This Week Miglinieks Takes a Run at Pros

Raimonds Miglinieks jogged around the grass field next to UC Irvine’s athletic administration building last week, dodging errant shots from a golf class while trying to stay in shape for the opening of Continental Basketball Assn. training camp.

Miglinieks, the Big West player of the year last season for the Anteaters, was drafted by Hartford but was traded to the CBA team in LaCrosse, Wis., recently. He reports to camp Thursday.

“I was hoping to make it with an NBA team, but now I’ll just have to get to the NBA through the CBA,” he said. “I just wish they got started sooner. I’m really hungry to play again.”

The CBA begins regular-season play Nov. 15, so there will be little time for the man who led the nation in assists, averaging 8.5 per game, to get to know his teammates.

“There will be an adjustment because it’s a different level, just like going from high school to college,” he said.

Miglinieks, who averaged 13.7 points last season, says he plans to focus on scoring more in the CBA.

“In professional basketball, they expect the guards to score,” he said, “so I can’t be too unselfish. And it’s important to establish yourself as a scorer first because that will open up the assists later.

“Anyway, I’m not worried about getting my assists.”

Miglinieks, a native of Latvia who served in the Red Army, won’t have to make an adjustment to the Midwest winter, though.

“I’ll finally get to see some snow again,” he said, smiling. “The only snow I’ve seen in the last four years has been in my dreams and that one day last year at Utah State.”

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Defending champions: The Big West Conference cross-country meet is Saturday at Boise State, and the Anteaters are the defending champions in the women’s division.

Irvine has won the title 10 times in the last 13 years under Coach Vince O’Boyle, and has six runners back who finished 27th or better in last year’s competition. Kay Nekota was seventh in 1995 with a time of 18 minutes 36 seconds for the 5,000-meter course. Other returning runners include Tanja Brix, who was 11th in 18:55; Katy Clark, 15th in 19:10; Carrie Burman, 20th in 19:29; Jamie Vaicaro, 25th in 19:40; and Jamie Blair, 27th in 19:42.

The Anteater men finished third last year. Three runners from that group are back, including Shawn Frack. He was 17th last season with a time of 26:47 for the 8,000-meter men’s course.

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Record-tying effort: Soccer player Nicole Bucciarelli scored her 12th goal of the season Sunday in Irvine’s 1-1 tie with Cal State Fullerton, and needs one more to set the school’s season record.

Bucciarelli also tied the school record last year as a freshman. Junior Traci Manz was the first Anteater woman to score 12 goals in a season, that coming in 1994. Bucciarelli leads the Anteaters in scoring with 26 points. Manz is second with 20 points on seven goals and six assists.

The Anteaters (10-6-2, 4-1-1 in conference) host the UCI/Nike Invitational Friday through Sunday. New Mexico and Fresno State are the other two competing teams.

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Nearing a milestone: Water polo Coach Ted Newland needs only two more victories to reach 600 for his 31-year career, and could do it this weekend. The Anteaters (9-6, 5-1) host Pacific at Heritage Park at noon Saturday, then play at UC San Diego Sunday.

Newland is the NCAA’s winningest water polo coach with a 598-240-5 record.

Junior Ryan Bailey leads the team in scoring with 49 points, including seven two-point goals. Bailey has scored at least two points in 13 of 15 games this season.

Anteater Notes

At the USC Swimming Invitational last weekend, the men’s 200 freestyle relay team finished third with a time of 1 minute 30.87 seconds, and freshman John Peterson was 10th in the 50 freestyle (22.44). . . . The women’s volleyball match against Cal State Northridge scheduled for today has been canceled. The Anteaters play at Utah State Thursday and at Cal State Fullerton Saturday after splitting a pair of five-game matches last week, losing to North Texas and defeating New Mexico State. Freshman middle blocker Jamie Hill has been in the double digits in kills in each of the last 10 matches, and leads the team with an average of 3.45 kills. Junior outside hitter Cynthia Trotter leads the team in digs, averaging 2.85.

Times staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this story.

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Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for UC Irvine:

* Men’s soccer hosts UC San Diego in a nonconference game 6 p.m. Sunday. Mike Mucino leads the Anteaters (6-6-3) in scoring with 16 points on six goals and four assists.

* Women’s soccer hosts the UCI Nike Invitational this weekend. The Anteaters (10-6-2) play New Mexico at 7 p.m. Friday and Fresno State at 3 p.m. Sunday.

* Water polo against Pacific at noon Saturday at Heritage Park, then at UC San Diego noon Sunday. The Anteaters (9[6, 5-1) lost their first Mountain Pacific Sports Assn. game of the season Saturday against top-ranked USC, 6-4.

* Men’s and women’s cross-country at the Big West Conference meet at Boise, Idaho, 12:30 p.m. Saturday.