8 seconds over the 8,000-meter course. Bryan Lopez was 37th (27:21.0), Pete Smith finished 40th (27:30.3), Greg Thompson was 42nd (27:34.8) and Dan Driscoll placed 63rd in 28:00.5. The UCI women's 'B' team finished eighth with 194 points.

The UC Irvine women's cross country team finished second among 17 teams and the men's squad was fourth in a 12-school field in the UCI invitational at Central Park in Huntington Beach Saturday. Chico State won the women's team title with 48 points, followed by UCI with 78 and Long Beach State with 95. Katie Lee of Chico State won the 5,000-meter race in 17 minutes, 59.1 seconds. UCI redshirt freshman Laura Olvera was third in 18:38.7 and senior Amber Steen, a former Newport Harbor High standout and transfer from Arizona, placed 13th in 18:54.

Erik Boal GLENDALE -- o7 In an effort to keep track of local high school athletes who now compete in college, the News-Press will devote space to a weekly update: f7 Mark Hull (Hoover, 1998) redshirt junior forward, UC Santa Barbara men's basketball -- The Gauchos (11-5, 5-2) are tied for second in the Big West Conference, one-half game behind UC Irvine, entering Thursday's 7 p.m. showdown at home with the Anteaters (13-5, 6-1). And Hull, UC Santa Barbara's ironman, continues to be the driving force behind his team's success.

Researchers at UC Irvine want to make technology greener by using a $1.5-million grant to produce a prototype electronic device using environmentally friendly materials. Scientists have five years to use the grant. Professor Oladele Ogunseitan, slated to lead the research team, said it is hoped that the result of the research will be a device -- possibly a cell phone -- that works as well as current technology but uses safer components. Cell phones and other electronics, Ogunseitan said, contain metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on former area players currently competing at the collegiate level. The Highlanders (38-20) lost to the Nebraska, 11-1, mustering only five hits in Sunday's elimination game. Barratt started the game at third base and went hitless in one at bat. The winner of Nebraska-Arizona State will move out of the regional. On Saturday, the Highlander's were defeated by the Sun Devils, 9-2, with Barratt going hitless in two at bats.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes competing at the collegiate level .   Christian Bergman (St. Francis High, 2006) UC Irvine starting pitcher : The former All-Area Player of the Year, who was a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn. preseason All-American, is turning in a stellar season for the Anteaters, the country’s third-ranked team. Bergman’s won his last three starts, including a six-inning effort on Friday that saw Irvine defeat Long Beach State, 6-3. He allowed eight hits, but just two earned runs, while striking out two and walking one. Bergman improved to 5-1 with the victory and now owns a 2.68 earned-run average through 53 2/3 innings pitched, with 32 strikeouts to just nine walks.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level. Christian Bergman (St. Francis High, 2006) senior, UC Irvine baseball: Bergman's starting effort on the mound on Saturday was enough to keep the Anteaters moving along in their quest to advance to the 2010 College World Series out of the Los Angeles Regional. The former Golden Knight pitched five innings against Kent State at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium, during which he allowed one earned run on five hits and a walk and left the game with a 15-1 lead.

GLENDALE — As a freshman at UC Irvine in 2007, Christian Bergman was thrown onto the biggest stage as a spot starter in the NCAA Division I College World Series. Since then, a standout tenure with the Anteaters has seemingly flown by for the St. Francis High graduate, as him and his fellow Irvine seniors are looking for one last run to Omaha, Neb. and the College World Series. "Having tasted it ... it's one of those things where you want to get back so badly," said Bergman on Monday after it was announced that Irvine would play in the Los Angeles Regional, beginning Friday with a showdown against defending NCAA champion LSU. "Especially for the senior class, it's our last shot to get there."

GLENDALE — It was quite a Tuesday for Christian Bergman. It was quite a Tuesday that concluded a very memorable and significant four-day span in the life of the St. Francis High graduate. And finally on Tuesday afternoon, the waiting ended along with the self-described "roller-coaster ride" as Bergman was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 24th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. "It's really been a roller-coaster ride," said Bergman, who was the 470th selection in the draft, of the last four days.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level. Baillie Kirker (Crescenta Valley High, 2009) freshman infielder, University of Arizona softball: Over the course of the 2010 Women's College World Series, Arizona Coach Mike Candrea had remained committed to penciling Kirker into the lineup at first base for each of the team's first six games in the tournament. But the former Falcons great's struggles at the plate only deepened as the Wildcats advanced deeper, finally forcing Candrea's hand into benching Kirker for the most important game of the season.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level. Christian Bergman (St. Francis High, 2006) senior, UC Irvine baseball: Bergman's starting effort on the mound on Saturday was enough to keep the Anteaters moving along in their quest to advance to the 2010 College World Series out of the Los Angeles Regional. The former Golden Knight pitched five innings against Kent State at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium, during which he allowed one earned run on five hits and a walk and left the game with a 15-1 lead.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene. SIX LOCALS SET FOR JUNE BOUTS Vanes "The Nightmare" Martirosyan will not only be squaring off with "Mean" Joe Greene in the biggest fight of his young career on Saturday night, but the Glendale boxer will also begin quite a stretch of local boxers and mixed martial artists taking to their respective rings and cages. Martirosyan (27-0, 16-0 KOs) will face Greene (24-0, 13 KOs)

GLENDALE — As a freshman at UC Irvine in 2007, Christian Bergman was thrown onto the biggest stage as a spot starter in the NCAA Division I College World Series. Since then, a standout tenure with the Anteaters has seemingly flown by for the St. Francis High graduate, as him and his fellow Irvine seniors are looking for one last run to Omaha, Neb. and the College World Series. "Having tasted it ... it's one of those things where you want to get back so badly," said Bergman on Monday after it was announced that Irvine would play in the Los Angeles Regional, beginning Friday with a showdown against defending NCAA champion LSU. "Especially for the senior class, it's our last shot to get there."

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.   Kristin McLaughlin (Crescenta Valley High, 2006) senior utility player, Cal State Northridge women’s water polo: McLaughlin, a former All-Area Player of the Year, received Big West Conference Water Polo Player of the Week honors for the week of March 29 through April 3. McLaughlin, a former All-Pacific League Most Valuable Player, finished with a career-high three goals and four steals to help spark 10th-ranked CSUN to an 11-9 double-overtime victory against visiting UC Irvine on Friday.