IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's track & field team will begin the 2019 outdoor campaign next weekend at the Beach Opener, March 1-2.
 
The Anteaters keep the competition local again this year as they stay in Southern California for all of their regular-season meets. Two of those will take place on their home turf with the 'Eaters hosting the UC Irvine Collegiate Classic (March 15-16) and the Steve Scott Invitational (April 26-27).
 
"We definitely created a theme of familiarity with our outdoor schedule with the intention of focusing on the competition at hand and qualifying as many athletes as possible to the postseason," head coach Jeff Perkins said.
 
UCI has a good mix of experience and youth this year with 22 returners and 19 newcomers. The influx of talent will continue to build the Anteaters' depth.
 
"We will rely heavily on the youth movement within our program," Perkins said. "We have many athletes who we have been waiting on to show their talents and this outdoor season is the time. The returning group made up of Barbara Coward, Hope Bushnell and many others will lead the way, but the rookies will be close behind giving us the depth we have been longing for."
 
Below is a breakdown of the 2019 roster by event.
 
SPRINTS/HURDLES
>> UC Irvine returns its top two sprinters in senior Hope Bushnell and sophomore Mikayla Scott.
>> Bushnell established personal bests in the 100m (11.76) and 200m (24.03) last year.
>> She ranks among the top-three in school history in both events.
>> Bushnell finished third in the 200m at the 2018 Big West Championships to earn all-conference honors.
>> Scott was a work horse at last year's conference meet, scoring in the 100m, 200m and 4x400.
>> She enters her sophomore campaign with the seventh-best 100m time in program history (11.88).
>> Bushnell, Scott and senior Julia Sambvani were also part of the 4x100 relay that qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
>> Senior Mychal Robinson will look to lead the hurdlers after a fifth-place finish at the Big West Championships a year ago.
>> Robinson sits at No. 8 on UCI's all-time charts in the 100m hurdles with a wind-legal lifetime-best 14.00.
 
"Hope and Mychal come back after a very impressive season last year, and they provide a competitive and focused drive to repeat that level of success in 2019."
 
JUMPS
>> Sophomore Natalie Koppel is the Anteaters' top returner in the horizontal jumps.
>> Koppel became the first 'Eater to reach the 19-foot mark in the long jump since 2011, and ranks third in program history, with a PR 19-05.5.
>> Junior Tatyana Hamlett saw a big improvement last year with lifetime bests in the long jump (17-06.25) and triple jump (37-05.75).
>> Entering the mix in 2019 is freshman Lorraine Nance, who was a high school state qualifier in the triple jump.
>> Senior Adrienne Lee is also back in the pole vault where she owns a personal-record 11-03.75.
 
"Tatyana and Lorraine are both incredibly solid for us in the triple jump, while Natalie is showing her talents in the long jump," Perkins said. "This is a young jumps group with so much upside."
 
THROWS
>> Senior Barbara Coward will look to improve on her school records in the hammer (192-03) and discus (180-08) in her final season.
>> Coward was the Big West champion in the discus and runner-up in the hammer in 2018.
>> She is a three-time NCAA West Preliminary qualifier in the discus.
>> Junior Brianna Villanueva has also made huge strides, etching her name among UCI's top-10 in the discus (155-08) and hammer (157-00).
>> Villanueva scored in the hammer at last year's conference meet, coming in fifth overall.
>> Senior Elizabeth Akindele was a 2018 All-Big West performer with a third-place finish in the shot put.
>> Akindele is currently fourth in school history with a lifetime-best 47-01.
 
"Our women's throwers are very talented," Perkins stated. "Barbara speaks for herself in terms of her accomplishments, while both Brianna and EB are coming off great success at the conference meet last year. All three have high expectations for their outdoor season."
 
DISTANCE
>> Freshmen Hannah Chau and Natalie Ewe are coming off an impressive cross country season.
>> Chau was UCI's top finisher in five of six races, and established the eighth-best 6000m time in school history (20:59.2).
>> Ewe had the Anteaters' top 5000m time of the season at 17:57.70.
>> UC Irvine also has a solid returning group in Anastasia Karnaze, Brenda Dorantes, Keely Boyd and Megan Mirkhanian.
 
"We are looking at a pair of rookies to shine within our women's distance group," Perkins said. "Hannah and Natalie both performed consistently well in cross country and should also show well for us on the track."