IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine will have eight representatives at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games held Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Fans can follow UCI participants during August with our Olympics web page #EatersInRio. Schedules, bios, videos and updated results will help you track all current and former UCI athletes and coaches throughout the Olympic Games.

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The eight Anteaters are the most by a Big West school and third most by a UC school behind Cal and UCLA.

Former UCI athletes will compete in men's volleyball, men's track and women's track and represent three different countries (France, Ghana and United States).

David Smith (United States) and Kevin Tillie (France) will compete in men's indoor volleyball. Both players were first team All-Americans and helped UCI win national championships with Smith capturing a title in 2007 and Tillie in 2012 & 2013.

On the track, former NCAA Champion Charles Jock will represent the U.S. in the 800 meters, while current UCI student-athlete Persis William-Mensah is a member of 4x100 relay team for the Ghana delegation. She ran the anchor leg on the Anteaters' 4x100 relay that won the Big West Conference title in May with a school-record time of 44.51 seconds. It was the second-fastest time in conference championship history.

Former UCI athletes Dan Klatt (women's water polo) and Dave Durden (men's swimming) will serve as assistant coaches for Team USA. Klatt, UCI's head women's water polo coach, served as an assistant coach with the U.S. women's team that captured gold in London in 2012.

Two of the seven person United States badminton team hail from UCI. Alumna Eva Lee, who also competed in 2008, will participate in women's doubles, while current student Phillip Chew will battle in both men's and mixed doubles.

In supporting roles, UC Irvine alumna Jen Funakura will serve as the U.S. women's water polo team manager in Rio, while Dr. David Kruse, a UCI team physician, is the Team Physician for USA men's gymnastics. Katcha Minot, a massage therapist for the UCI athletes, will serve on the medical support staff for the U.S. Paralympic team competing later this summer.