COLLEGES:

For the UC Irvine women’s water polo program, competing in the inaugural Big West Conference season means leaving the deep end it inevitably found itself in as a member of the rugged Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Coach Dan Klatt’s Anteaters, along with UC Davis, are the consensus favorites to win the conference crown, heading into UCI’s conference opener Feb. 27 at UC Santa Barbara.

Davis, which made the NCAA tournament the last five seasons as a member of the Western Water Polo Assn., became the sixth Big West school to offer the sport when it officially entered the conference this season. So, coaches at UCI, UCSB, Long Beach State, Pacific, Northridge and Davis pushed for and obtained the right to compete as an NCAA conference.

Klatt said leaving the MPSF will be a huge lift for UCI, which figures to contend annually for the Big West title. What’s more, after serving the necessary two-year initiation period, the winner of the annual conference tournament will begin receiving an automatic NCAA bid in 2011.

“Even though the automatic bid won’t happen for a couple years, it will shift our focus toward winning the Big West,” Klatt said. “That’s much different than hoping to finish fifth or sixth in the MPSF Tournament [behind perennial powers such as USC, Stanford, UCLA and Cal].”

Klatt said that based on its NCAA Tournament experience, Davis could be considered the favorite. But he noted that UCI has never lost to Davis.

The Anteaters have opened the season 6-1 and are ranked No. 12 nationally.

UCI visits top-ranked USC (5-0) Saturday at noon at the McDonald’s Swim Stadium.

The ’Eaters are led by senior center Gianna Rossi (20 goals) and senior utility player Julia Franchar (19). The roster also includes freshman Morgan Vickers, a Newport Harbor High product who shares time at goalie, and senior utility player Ashling Taylor, also a Newport Harbor graduate.

USC is receiving solid contributions from junior driver Kally Lucas (Newport Harbor) and senior driver Jordan Anae (Corona del Mar High).

Junior goalie Tumua Anae earned All-American recognition as a sophomore, but appears to have been displaced by freshman goalie Ilse van der Meijden, who started for the Netherlands, which won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing.

“Our major focus this year is to establish ourselves as the best team in the conference,” Klatt said. “If we can win [the first Big West crown] that it will do a lot for us in the following recruiting cycle.

 Speaking of recruiting, Klatt used what some might call an inside advantage to land one of the incoming recruits for next season.

Kelsey Klatt, a three-time All-CIF Southern Section honoree at Sunnyside High in Fresno, and Dan Klatt’s sister, has signed with the Anteaters.

Kelsey, 12 years younger than Dan, a former UCI standout, has been attending UCI water polo games (men’s and women’s) for a dozen years, Dan Klatt said.

“She’s been around UCI since she was 6,” Dan Klatt said. “I think being around the people and the program and her experiences here solid it. She didn’t need a recruiting trip here to teach her anything she didn’t already know.”

 The Orange Coast College women’s basketball team has a big week, playing host first to Cypress (Wednesday), then Fullerton (Friday).

OCC (19-8, 6-2 in the Orange Empire Conference) is tied for second place with Cypress. Fullerton (22-7, 9-0) has a 2.5-game lead.

An OCC sweep this week, with both games at 7:30 p.m., would elevate Coach Mike Thornton’s Pirates into the title picture.

 Newport Harbor High product Benjamin Soza was a standout safety for two seasons on the OCC football team. But his athletic service for the Pirates has been extended, as he recently joined the men’s basketball team.

Soza has played the last three games and started Friday night’s near-upset of Saddleback, ranked No. 9 in the state.

He has scored eight points in three games and, apparently, the aggression that helped make him one of the Pirates’ better defenders in football, remains. He also has 12 fouls in 24 combined minutes of action. He fouled out in seven minutes Wednesday against visiting conference rival Irvine Valley.

 Michael Hunter, a junior point guard on the UCI men’s basketball team, is climbing the school’s career three-point field goal list.

Hunter has 136 three balls to rank sixth on the list, just behind Scott Brooks, who had 142 in 56 games in two seasons ending in 1987. Brooks is the coach of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ross Schraeder tops the list with 233 from 2002 to 2006.

UCI senior guard Brett Lauer’s next three-pointer will give him 100 for his career. He ranks No. 12 on list and needs 18 to surpass Jerry Green and Mike Hood and move to No. 9.

The Anteaters (8-15, 5-5 in the Big West) sit in a four-way tie for fourth place, two games behind Big West-leading Long Beach State. UCI travels to UC Davis (Thursday) and Pacific (Saturday). Both games are at 7 p.m.

 The auction of a volleyball autographed by members of the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic men’s volleyball team, netted $610 for the UC Irvine men’s program last week.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].