No. 5 UCI Hosts No. 3 UCLA

Friday, February 26

Irvine, Calif.

3:00 PM

UC Irvine

UCLA

Photo by: Robert Huskey

No. 5 UCI Hosts No. 3 UCLA

February 25, 2021 | Women's Water Polo

By: Sarah Zetlmeisl

Friday, Feb. 26
No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (4-1) vs. No. 3 UCLA Bruins (1-0)
3:00 PM – Anteater Aquatics Complex – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video (BigWest.TV)

IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine continues its non-conference slate with a home game against No. 3 UCLA Friday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. Fans can watch the game on BigWest.TV and follow along with the FOSH live stats.

STORYLINES
- UCI earned a No. 4 preseason national ranking by the CWPA, marking the highest rank in program history to open a season. The Anteaters moved to No. 5 in this week's rankings
- UCI improved to 4-1 on the season after two wins at San Diego State last weekend
- The Anteaters are 15-6 in season openers including wins in four of their last five
- Before the cancellation of the 2020 season, UCI was riding a five-game winning streak and a No. 5 national ranking. The 'Eaters ended the short season with a 15-5 overall record
- 27 Anteaters will suit up for the 2021 season. UCI's 2021 squad is heavy veteran team with 14 upperclassman
- UCI welcomes five new faces to the 2021 roster
- Dan Klatt returns for his 17^th season at the helm in 2021 with a 330-166 overall record

LAST TIME OUT
> UCI earned two wins at San Diego State last Saturday. The Anteaters defeated the Aztecs by scores of 14-6 in the first game followed by 9-6 in the night cap
> Junior Toni Shackelford led the 'Eaters with five goals on the day. She notched a hat trick in the first game followed by two goals in the second
> Morgan Jones played both games in goal, totaling five saves in game one and six in game two
> Sarah Nichols ended the day with four goals

STAT LEADERS
Goals: Bugelli/Shackelford (7)
Points: Kayleigh Schultz (9)
Assists: Schultz (4)
Saves: Morgan Jones (23)

ABOUT THE BRUINS
> No. 3 UCLA opened the season last weekend with a 19-10 victory at No. 19 Fresno State
> All six of UCLA's 2020 ACWPC All-Americans return for the 2021 season. Val Ayala, sister of UCI's Danielle Ayala, and Abbi Hill headline that group
> Jahmea Bent returns in goal as well as Georgia Phillips and sophomore Quinn Winter
> UCLA finished the 2020 campaign with a 19-2 record and ranked second nationally
> Adam Wright is in his fourth season at the helm with an overall record of 66-17
> UCI has never won a game against UCLA

BIG WEST PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
> UCI's Danielle Ayala and Jensine Bugelli earned Big West Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks
> Ayala was named POW after leading the 'Eaters with four points against USC (two goals, two assists) last weekend
> After scoring her first career goals against CBU, sophomore Jensine Bugelli was named the first Big West Player of the Week for 2021
> Bugelli tied the team best with two goals in UCI's 11-5 win over CBU. She followed that up a few hours later with a team-high three goals in UCI's 16-3 victory against the Lancers

MISSING FROM THE ACTION
> UCI will be missing two of its top-scorers from last season in graduate Tara Prentice and sophomore Elena Flynn. The duo will be redshirting in 2021. Additional redshirts include freshman Brooke Banta and Airian Grisham

SISTER, SISTER
> Senior Toni Shackelford will be joined this year by her younger sister, freshman Sabina
> Also, on the roster are sisters Portia and Mica Schiavone, who are both sophomores
> The sister connection runs deep at UCI as senior Calysa Toledo also played with her older sister Corinna (2018 graduate) and sophomore Sydney Milham's older sister Mackenzie (2017 graduate) also played for UCI

COACHING STAFF
> Head coach Dan Klatt returns for his 17^th season at the helm with 328 career wins at UCI
> Associate head coach Andrew Rowe returns for his 12^th season with the 'Eaters
> Director of Operations Bruce Reynolds enters his 18^th year at UCI

UP NEXT
> Check ucirvinesports.com for the latest schedules, updates and results