LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Eighth ranked UC Irvine had a decisive 16-2 victory over Pomona-Pitzer in an NCAA opening round game at the Uytengsu Aquatics Complex on the campus of USC.

The Anteaters (15-13) advance to face second-seeded Stanford (18-3) in a quarterfinal game Friday (May 11) at 3:30 p.m.

Pomona-Pitzer ends its season with a 21-10 record. 

"Every opportunity is important for us," said head coach Dan Klatt. "We got a good amount of extra-man and counter-attack opportunities that I think will prepare us well for the rest of the Championships. Pomona-Pitzer fights and they played us hard throughout the entire game and made this a high-quality game." 

Senior Allie Loomis and freshman Tara Prentice each notched hat tricks with three goals apiece while Toni Shackelford, Keana Eldridge and Natalie Seidemann each had two. Corinna Toledo, Julie Swieca and Megan Falcon added one apiece. Jenna Phreaner and Morgan Jones split time in goal for the 'Eaters. Phreaner made seven saves in the first half while Jones notched six in the second half of action. 

UCI held advantages in shots (28-19) and steals (10-4). The Anteaters converted on 7-of-11 powerplays while the Sagehens only went 2-of-11 on extra-man situations. 

"We have spent a lot of time this season working on counter-attacking focusing on getting our offense set up," said senior Allie Loomis. "Today was a good start and I think we will continue to work this week to get better for Stanford on Friday."

Natalie Hill and Kyla Pickell each had a goal for Pomona-Pitzer. Morgan Stockham and Haley Crabtree split time in goal. Stockham had six saves while Crabtree made two. 
 
Senior Keana Eldridge took a pass from Corinna Toledo and skipped it in from the left side of the cage at 5:49 to get the scoring started. Megan Falcon followed at 4:12 with a lob to put the Anteaters up 2-0. Falcon found Allie Loomis open across the pool at 2:00 as she buried it in the back of the net for the final goal of the first period, 3-0.

With a man advantage, Tara Prentice and Eldridge tossed the ball back and forth before Eldridge scored at 6:25, 4-0. The Sagehens got on the board at 5:34 then Isabel Rack drove down the left side of the pool and scored at 4:50 to make the Anteater lead 5-1. Prentice scored on a skip shot from Cara Borkovec at 3:53 and skipped another under the keepers arms at 2:26 to extend the lead to 7-1. Loomis (2:00) and Toni Shackelford (:56) closed out the half with UCI holding the 9-1 lead.

Toledo started the third period with a power play goal at 6:45 and Loomis ended it with a goal from the right side with 53 seconds left as UCI led 11-1.

In the final period, Julie Sweica scored a power play goal at 6:42 on a pass from Toledo then Prentice fired a ball through traffic to put the Anteaters in front 13-1 at 5:52. Natalie Seidemann spun away from the defender at set and scored at 5:20 with an assist from Falcon. Shackelford scored at 3:33 before Seidemann scored another at 2:48, 16-1. Pomona Pitzer's Natalie Hill closed out the scoring at 1:24 for the 16-2 final score. 

NOTES: UCI's 14-goal win is the largest margin of victory for the Anteaters at the NCAA Championships ...Two goals is the fewest UCI has allowed an opponent to score at an NCAA Championships ... It was UCI's largest margin of victory of the season ... UCI improves to 7-7 at the NCAA Championships ... Tara Prentice leads the 'Eaters with 40 goals this season ... UCI improves to 13-0 all-time against Pomona-Pitzer ... Three goals ties a season-best for Allie Loomis and marks her third hat trick. 
 
BY PERIOD
Pomona-Pitzer:  0-1-0-1 = 2
UC Irvine: 3-6-2-5 = 16

SCORING
Pomona-Pitzer: Natalie Hill, Kyla Pickell 
UC Irvine: Loomis 3, Prentice 3,  Shackelford 2, Seidemann 2 Eldridge 2,  Rack, Toledo, Falcon, Swieca. 

SAVES
Pomona Pitzer: Morgan Stockholm 6 (1st half), Haley Crabtree 2 (2nd half) 
UC Irvine: Phreaner 7 (1^st half), Jones (2^nd half) 6