UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Cross-Country Coach O’Boyle Won’t Be Heading for the Rockies

The splendor of Colorado in the autumn surrounded him. The lure of a full slate of scholarships beckoned. But Vince O’Boyle is a lifetime resident of the Hotel California and he just couldn’t vacate his spot in the sun.

So the UC Irvine cross-country/track coach removed his name from consideration for a similar position at Colorado after a recent visit to Boulder.

Similar position? Well, not exactly.

The Buffalo programs are supplied with 16 women’s and 12 men’s scholarships and both cross-country teams are rated among the top five in the country. O’Boyle slices up three scholarships among his women’s team. The men have none.

But O’Boyle, who was asked to apply for the Colorado job, couldn’t bear to break his 14-year association with Irvine and his half-century bond with the beach.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable up there,� O’Boyle said. “I mean it wasn’t like there was anything specific that I didn’t like, but it’s sort of like proposing marriage or buying a house. You just know in your heart that it’s right, that everything is a perfect fit.

“And I just didn’t feel that way.�

O’Boyle, who was named Big West cross-country coach of the year for the 10th time Saturday after the Anteater women won the conference championship, has been tempted by other job offers through the years, but this one was clearly the most appealing.

Apparently, the flowered trunks and T-shirt he was wearing on a blustery Sunday afternoon were more than comfortable. They made a statement. O’Boyle loves what he’s doing, but he also has a passion for where he does it.

“They talk about how great it is up there and how overcrowded it is here,� he said. “But when you live where I do [Newport Beach] and work here, I’m sorry, I don’t feel like my little part of the world is overcrowded. If I had to drive to L.A. every day, well, maybe I’d feel differently.

“I just turned 50 and I’ve lived here all my life. I love the beach. I can’t see uprooting and starting over. And ever since they started building this school 30 years ago, I have dreamed about working and coaching here.�

O’Boyle will likely get to live that dream as long as he wants. Irvine can’t provide as many scholarships as Colorado. It can’t match the salary, either. But job security is not a problem.

“There are things I still want to do here,� O’Boyle said. “I want to bring back the men’s program to where it once was. I want to see the track stadium refurbished. And [Athletic Director] Dan [Guerrero] has been very supportive.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, a lot to be accomplished here.�

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Law of averages? What’s the opposite of shell-shocked?

Irvine goalkeeper Stephanie Boes turned away only five shots Sunday. UC Santa Barbara keeper Dana Visse stopped or deflected 33.

Four Santa Barbara shots got by Boes, however, and only three Anteater attempts made it into the net. As a result, the Anteaters are no longer assured of an NCAA postseason berth.

The collegiate soccer powers that be are reluctant to give respect to a newcomer, so the Anteaters--despite a 12-2-3 record with two regular-season games remaining--dropped from No. 4 in the West Region to a tie for sixth with UCLA. The top six teams in the West usually get at-large spots in the playoffs.

Irvine has beaten nationally ranked Hartford and Oregon State and UCLA this season. OSU (14-5-0) is ranked No. 5 in the West. UCLA is 11-3-2. But Irvine’s loss to 6-12 Santa Barbara gives the doubters an argument that those games were flukes.

Speaking of flukes, how often does a soccer team get 27 more shots on goal than an opponent and lose?

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Benched: It has been a very frustrating week for Kyla Doyle. The first-year assistant women’s soccer coach, a goalkeeper on the California Olympic Development team, isn’t used to sitting and watching.

“It’s really fun to coach a young team with this much character,� she said. “All season, we had made the adjustments we need to make to win and the way we’ve battled is really admirable for such a young team.�

Two losses and a tie in last three games have removed some of the fun, but Doyle is still concentrating on coaching, not goalkeeping.

“Our State Olympic development team won the West Region and we’re going to play for the national championship on Thanksgiving weekend in Boca Raton, Fla.,� she said. “But I don’t get much time in the nets, or any kind of practice, for that matter. Right now, playing is not my focus.�

Anteater Notes

Junior Marc Tardif, ranked No. 54 in the country, is seeded sixth in singles and fourth in doubles with partner Julian Foxon as competition in the Rolex International Tennis Assn. Southern California Men’s Tennis Regional begins Wednesday. Most matches will be held at the UCI Tennis Stadium with some competition scheduled for the Racquet Club of Irvine . . . A search committee chaired by Associate Athletic Director/Finance Ed Carroll has concluded interviews for a new golf coach to replace Steve Ainslie, who was fired for breach of contract on Sept. 6. The committee, which interviewed six candidates, probably will meet again this week and make a recommendation to Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. But don’t expect a quick decision. “[Interim Coach] Tim Tift is doing a great job,� Guerrero said. “He likes it and the kids have responded very well to him. So, it’s not as if I’m in a panic to fill the job.� . . . Irvine golfers finished 13th in the USF Invitational at the Olympic Club last week. Senior Jesse Lanham led the Anteaters with a 73-75-78--226 and took 24th place . . . Senior Gabby Garcia, a member of the Mexican National team, broke the school record in the 50 freestyle Friday at the USC Swimming Invitational. Garcia finished fourth with a time of 24.47 seconds, eclipsing the record of 24.61 set by Melanie Reed in 1986 . . . Members of the men’s and women’s crew programs will row non-stop from noon to 8 p.m Saturday at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa. The teams will compete on eight ergometers--stationary rowing machines--in a 750-mile “ergathon� to raise funds for team travel.

The water polo team continues to leave Mountain Pacific Sports Federation competition in its wake. Friday, the Anteaters beat Cal, the top-ranked team in the country, to extend their winning streak to six. Irvine was ranked No. 4 in the nation last week. New rankings will be released today . . . Water polo goalie Tom Davis, who has played every second of 40 consecutive games since the 1994 opener, has 130 saves in 16 games this year . . . Fiona McLean finished 11th in the women’s Singlehanded National Sailing Championships at Portland last week. Meanwhile, at the Pacific Coast Sloop Championships at Newport Beach, Irvine’s team of skipper Dion Beuckman and crew Eric Knopf and Brian Wynn sailed to third place. Cal won the event and USC was second. . . . The Blue team, led by Raimonds Miglinieks and Michael Tate, defeated a Gold squad featuring Kevin Simmons and Brian Keefe, 44-34, in Sunday afternoon’s annual Blue-Gold scrimmage. The Anteaters get their first test against another team when they play host to Menes Tenis, a Brazilian club team, in an exhibition game Nov. 8 in the Bren Center.