Taking Down No. 1 - The Anteater Way
October 03, 2017 | General
With men's water polo upset of No. 1 UCLA last week, we wanted to look back at some of the most recent victories over top-ranked teams. The Anteaters are no stranger to taking on the nation's best and beating them, check out a few of those proud moments.
March 10 & 11, 2017 – The baseball team scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back snagging an 11-2 upset over No. 1 TCU in Anteater Ballpark. The next day, the Anteaters did it again with a 6-3 victory over the top-ranked Horned Frogs.
March 11, 2017 – Just an hour after the baseball team upset No. 1 TCU for the second consecutive day, the men's volleyball team toppled No. 1 Ohio State, 3-0 at St. John Arena, snapping the Buckeyes' 42-match winning streak. The sixth-ranked Anteaters handed the Buckeyes their first loss of the season and the first defeat in 399 days.
November 23, 2014 – Men's soccer player Michael Sperber took a pass from Cameron Iwasa in the 97th minute to lift UC Irvine over No. 1 Stanford, 1-0, at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
May 4, 2013 – Third-ranked men's volleyball team won its second consecutive national championship, and its fourth in the last seven years, with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 26-24) sweep of top-ranked BYU in the NCAA Championship final at Pauley Pavilion. Head coach David Kniffin became just the second coach in NCAA men's volleyball history to win a national title in his first season. Connor Hughes, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, had 11 kills for the Anteaters, as did Zack La Cavera and Kevin Tillie.
April 26, 2012 - After losing the first two sets, second-ranked UC Irvine rallied to defeat No. 1 USC, 3-2 (24-26, 23-25, 25-16, 28-26, 15-9) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinal match at the Galen Center.
In the next match, the Anteaters would battle back for a 3-2 victory against Stanford to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and advance to the NCAA Championship. UCI, who moved to No. 1 in the country the following week, defeated No. 2 USC, 3-0 in the NCAA championship again on the Trojans home court.
April 3 & 4, 2009 – The baseball team won the series at No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, taking the first two games of the series.
A Francis Larson home run put UCI over the top Friday behind eight inning shutout innings from Daniel Bibona to take the opener, 2-1. Jeff Cusick's first inning 3-run homerun put UCI in the driver's seat, and Christian Bergman allowed 1 run over 5.2 innings to secure the series win Saturday, 6-1.
April 28, 2007 - No. 3 UC Irvine men's volleyball team upset No. 1 Pepperdine 3-2 in the MPSF championship match held at Firestone Fieldhouse, snapping the Waves' 23-match winning streak. After winning the program's first MPSF title, UCI would go on to capture the program's first NCAA title.
While not recent, a few more important upsets in UCI history:
May 6, 1989 - The fourth-ranked men's tennis team upset No. 1 UCLA, 5-4 in front of 1,200 fans at the UCI Tennis Stadium. Mark Kaplan and Richard Lubner secured the victory with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles.
November 26, 1989 - The men's water polo team upended No. 1 Cal, 9-8 to capture its third NCAA title. Dan Smoot scored five goals, including three straight in the fourth quarter on his way to being named the championship MVP.
March 10 & 11, 2017 – The baseball team scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back snagging an 11-2 upset over No. 1 TCU in Anteater Ballpark. The next day, the Anteaters did it again with a 6-3 victory over the top-ranked Horned Frogs.
March 11, 2017 – Just an hour after the baseball team upset No. 1 TCU for the second consecutive day, the men's volleyball team toppled No. 1 Ohio State, 3-0 at St. John Arena, snapping the Buckeyes' 42-match winning streak. The sixth-ranked Anteaters handed the Buckeyes their first loss of the season and the first defeat in 399 days.
November 23, 2014 – Men's soccer player Michael Sperber took a pass from Cameron Iwasa in the 97th minute to lift UC Irvine over No. 1 Stanford, 1-0, at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
May 4, 2013 – Third-ranked men's volleyball team won its second consecutive national championship, and its fourth in the last seven years, with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 26-24) sweep of top-ranked BYU in the NCAA Championship final at Pauley Pavilion. Head coach David Kniffin became just the second coach in NCAA men's volleyball history to win a national title in his first season. Connor Hughes, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, had 11 kills for the Anteaters, as did Zack La Cavera and Kevin Tillie.
April 26, 2012 - After losing the first two sets, second-ranked UC Irvine rallied to defeat No. 1 USC, 3-2 (24-26, 23-25, 25-16, 28-26, 15-9) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinal match at the Galen Center.
In the next match, the Anteaters would battle back for a 3-2 victory against Stanford to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and advance to the NCAA Championship. UCI, who moved to No. 1 in the country the following week, defeated No. 2 USC, 3-0 in the NCAA championship again on the Trojans home court.
April 3 & 4, 2009 – The baseball team won the series at No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, taking the first two games of the series.
A Francis Larson home run put UCI over the top Friday behind eight inning shutout innings from Daniel Bibona to take the opener, 2-1. Jeff Cusick's first inning 3-run homerun put UCI in the driver's seat, and Christian Bergman allowed 1 run over 5.2 innings to secure the series win Saturday, 6-1.
April 28, 2007 - No. 3 UC Irvine men's volleyball team upset No. 1 Pepperdine 3-2 in the MPSF championship match held at Firestone Fieldhouse, snapping the Waves' 23-match winning streak. After winning the program's first MPSF title, UCI would go on to capture the program's first NCAA title.
While not recent, a few more important upsets in UCI history:
May 6, 1989 - The fourth-ranked men's tennis team upset No. 1 UCLA, 5-4 in front of 1,200 fans at the UCI Tennis Stadium. Mark Kaplan and Richard Lubner secured the victory with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles.
November 26, 1989 - The men's water polo team upended No. 1 Cal, 9-8 to capture its third NCAA title. Dan Smoot scored five goals, including three straight in the fourth quarter on his way to being named the championship MVP.
Tuesday, May 12
Sunday, May 10
Sunday, May 10
Saturday, May 09
