Saturday, March 20
No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (7-3, 0-1) vs. No. 16 Long Beach State Beach (0-0)
12:00 PM– Anteater Aquatics Center – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video (BigWest.TV)

Sunday, March 21
No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (7-3) at No. 16 Long Beach State Beach (0-0)
12:00 PM – Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center – Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats

STORYLINES
- UCI moved to 7-3 on the season after splitting a pair of games against UC Davis in Davis. The Anteaters dropped their first Big West contest moving to 0-1 after an 11-9 loss to the Aggies in conference action
- This weekend, the Anteaters first game at 12 p.m. at home will count towards the Big West standings while Sunday's contest at Long Beach will count towards UCI's non-conference record
- 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
- 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 333-167 overall record

LAST TIME OUT
> UCI split a pair of road games at UC Davis last weekend. The Anteaters dropped the first contest, which counted towards the conference standings, by a score of 11-9. UCI escaped with a 12-11 win the second game, played just a few hours after the first contest
> Game one saw both teams tied, 4-4, at the half before UCD outscored UCI 5-1 in the third quarter to pull ahead. The 'Eaters came within one goal in the final frame but it was not enough to close the gap as the Aggies pulled out the 11-9 win
> UCI trailed 4-0 after the first quarter in the second game. However, the Anteaters mounted a comeback and were able to hold off the Aggies for the 12-11 win. Ayala netted the game winner in the fourth quarter with 28 seconds to play
> Danielle Ayala finished with six goals in two games, including a career-high matching four goals in the second game
> Morgan Jones totaled 24 saves between the two games in goal
 
STAT LEADERS
Goals: Ayala (14)
Points: Ayala (14)
Assists: Lynch (6)
Saves: Morgan Jones (81)
Sprints: Smith (13-1)

ABOUT THE BEACH
> LBSU has yet to play a game this season as the matchup with the Anteaters will be the first for the Beach this season
> The Beach rank 16^th nationally this week
> Elena Kotanchyan returns as LBSU's leading scorer after finishing with 54 goals last season
> Head coach Shana Welch is in her first season at the helm after serving as Associate head coach last season
> UCI leads the all-time series, 29-11

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
UC Irvine honors alumnus Aleah (Amr) Ryan during Women's History Month. She played for the 'Eaters from 2001-05. Read her story here.

BIG WEST PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
> UCI's Morgan Jones, Danielle Ayala and Jensine Bugelli  have all earned Big West Player of the Week honors this season
> Jones was named POW after helping UCI to two wins over UC San Diego (March 5-6). Jones tallied 24 saves in goal over two games, finishing with a .909 save percentage in an 8-1 win in game one and a season-high 14 saves in the 'Eaters 9-7 victory in the second game
> Ayala was named POW after leading the 'Eaters with four points against USC (two goals, two assists) Feb. 13
> 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

PRENTICE NAMED 2021 BIG WEST SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Redshirt Tara Prentice was named UC Irvine's 2021 Big West Female Scholar-Athlete of the year. Each institution is awarded one male and female award winner. The award acknowledges their accomplishments on the field, in the classroom, and in their communities.

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 entering the season 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
> UCI will travel to Hawai'i for three games March 25-27. The game on March 25 at 7 p.m. will count towards the Big West standings while March 26 and 27 will be non-conference contests