UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Golden Anteaters Provide an Upbeat Last Word for Coaches, Athletes

Pull those tuxedos and sequined gowns out of the garment bags. It’s time for the annual Golden Anteater awards ceremony, where we present the most coveted of all honors for Anteater athletes and coaches.

The envelopes, please:

Best Direction: Why not begin with co-winners and hand out a pair of Golden ‘Eaters? There’s one for women’s basketball Coach Colleen Matsuhara and one for point guard Raimonds Miglinieks. Matsuhara took one of the sorriest programs around and made no apologies during the regular or postseason en route to the team’s first NCAA appearance. The Anteaters were 12-69 during her first three years and 19-11 this season.

Miglinieks runs his show as few can. He was third in the nation in assists but must have been first in combined distance of assists. Some of his length-of-the-court tosses would be good for a first down on third and 30. If you put all his assists end to end, they would stretch to Jupiter. (It’s an awards show, we’re allowed to exaggerate.)

Best Performance by a Male in a Leading Role: P.J. Polowski was more than just the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation soccer player of the year and the conference’s top scorer. As with any good action hero, he knew how to beat the odds. Polowski, a senior forward, was double- and triple-teamed and still managed to score at least one point in 11 consecutive matches. Polowski, who transferred from Orange Coast College, scored more points (73) in two years than any Anteater had in a four-year career.

Best Performance by a Female in Leading Role: The Crunch Queen, the Ice Princess, the Stealer of the Scene herself . . . Allah-mi Basheer, come get your Golden ‘Eater. Not only was she the team’s top scorer and rebounder, a first-team all-conference selection and the most valuable player of the Big West Tournament, Basheer was the master of the thriller, the genre’s leading lady. Four times, she scored the game-winning basket in two-point Irvine victories. Her crowning moment in the spotlight came March 9 with 2.6 seconds remaining against Cal State Fullerton when her eight-foot jumper bounded and rolled around the rim before dropping through and dumping the Titans, 69-67, in the tournament semifinals.

Best Performance by a Male in a Supporting Role: Khalid Channell, surgeon in waiting, wins for his ever-expanding role as the guy who prepped on the bench and then sliced through the opposition. Channell, who did not start once but played in all 29 of the Anteaters’ games, was the team’s No. 4 scorer and rebounder. He’s no longer contemplating whether to finish a fast break with a one- or two-handed slam. He’s trying to decide on a med school.

Best Performance by a Female in a Supporting Role: Senior guard Michele Kahler wasn’t Irvine’s top scorer or defender or playmaker, but she made her presence felt in a Hollywood stuntwoman sort of way. Her self-sacrificing approach was an inspiration. In the final act of Irvine’s season, for instance, she never seemed to notice that Stanford was mauling the Anteaters in their NCAA tournament game. She suffered a cut under her eye that required three stitches while battling for a loose ball in the first half. Later, with the Cardinal leading by 30, she ran into a screen so hard she separated her shoulder.

Best Performance by a Male in Continuing Role: Freshman Tom Davis came into the water polo season expecting to be the backup goalie and soon found himself alone in the nets facing the best college water polo teams in the country. The blurred yellow dots in his vision had nothing to do with poor health. “Coach [Ted] Newland says I’m not allowed to get the flu,” he said early in the season. So he was just following orders. He played every second of all 24 games.

Best Performance by a Female in a Continuing Role: Actually, it was only a couple of days, but it must have seemed an eternity to junior Jo Jo Yaba. Yaba finished third in the 10,000 meters at the Big West track and field championships Friday, then placed second and fifth in 5,000 and 3,000 on Saturday. Some people don’t drive 18,000 meters in two days.

The People’s Choice Award: For his work on and off the court, tennis player Chris Tontz is the popular pick. The guy is so nice, opponents feel guilty when they beat him. Tontz, who will play in the NCAA championships this week in Athens, Ga., is the No. 43-ranked singles player in the country. He’s also Irvine’s Big West male scholar-athlete of the year and was a recipient of Tennis Magazine’s Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship award.

Best Vocal Performance, Male (or Female or Duo or Group, for that matter): Junior forward Michael Tate’s screaming histrionics during the second half when Utah State was thrashing the lethargic Anteaters Feb. 9 boomed above the din of 6,865 screaming Aggie fans. Tate, a junior forward, ran up and down the Irvine bench bellowing. “Don’t give up! Don’t quit!” he yelled. He didn’t say, “. . . or I’ll kill you,” but the look in his eyes conveyed the message pretty well.

Best Work on a Toothpaste Advertisement: OK, senior guard Zuri Williams hasn’t made the commercial yet, but hopefully someone will save that infectious grin for posterity. Everybody loves a man who loves his work. That smile will be missed.

Best Costume Design: Why even open the envelope? Coach Rod Baker gets the award again for his natty court-side elegance. His team may have its ups and downs, but Baker is always sharp on game night, one ensemble after another. And he swears he dresses himself. Apparently, the man knows fashion. (When he makes fun of one of my ties, I never wear it again.)