Rough Going Will Only Make Team Stronger

Larissa Carter has a word of caution for teams that might pummel the UC Irvine women’s volleyball team this season.

“All of us wimpy freshmen will get strong,” said Carter, a freshman outside hitter.

How long that will take is the question.

The Anteaters, who have seven freshmen, already have taken some lumps. They have been swept in four of their five losses this season (they were swept in 17 of 23 losses a year ago).

That some of those defeats have come against the likes of Eastern Washington and the University San Diego doesn’t bode well for this season.

But second-year Coach Merja Connolly has accepted the fact that this will take time.

“What I learned last year was a lesson of patience,” Connolly said. “I can’t build a program in one year.”

Certainly a 6-23 record in your first season can be sobering. But Connolly didn’t brood about it. She went out and recruited what she hopes will be the core of future success.

Irvine (2-5) has had only two winning seasons in the 1990s and has not had a winning record in conference since 1979.

The Anteaters have a commitment from the administration in the form of 10 1/2 scholarships. Given Irvine’s location--in the middle of volleyball Mecca--this is a sport Athletic Director Dan Guerrero has said can been among the best locally. That includes Long Beach State, currently ranked third in the nation.

“That was my pitch when I went recruiting,” Connolly said. “I asked players to come join me in starting a tradition.”

Direct and to the point. And it seems to have worked, at least in attracting good players.

Carter (Fountain Valley High) and setter Teri Zartman (Torrance Bishop Montgomery) are two who were hypnotized by Connolly’s salesmanship. Carter played for the Cal Juniors--a club team run by Long Beach State Coach Brian Gimmillaro--and Zartman for the Hermosa Beach Spoilers.

“We all came from winning teams, so this has been a challenge,” Carter said. “We’re the underdogs every night. We can bring winning spirit back here.”

Said Zartman: “It will be exciting to build this program. We’re already better. You can see it.”

Connolly showed off her freshman group against Texas San Antonio, having five freshmen on the court through most of the match. The Anteaters won in three games.

“We really got into that,” Zartman said. “We weren’t going to let the ball drop. This was the program’s future.”

It’s that fanatical approach that Connolly raves about. She said the group--which includes Brooke Witt, Jacqui Cosgrove, Cassie Werhas, Sara Ness and Janelle Parsons--has brought an edge to practices.

“They are a lot more competitive,” she said. “We have more depth and that makes practice better.

“You can’t skip steps in building a program. I now have a solid group. That gives me a base. It was very important to have a successful recruiting class [last year].”

Whether it is successful down the line remains to be seen. Some, though, think they know where this program is headed.

“You better watch out for the Anteaters in a couple ears,” Zartman said.

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Departures: One who won’t be around to reap the benefits of this class is middle blocker Jamie Hill, who was named to the Big West all-freshman team. Hill has transferred to Pepperdine.

She is the most prominent of the 10 players who did not return.

“We had a difference of opinion,” Connolly said. “Jamie didn’t enjoy herself at at UC Irvine. We weren’t the right fit for her, academically or socially.

“We’ve had lots of changes from last year.”

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Sabbaticals: The women’s cross-country team will be without Katie Clark and Kelly Hughes. Both are studying abroad this year--Clark in Costa Rica and Hughes in Sweden.

It is part of the reason Maggie Martinez, Carrier Quinn and Kay Nekota will be redshirts. With Clark and Hughes returning next season, the Anteaters will been deep and strong in 1998.

Still, Coach Vince O’Boyle isn’t empty-handed. Having Allyson Kulak and Kareen Nisslon, two talented freshmen, should help keep the Anteaters among the top Big West teams this season.

Kulak finished 23rd overall (18 minutes 34 seconds) at UC Irvine Invitational--a 5,000-meter race--last week. The Anteaters also have received strong performances from returners. Sophomore Christy Villa finished 20th (18:23), the highest among Irvine runners, and junior Jamie Vaicaro was 24th (18:34).

Until this season, Vaicaro had never finished higher than eighth among Anteater runners in any meet.

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The men’s cross-country team returns its top five scorers from the conference meet for the first time since 1991, the year before the program was financially gutted. Senior Shawn Frack and junior Doug Frichtel have been to most consistent thus far. Freshman Michael Murray has been the top newcomer.

Anteater Notes

Four Irvine athletes have been named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports-Scholar Award winners, Leticia Oseguera (women’s basketball), Omar Amr (water polo), Kay Nekota (cross-country/track) and David Chang (men’s tennis). . . . Matt Bingle has been hired as the assistant cross-country coach. Bingle competed at Ball State, graduating in 1995, and coached at Northern Arizona last season.

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Coming Attractions

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

* Golf, plays in the William H. Tucker Tournament Friday and Saturday in Albuquerque.

* Women’s soccer, hosts the Nike Invitational this weekend. The Anteaters face Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. Friday and BYU at 2 p.m. Saturday.

* Men’s soccer, plays at Stanford Friday and at St. Mary’s on Sunday.

* Water polo, plays in the Southern California Tournament at USC. The Anteaters play UCLA at 2 p.m. and Air Force at 6:40 p.m. in pool play.

* Women’s volleyball, plays at the University of San Francisco Wednesday, then competes in the Santa Clara Tournament Thursday and Friday.