IRVINE, Calif. – Five UC Irvine men's water polo players earned All-Golden Coast Conference honors, including Jason Evezard as Newcomer of the Year.

Senior Jack Trush was named to the first team while Evezard and senior Byron Rivers earned second team honors. Sophomore Casey Lynton was an honorable mention selection while Zlatan Nikocevic was placed on the All-Freshman Team.

Trush earned first team honors for the first time in his career after being placed on the second team in 2016. The attacker leads UCI in exclusions drawn with 68 and is second on the team with 41 goals. Trush also has eight field blocks and 11 steals this season. Trush led the 'Eaters in scoring on four occasions and tallied a season-high four goals in games against Pomona-Pitzer and Pacific. He has scored 120 goals over his career.

Evezard, a sophomore transfer, is fourth in the conference in goals with 59, which also tops the UCI roster. The utility player is second on the team in assists (21) and steals (21) and has a 19-3 record in sprints. Evezard led the Anteaters in scoring in 12 games this season, tallying a career-best seven goals against LMU. He scored at least one goal in all but two of UCI's 23 games.
 

Rivers earned his first career All-GCC recognition. The goalkeeper is first in the conference with 186 saves and fourth in goals-against average (9.60). He started the first 16 games of the season in goal for the Anteaters and has a .444 save percentage. He tallied a career-high 18 saves against Pomona-Pitzer. Rivers has missed the last seven games due to injury.
 

Lynton, an honorable mention selection, is tied for first in the conference in steals with 42 and tied for second in assists with 28. The sophomore attacker is third on the team with 28 goals. He led the 'Eaters in scoring three times and has three hat tricks this season.
 

Nikocevic, receiving All-Freshman Team recognition, has 17 goals, 12 assists and nine steals. The attacker scored at least one goal in 15 of UCI's 23 games.  
 

UCI earned the No. 4 seed at the upcoming GCC Tournament and faces No. 5 San Jose State Friday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.

2018 GCC Men's Postseason Honors
Player of the Year: Luke Pavillard, Pacific
Newcomer of the Year:    Jason Evezard, UC Irvine 

First Team
Tiago Bonchristiano, UC Santa Barbara
Ege Colak, Pacific
Chris Dilworth, Pepperdine
Ivan Gvozdanovic, UC Santa Barbara
Boris Jovanovic, UC Santa Barbara
Luke Pavillard, Pacific
Jack Trush, UC Irvine

Second Team
Jason Evezard, UC Irvine 
Yahav Fire, San Jose St. 
Balaza Kosa, Pepperdine 
Byron Rivers, UC Irvine
Austin Stewart, Long Beach St. 
Mate Toth, Pepperdine 
Keegan Wicken, Long Beach St. 
Garrett Zaan, Long Beach St. 

Honorable Mention
Luis Arraya, Pacific
Adam Bado, San Jose St. 
Casey Lynton, UC Irvine 
Austin Stevenson, Long Beach St. 

GCC All-Freshman
Adam Bado, San Jose St. 
Bodgan Djerkovic, Pacific
Yahav Fire, San Jose St. 
Balaza Kosa, Pepperdine 
Zlatan Nikocevic, UC Irvine 
Leo Yuno, UC Santa Barbara 
Garrett Zaan, Long Beach St.