Aug. 6, 2008

Irvine, Calif. - Ten individuals with UC Irvine affiliations will participate at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China beginning Friday.

An Olympic webpage is now live with participant biographies, Olympic history, Q&As with men's volleyball coach John Speraw and student-athlete Lyndsay DePaul as well as a blog by men's water polo player Tim Hutten from Beijing.

The Anteater contingent consists of five former student-athletes, two current students, two former students as well as a current coach.

Former All-American water polo players Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutten, Rick Merlo and Jeff Powers will compete for team USA in water polo. UCI has had at least one men's water polo player in each of the seven Olympic Games.

Former sailor Jay Glaser will serve as a coach for the Dutch team as well as an assistant for the U.S. in the Tornado class. Glaser, who won a silver medal in the tornados in 1984, helped Team USA capture a silver medal in that same event as a coach last year.

Current UC Irvine men's volleyball head coach John Speraw will serve as an assistant coach with the men's indoor volleyball team. Speraw guided the Anteaters to a national championship in 2007.

In the badminton competition, Eva Lee, a current student, and May Mangkalakiri, a 2006 graduate, will compete together in women's doubles, while Lee will also compete in women's singles.

Amber Neben, who graduated with a master's degree in biology, will participate in the road event of cycling and Brittany Hayes, who just completed the first year of her two-year master's program in criminology, law and society, will compete for the women's water polo team.

Overall, UCI has had 47 Olympians and two Paralympians.

Former UCI All-American sailor Nick Scadone will compete in the Paralympics September 6-17 in Beijing in the SKUD division.