Weekend Storylines

• UCI earned its highest ranking in program history coming in at No. 3 in the first Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Association (CWPA) National Poll of the season. The 'Eaters began the season ranked No. 5 nationally, tying the 2016 team for the highest rank to open a season
• UCI's previous highest ranking was No. 4 after the 2012 season
• The 2019 Anteaters began the season ranked No. 6 and ranked sixth six times out of the last nine seasons
• UCI opened the 2020 season with a 12-7 upset win over fourth-ranked Cal. It marked just the second time, and first since 2005, the Anteaters have beaten the Bears
• The Anteaters are 14-6 in season openers including wins in three of their last four
• UCI improved to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2017  
• The Anteaters will play Cal for the second time in a week and look to win their second-straight and third-ever game against the Bears
• UCI will also face second-ranked Stanford this weekend
• Head coach Dan Klatt, in his 16^th season at the helm, stands two wins away from 300

About the Bears

• UCI and Cal will meet for the second time in seven days as the 'Eaters won the first meeting, 12-7
• The Bears are 3-2 on the season with losses to UCI and UCSD
• Claire Sonne and Sophie Leggett lead Cal with 10 goals while Cassidy Ball has started every game in goal and has 49 saves
• UCI is 2-19 against Cal all-time

About the Spartans

• No.  18 SJSU is 1-2 on the season with a 21-7 win over Sonoma State
• UCI is 10-11 all-time against the Spartans and haven't faced SJSU since 2018
• Olga Descalzi Portell leads SJSU with seven goals while Hannah Henry has 18 saves in the cage

About the Cardinal

• No. 2 Stanford is 2-0 on the season with wins over SJSU, 13-5, and Sonoma State, 18-6
• The Anteaters have never beaten the Cardinal and are 0-24 all-time against Stanford
• The Cardinal are led by Madison Stamen with six goals
• Stanford is the 2019 defending National Champion

About the Bulldogs

• Fresno State is 1-1 on the season with a win against Marist, 9-5, and a loss to Hawaii, 15-5
• This will be the first meeting between UCI and Fresno State

Opening Weekend Recap

• UCI opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017 with wins over No. 4 Cal, 12-7 and No. 7 Michigan, 14-9
• Senior Tara Prentice and freshman Elena Flynn each had six goals over two games while Megan Falcon had five
• Morgan Jones played both games in the cage and finished with 14 saves against Cal and 8 against Michigan

Roster Sneak Peak
"We only lost three seniors last year so our roster is fairly consistent with what it was in 2019. With the improvement of our returning players plus the addition of the newcomers, I am really excited for the roster we have."
 
Senior two time All-American Tara Prentice returns as UCI's leading scorer after posting 70 goals, the second most in a season in program history. She also finished with 24 steals and 11 assists. Sophomore All-Conference selection Piper Smith will look to have a breakout season after finishing third on the team a year ago with 40 goals and 15 steals.
 
Second team All-Conference goalkeeper Morgan Jones returns as UCI's starting goalie. In 2019 she started 26 games tallying 172 saves. She finished with a 6.15 goals against average.
 
The 'Eaters will look to fill the hole left by four time All-American Mary Brooks who ended her career as the 7^th leading scorer all-time in the Big West.

UCI will get senior leadership from Prentice, Delayne Lynton, Jolene Viramontes and Marissa Echelberger.
 
Fresh Face, Our Place
UCI brings in eight freshmen and one transfer for the 2020 season. Camila Rosas comes to Irvine from Long Beach City College where she was named an All-South Coast Conference first-team selection last season.
 
The eight true freshman include Portia Schiavone, Kili Skibby, Maeve Murphy, Elena Flynn, Jensine Bugelli, Jessica Lynch, Airian Grisham, Mica Schiavone and Sydney Milham
 
Anteater Staff Breakdown
Head coach Dan Klatt returns for his 16^th season at the helm and stands four wins away from 300, with 296 career wins at UCI.
 
New to the staff this season are 2019 UCI graduates Mary Brooks and Jenna Phreaner who will serve as assistant coaches.
 
Associate head coach Andrew Rowe returns for his 12^th season with the 'Eaters.

UP NEXT
UCI plays against San Jose State (10:15 a.m.) and Fresno State (4 p.m.) in Los Angeles Saturday, Feb, 1.