UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / MIKE REILLEY : Father’s Switch Bowled Over Christensen

Mark Christensen grew up in Mission Viejo idolizing a pro bowler--his father, Glen.

“I was always hanging out at the bowling alley watching him,” Christensen said. “Had he stayed in bowling longer, I probably would have been into that by now.”

Instead, Christensen followed his father to the golf course. Glen began playing golf regularly after recovering from a series of bowling injuries, and his son picked up the game quickly.

“Dad got addicted to the sport and so did I,” Christensen said. “I was only about 7, but he cut off a few clubs for me and we took off for the driving range.”

Golf is more than a weekend hobby these days for the younger Christensen, a freshman walk-on at UC Irvine who recently won his first collegiate tournament. And it was only his third collegiate tournament.

Christensen won several honors throughout his career at Trabuco Hills High School. He was The Times County player of the year last season after leading the Mustangs to the Southern California title.

Only a few colleges showed interest in him.

Despite a 4.4 grade-point average in high school, Christensen didn’t get into Stanford. UCLA coaches liked him but were already set on a lineup. UC San Diego, a Division III school, couldn’t offer a scholarship.

That left UC Irvine, which has just about everything Christensen wants. The Anteaters were ranked as high as 22nd nationally last year and reached the NCAA tournament. Great academics. A good location.

“(Irvine Coach) Steve Ainslie showed the most interest in me,” Christensen said. “He was the most personable of all the coaches who recruited me.”

Ainslie noticed a lot of potential in Christensen--potential that has surfaced in the past few weeks.

“Mark wanted to stay close to home,” Ainslie said. “I recruited him hard, and he knew he could play for us early.”

And he has, making a smooth transition to the collegiate level. He made the eight-player varsity last fall, placing fifth among his teammates.

Christensen is the only true freshman on a young varsity squad that includes several redshirt freshmen and sophomores.

Ainslie usually asks his golfers to sit out a season as a redshirt, but Christensen showed he was ready right away.

“He’s one of those guys that coaches wish they had 10 of,” Ainslie said. “He’s a great kid, the epitome of the student-athlete. He keeps his nose clean, shows up on time and does what he has to do.”

In only his second college tournament, Christensen finished fifth at the Southern California Intercollegiate championships two weeks ago in Torrey Pines.

He won the University of San Diego Invitational last week and led the Anteaters to a fifth-place finish in the team competition. He shot a final-round 71 to win the individual championship by two strokes, finishing with a 54-hole total of 220.

“That was a big surprise,” Christensen said. “I went down there just to play, but I shot well on the second day and kept it up.

“I had a couple bogeys in the final nine and started losing it, but I came back with a couple birdies.”

Christensen wasn’t the only person surprised by the finish. Throughout the tournament, he was identified as “Mike Christensen” on the leader board and on the first tee.

“I kept correcting them,” he said. “But they kept calling me Mike.”

Well, they have three more years to get it right.

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Boosted by victories over two top-25 teams, the Anteater men’s tennis squad has cracked the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn. rankings for the first time this season.

The Anteaters, ranked 24th, upset 15th-ranked Arkansas last week and No. 22 Miami on March 13.

“We expect to be in the top 20 in the next poll,” Coach Steve Clark said.

The Anteaters have won three of their past four matches since losing five in a row, including losses to top-ranked UCLA, second-ranked USC and fifth-ranked Stanford.

“I don’t think you can call that a losing streak,” Clark said. “That’s a tough schedule.”

Senior Aaron Stolpman snapped a six-match losing streak at No. 1 singles with a victory over Clemson last Sunday. He was ranked 97th in the latest ITA ratings, his best mark so far this season.

The Anteaters play host to the UCI-Marriott Classic April 1-4. The tournament includes Boise State, coached by former UC Irvine coach Greg Patton.

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Chris Cote, a volleyball player at San Diego University City High, has committed to play at UC Irvine next season.

Cote, a 6-foot-5 middle blocker, was an all-Western Conference selection last season and averages 10 kills and five blocks for University, top-ranked in San Diego’s Division 2-A.