Carlson Wearing His Weight in New Places

There is something different about UC Irvine center Andrew Carlson. At first, it’s hard to detect.

Is he dressing better?

Did he change hair styles?

Wait, he’s missing that benign growth he calls a skateboard. That’s it, right?

Then it becomes clear. Carlson, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, still weighs about 245 pounds, like he did last season. But the weight has been redistributed. A summer of hard work, including a trip to the prestigious Pete Newell Big Man camp, has converted those Pop’n Fresh looks into a hard body.

In short, Carlson now appears more suited for dominating than Domino’s.

“He’s starting to look like a college basketball player,” Anteater Coach Pat Douglass said.

Now if he can play like one. Carlson was asked to sink or swim last season, and should have been issued aqua-lungs.

In other seasons, or at another school, he might have been a redshirt and spent the year developing. The Anteaters, though, could not afford the time, not with a roster diminished by transfers. Carlson, one of four freshmen who played prominent roles, started 18 of 26 games and averaged 23 minutes.

Still, it wasn’t just that he was learning on the job. At times, he seemed out of shape. He would show flashes--against Cal State Fullerton, he turned offensive rebounds into three-point plays on consecutive possessions--then appear sluggish and fatigued.

“This year, I want to accomplish something,” said Carlson, who averaged 5.5 points and five rebounds last season. “Last year was a matter of survival on the court.”

So he set out to become the fittest, or at least more fit.

Carlson, who went to Poway High, worked with a trainer in the San Diego area during the summer, one of the goals prescribed by Douglass. It included a quasi-vacation in Hawaii.

Douglass arranged an invitation to Newell’s camp, where Shaquille O’Neal has gone to hone his skills. If it was good enough for Shaq, it was good enough for ‘Drew, one of 22 college players in attendance.

It became a family vacation. But, while the rest of the Carlsons caught some rays, Andrew soaked up basketball knowledge, determined not to get burned so often.

“I was banging against all these pros and top 25 college players,” Carlson said. “Tim Young [Stanford] and Brad Millard [St. Mary’s] were also there. I really learned what I needed to do to take my game to the next level.”

Now Carlson hopes to use some of what he learned in Hawaii.

“They show you how to be prepared to catch the ball and what to do with it once you get it,” Carlson said. “They teach you seven post moves, then show you moves off those moves. I learned how to play with my back to the basket.”

He certainly will get plenty of time to test his new skills. The Anteaters are short on size, a problem made worse when 6-8 Wendell Robinson was ruled academically ineligible.

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Tattoo you: Anyone who thinks cross-country runners are drab, one-foot-in-front-of-other athletes hasn’t hung around Coach Vince O’Boyle’s office lately.

There you will find Sunny Shaffer, who recently won a dance contest with a dead-on imitation of Michael Jackson.

Also milling about are Robert Frichtel, Doug Frichtel and Michael Murray, who recently had blue “UCI” tattoos put on their shoulders. Others, they said, will be following their lead.

Although O’Boyle said he didn’t condone such flesh engraving, he did admit to a certain commitment.

“I guess they can’t transfer,” O’Boyle said. “They’re branded.”

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The Irvine women’s soccer team--once thought to be the class of the Big West Conference--needs a victory over Cal State Fullerton Sunday to secure a spot in the conference tournament, Nov. 7 and 9 at Irvine.

The Anteaters got in this predicament by losing to Pacific and North Texas.

Season-ending injuries to striker Tracie Manz and defender Kelly Dohmann certainly played a part in the recent funk. But the offense has been lagging. So Coach Marine Cano shook things up, benching striker Stephanie Rigamat and midfielder Simone Ferrara Friday night against Utah State.

“They needed to sit and watch a little,” Cano said.

Their temporary seats with a view provided some focus. Both Ferrara and Rigamat had assists in the 4-1 victory over Utah State. Rigamat also charged the net late in the game and blasted the ball out of goal keeper Michaela Miller’s hands for a goal.

The team’s revitalized offense didn’t last. Irvine lost in a nonconference game to San Diego State, 3-0, Sunday, for its fourth loss in six games.

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National rankings tend to be subjective and, sometimes, completely out of touch. Not so, it seems, in water polo.

Irvine has been ranked fifth, between UCLA and Stanford, since Oct. 7. The Anteaters beat UCLA by one goal Oct. 10, then lost to Stanford by one goal Friday.

The Anteaters could be getting closer to moving up. They lost to Stanford by a goal Sunday in the Northern California tournament, but this time the game went into overtime. Then again, maybe they’re on their way down, as Irvine ended the tournament by losing to UCLA, 6-1.

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Coming Attractions

Key games this week for UC Irvine:

* Men’s and women’s cross-country competes in the Cal Poly Pomona Invitational Saturday. Men begin at 8:30 a.m. and women at 9:15 a.m.

* Golf team competes in the Fresno Lexus Classic Friday and Saturday at San Joaquin Country Club.

* Men’s soccer plays in the Cal State Fullerton Tournament, facing California at 5 p.m. Friday at 5 p.m. and Iona at 1 p.m. Sunday.

* Women’s soccer plays at Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m. Sunday and hosts Central Florida at 7 p.m. Monday.

* Women’s volleyball plays at North Texas at 7 p.m. Thursday and at New Mexico State at 3 p.m. Saturday.

* Water polo plays California at Heritage Park at 6 p.m. Friday and at USC at noon Sunday.