FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS

Saturday, Feb. 29
No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (12-5) vs. No. 16 San Diego State (6-8)
1:00 PM – Anteater Aquatics Center – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats


Weekend Storylines

• UCI is 12-5 on the season after finishing 3-1 at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational
• UCI moved to No. 5 in this week's national rankings after a fifth-place finish at the BKI
• The 'Eaters fifth-place finish at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational was their highest since 2015
• SDSU is ranked No. 16 in this week's poll, jumping up six spots from the previous week
• 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 pre-season ranked No. 5 nationally, tying the 2016 team for the highest rank to open a season
• UCI has the 26-14 edge in the all-time series including wins in nine straight matches. The Anteaters won a 13-8 decision last year in San Diego

About the Aztecs

• SDSU is 6-8 overall after going 2-2 last weekend and finishing in 13^th place in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational
• Jordann Heimback leads the team's goalies with 58 saves averaging 9.06 goals against
• Emily Bennett has a team-best 21 goals while Maddy Parenteau and Isabelle Hasting have each scored 17

 
Team Notes

• 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
• Tara Prentice was named the Big West Player of the week for the third time in her career after leading the Anteaters with 12 goals at the Cal Cup including a career-tying five goal performance against Cal
• Head coach Dan Klatt reached his 300^th career win with UCI's 14-6 victory over Fresno State (Feb. 26). He is in his 16^th season at UCI
• Prentice leads the team with 48 goals scored which is good for second in the conference and third in the nation
• Morgan Jones has started every game in goal and has 138 saves on the season, which ranks third nationally
• Freshman Elena Flynn is second on the roster with 28 goals while sophomore Piper Smith is third with 25
• The Anteaters finished in fifth-place at the Triton Invite with a 2-1 record

 
Barbara Kalbus Invite

• Last week, UCI hosted the nation's top teams at the three-day Barbara Kalbus Invitational. The 'Eaters finished fifth with a 3-1 record
• UCI kicked off action with a 12-9 win over LBSU. Morgan Jones finished with 11 saves, three steals and two assists. Tara Prentice finished with three goals
• The Anteaters fell to No. 4 USC, 7-10, before earning a 9-8 win over No. 10 Michigan. Prentice recorded four goals against the Wolverines
• UCI defeated No. 5 Arizona State on the final day. Prentice led the team with 9 goals over the four game weekend while Jones finished with a .500 save percentage and 34 saves

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

UP NEXT
UCI opens Big West play with a conference matchup at UC Davis Saturday, March 7 at 12 p.m.