Three headed for Hall

Greg Jablonski (men’s tennis), George Newland (men’s water polo) and

Tim Tift (men’s basketball) are the 2004 UC Irvine Athletic Hall of

Fame inductees.

The trio will be inducted Feb. 7 during the Homecoming Alumni

brunch at the Hyatt Regency Irvine, beginning at 10:45 a.m. The

honorees will also be introduced at the UCI-Cal State Northridge Big

West Conference men’s basketball game that night at the Bren Events

Center.

Greg Jablonski set a College Division record by playing on four

consecutive NCAA Division II championship teams in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1970, he paired with Chuck Nachand to win the NCAA

doubles title and collected All-American honors.

Jablonski then garnered All-American honors in singles in 1971,

1972 and 1973.

Newland competed for the Anteaters from 1976 to 1980, playing for

his father, Ted Newland, who was inducted into the school’s Athletic

Hall of Fame in 1999.

During George Newland’s UCI career, the Anteaters finished in the

nation’s top three each of his four competitive seasons.

He earned All-American and first-team All-Pacific Coast Athletic

Association honors in 1980 when UCI finished third in the nation.

He was named UCI’s Student-Athlete of the Year in 1980-81 and he

competed on the U.S. national team from 1982 through 1985.

Tift has been associated with UCI Athletics for 37 years,

beginning as an assistant men’s basketball coach in 1967.

He was named head men’s basketball coach in 1969 and served in

that capacity through the 1979-80 season.

His Anteater teams recorded 145 victories and he led UCI to the

NCAA Division II playoffs in 1972 and 1975.

Tift guided the Anteaters to 13 home wins in the 1971-72 season,

when he was named District Coach of the Year. Two of his former

players are current Division I head coaches: Steve Cleveland (BYU)

and Phil Mathews (USF).

Tift also served as an associate athletic director and chaired the

Department of Physical Education at UCI.

He also served two stints as the Anteater men’s golf coach and

currently is a senior lecturer in UCI’s Department of Education.

This year’s class joins 53 previous inductees.

The inaugural Varsity Club Alumnus Award of Merit will also be

presented at the induction ceremony. The award recognizes a former

UCI student-athlete for extraordinary post-collegiate, professional,

athletic or civic accomplishments.

This year’s recipient is Gary Singer (Class of ‘74), who was a

standout golfer for the Anteaters in the early 1970s.

He is a managing partner of law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP and he

is a member of the UCI Foundation.