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No. 12 UC Irvine (6-7) vs. No. 6 Pepperdine (15-5)
Friday, Oct. 18 | 6:00 p.m. | Anteater Aquatics Center
Live Stats
 
No. 12 UC Irvine (6-7) vs. No. 19 San Jose State (3-11)
Sunday, Oct. 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Anteater Aquatics Center
Live Stats

The 12th ranked UC Irvine Anteaters opens Golden Coast Conference play this weekend. The Anteaters host No. 6 Pepperdine Friday at 6 p.m. followed by No. 19 San Jose State Sunday at 12 p.m. Both games will take place at Anteater Aquatics Center.
 
WEEKEND STORYLINES

• UCI moved to No. 12 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national poll after ranking as high as No. 9. The 'Eaters started the season ranked at No. 13
• The 'Eaters dropped to 6-7 on the season after falling to No. 1 Stanford, 16-7. UCI will look to break a four-game losing streak this weekend
• UCI and No. 6 Pepperdine will square off for the first time this season. The Waves are 15-5, winning five-straight games over the last two weeks
• The 'Eaters dropped a narrow 13-12 decision to Pepperdine in the regular-season last year. The two teams met in the GCC semifinals as the Waves won 10-8
• UCI is 2-2 against Pepperdine in the last four games. Balazs Kosa leads the Waves with 58 goals and 23 assists
• Pepperdine goalie Kyle McKenney has 93 saves in 14 games played for a .465 save percentage
• SJSU is 3-11 on the season with wins against Whittier, Ottawa and Air Force
• UCI faced the Spartans three times last season and earned a win on every occasion. The 'Eaters are 8-0 against the Spartans since 2015
• SJSU will play at Long Beach State before making the trip to Irvine
• Head coach Marc Hunt earned his 200^th career win against Cal Baptist (Sept. 14)
• Junior Jason Evezard set a new single-game school record against CBU scoring nine goals

LAST WEEK

• UCI dropped a 16-7 decision to No. 1 Stanford in its home opener
• Ivan Mercep and Bryant Joudrie each scored twice
• Collin Winters and Chandler Mankins split time in goal
• The Anteaters fell behind early and could not erase a 9-2 halftime deficit
• The Cardinal capitalized on 6-out-of-9 powerplay situations and went 3-3 on five meter penalty shots

SEASON TOP PERFORMERS

• Evezard leads the Anteaters with 38 points (30 goals and eight assists) which ranks 8^th in the GCC
• Bryant Joudrie has 12 goals on the season and leads the team in assists (16)
• Casey Lynton leads the team with 11 steals and has 10 goals  
• Jon Polos has drawn a team-high 20 exclusions and has 11 goals
• Ivan Mercep and Zlatan Nikocevic are also in double-figures with 12 and 11 goals, respectively
• Harrison Land has totaled 106 saves for a .488 save percentage
• UCI is averaging 9.38 goals per game while allowing opponents 11.23 goals per game

MORE ON THE ANTEATERS

• UC Irvine returns three of its four leading scorers from a year ago including top-scorer and GCC Newcomer of the Year Jason Evezard (64 goals). GCC Honorable Mention selection Casey Lynton returns as the team's leader in assists (28) and steals (43). He also produced 34 goals last season. Seniors Jon Polos and Bryant Jourdie each contributed 24 and 22 goals, respectively
• Other top returners include All-GCC Freshman Team honoree Zlatan Nikocevic (17 goals, 12 assists), seniors Ian Fleenor (12 goals, 13 assists), Foster Hoose (11 steals, four goals) and Sven Davidson (7 steals, three goals)
• Overall, UCI returns 16 players and welcomes 9 newcomers. The 'Eaters lost 10 letter winners from a year ago
• Head Coach Marc Hunt enters his 15^th season at the helm behind a 201-185 career record.
• Fans will get seven chances to see the Anteaters play at home including their home opener against last year's NCAA runner-up Stanford on Oct. 13