Friday, March 5
No. 4 UC Irvine Anteaters (4-2) vs. No. 10 UC San Diego Tritons (3-0)
2:00 PM – Anteater Aquatics Complex – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video (BigWest.TV)

Saturday, March 6
No. 4 UC Irvine Anteaters (4-2) vs. No. 10 UC San Diego (3-0)
2:00 PM – Anteater Aquatics Complex – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video (BigWest.TV)

IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's water polo announced its full 2021 schedule including two non-conference matches this week.

2021 Schedule

UCI will host UC San Diego for two non-conference meetings Friday-Saturday March 5-6. Both games will start at 2 p.m.

The Anteaters already have six games under their belt and have a 4-2 record to show for it.

After this weekend, UCI will play its first Big West Conference game at UC Davis Friday, March 12 at 1 p.m. The 'Eaters will play a second game at UCD at 4 p.m. on the same day.

UCI will return home to host LBSU Saturday and Sunday March 20-21. Saturday's match will count as a Big West game while Sunday will be non-conference. Both games will start at 12 p.m.

The Anteaters will then travel to Hawaii for three games March 25, 26, and 27. Thursday's game will start a t 7 p.m. and count towards the Big West standings while Friday and Saturday will start at 6 p.m.

UCI hosts Michigan (April2-3) before a two road games at UCSD (April 9-10). Friday at UCSD will begin at 6 p.m. and count as a conference game while Saturday will start at 2 p.m.

The Anteaters conclude the regular season with two games against UCSB on April 17. Game one will start at 11 a.m. followed by game two.

The Big West Tournament is set for May 1-2. The winner will earn the automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Championships hosted by UCLA May 14-16.

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. 4 in this week's rankings
- UCI improved to 4-2 on the season after dropping a game to UCLA last week
- 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 330-167 overall record

LAST TIME OUT
> UCI fell to No. 3 UCLA, 13-9 last Saturday
> UCI was led by Kayleigh Schultz, Kili Skibby, Danielle Ayala who each had a pair of goals
> Goalkeeper Morgan Jones had 10 saves  

STAT LEADERS
Goals: Bugelli/Shackelford/Schultz (7)
Points: Kayleigh Schultz (11)
Assists: Schultz (4)
Saves: Morgan Jones (33)

ABOUT THE TRITONS
> No. 10 UCSD is 3-0 on the season with wins against SDSU and Cal Baptist
> UCSD's goalkeeper Bennett Bugelli is the sister of Jensine Bugelli
> UCI has won 16 out of the last 17 meetings against the Tritons, including the last meeting on April 12, 2019
> UCI and UCSD will meet four times this season

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

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 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 begins conference play at UC Davis Friday, March 12.