IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's water polo teamed dove into its first preseason practice on August 22, welcoming back an experienced group of leaders and some talented new faces.

The Anteaters are hard at work preparing for the 2019 season which begins Sept. 7 at the annual Triton Invitational in La Jolla. The goal remains the same: win the Golden Coast Conference Tournament and advance to the NCAA Championships.

WHAT HEAD COACH MARC HUNT HAS TO SAY
"We are coming off a rebuilding season in '18. Many of our younger players saw a lot of playing time, gained experience, and have developed into defined roles. The whole team has gained valuable experience, and we have set high expectations of ourselves for '19.

"We have strengthened in several positions, including the goal, with the additions of Harrison Land and Collin Winters. We are a much stronger defensive unit."
 
"Offensively, we are returning 3 of our top 4 leading scorers from a year ago. We are only rebuilding one key component of the offense and I think that is a good situation for us to be in.  Jason Evezard, Jon Polos,  and Casey Lynton will all have strong impacts. I also expect that newcomers Ivan Mercep and Carson Arnett will add to our depth."

"We have great senior leadership behind Foster Hoose, Bryant Joudrie, Jon Polos and Ian Fleenor. They have played together for the past three years, and their leadership, coupled with experience, add the positive intangibles this team brings.  

"Our schedule is tough.We will challenge ourselves immediately at the Triton Invitational.  We will go out and beat some tough teams, and prove ourselves. The Golden Coast Conference is going to be extremely competitive and there will be no easy games."

"We know that we need to be playing our best water polo in November. Our team leadership will keep us focused on our goals. We will maximize our efforts daily, learn throughout the season, and produce the results we want."

WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2019
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.

Zlatan Nikocevic made an immediate impact during his freshman year campaign tallying 17 goals and 12 assists. Nikocevic landed on the GCC All-Freshman Team.

Senior Chandler Mankins saw time in goal towards the end of the season and amassed 46 saves in seven games played.

The 'Eaters will look to replace two time All-American Jack Trush who led UCI in exclusions drawn with 68 and also contributed 41 goals and 11 steals. Starting goalkeeper Byron Rivers was also lost to graduation. Rivers was named to the All-GCC Second Team amassing 186 saves and a 9.60 goals against average.

Overall, UCI returns 16 players and welcomes 11 newcomers. The 'Eaters lost 10 letter winners from a year ago.

The team will look to maintain its high-scoring offense that averaged 10.42 goals per game in 2018 and strengthen its defense that amassed 201 steals and averaged 10.96 saves per game.

Other top returners include senior Ian Fleenor (12 goals, 13 assists), senior Foster Hoose (11 steals, four goals) and senior Sven Davidson (7 steals, three goals).

Transfers Carson Arnett and Ivan Mercep are expected to make an immediate impact in the field while freshmen Harrison Land and Collin Winters will strengthen the goalie position.

The Anteaters open the season with three tournaments in three weeks starting with the Triton Invitational Sept. 7-8. UCI will host seven home contests including its home opener against last year's NCAA runner-up Stanford on Oct. 13.

UCI will be led by its six seniors Joudrie, Polos, Fleenor, Hoose, Davidson and Mankins.

The Anteaters went 9-17 overall and 1-4 in the Golden Coast Conference last season, playing in the third-place game at the GCC Tournament before falling to Pepperdine.