Meet the media relations team!


 

Stacey King

Assistant Athletic Director/Media Relations

34 years at UCI

Alma Mater: UC Irvine

Sports currently working with: Men's & women's volleyball, women's golf

How did you get started in the profession? What is your professional background and what brought you to UCI? 
I was overheard at a fraternity party talking about an RBI and someone said I should apply for the sports information internship. I was one of two interns and at the end of the term the assistant director moved over to create the marketing department and I became the full-time assistant sports information director my senior year at UCI. 

What is your favorite UCI moment or memory? 
Men's volleyball's four national championships, trips to Omaha, men's basketball beating Kansas State at the NCAAs, watching men's basketball play at Kansas, cutting down the net with women's basketball or the frozen trip to Montana with women's basketball.  

Where is your favorite place on UCI campus? Also, favorite place in the Irvine/Newport area?
On campus, the Bren because I usually see lots of friends there.

My favorite areas off campus are Corona del Mar or Balboa Island. I love to walk my dog or go for a run then have breakfast at the Tackle Box (CdM) or Balboa Island Bakery (Island).

What is the best part about working at UCI? 
Easy answer: The people - coaches, staff, student-athletes.  

What do you find to be the most challenging part of the job that people might not realize? 
We are the only department that works every single contest (home and away) for every team. That adds up to a lot of hours. When the game is over we continue to work for an hour or two. You can get a behind the scenes look at our staff and the job on our Instagram @irvine_sid_life 

What is the most rewarding part of the job? 
Seeing former student-athletes when they come back on campus. I've been lucky to meet so many amazing people through my job.

What/where has been your favorite trip you have taken with a UCI team? 
My favorite trip lasted over a month and featured three teams. In 2007, I was with the men's volleyball team at Ohio State when they won their first national championship. Returned home and jumped back on a plane and went to the NCAAs with women's golf. Came home and decided I was having so much fun I went to Round Rock and watched the baseball team upend Texas then went to Wichita State to see them beat the Shockers and then on to Omaha. That wasn't the end. I left Omaha and flew to Washington D.C. to go to the White House with men's volleyball and flew back to Omaha to finish the ride. It was the ultimate road trip.

What are you most looking forward to when students return to campus in the fall?
Going to games and practice to re-connect with teams. I felt really disconnected last year and can't wait to be back together.   

What is your favorite professional team? 
Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers     

What is something no one knows about you? 
I wanted to be the first female shortstop for the Dodgers when I was growing up. 
 

 

Alex Roberts-Croteau

Assistant Director, Media Relations

10 Years at UCI

Alma Mater: UC Irvine, 2009

Sports currently working with: Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Baseball

How did you get started in the profession and what brought you to UCI? 
 Being a student and baseball student-athlete at UCI brought me here, I grew up in Orange County and going to UCI baseball games. I interned within the department as a student and then worked in Lake Elsinore for the Storm minor league team for a couple years before jumping in with the Anteaters.

What is your favorite UCI moment or memory? 
My favorite moments are the ones at games - walking to and from picturesque Anteater Stadium and sitting down on the track scoring a match, marveling in the soccer skill, and listening to coach Raz and Juniper work their magic, or poolside for water polo next to legendary PA Don Brantley, picking his brain while reveling in some great water polo and coaches Dan, Andrew, and Bruce do their thing, or up in the baseball press box and getting to do my favorite thing and calling a game on the radio with Mark Roberts.

Where is your favorite place on UCI campus and why? Also, favorite place in the Irvine/Newport area, why? 
Being outside and enjoying a sunset during a game from any of our stadiums is fantastic. My spot in Anteater Stadium is pretty fun because I can see the scoreboards at water polo and baseball at the same time. As a student, Gateway was my go-to where I spent a lot of my time. Irvine and Newport have so many interesting spots, especially for food. Spent a lot of time at Le Dip at UTC, or late nights after a game deciding between In-N-Out or Taco Bell. You can literally go to any Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Mongolian, etc. spot and get a top-tier meal in Irvine. Newport spots I would recommend are Buddha's Favorite on Lido for sushi, Trattoria on Balboa, and take your pick between Helmsman, Mama D's, or Laventina's down in the heart of it. Nightlife for fans (or visiting SIDs) I'm a big fan of Boulevard or Cassidy's as starting points and then rolling the dice for the rest of the evening.
 
What is the best part about working at UCI? 
The weather and location should be everyone's answer. Aside from that, UC Irvine has always been known as the underdog or the quirky Anteaters, titles that I absolutely love. Undervalued, underappreciated, filled with potential, who doesn't love being on the ground level and making it to the top and being able to look back and say you were part of that with pride because your role in that meant something and you made a difference, and then fighting to keep your spot? Everybody loves that winning feeling, but it's no comparison to earning that win, and part of working at UCI has taught me that the losses are just as important as the wins because they teach you much more valuable lessons, keep you grounded and moving forward back toward winning, and keep you true to yourself while revealing and reinforcing who you really are.

What do you find to be the most challenging part of the job that people might not realize? 
The hours are never kind to anyone working within sports and college athletics and sporting venues, but working as an SID and media contact, you're tied a little tighter to your program, and sporting events are always the main attraction on weekends and holidays. It's a huge challenge to stay connected with family and friends who are living their 9-5 lives and enjoying their weekends, you miss so many birthdays and weddings and life events. There's always a basketball game on Thanksgiving or a soccer match on Labor Day or baseball series on Mother's Day; just one of those things people don't realize, and in our department, you become a wizard in how you manage and utilize your time.

What is the most rewarding part of the job? 
Most rewarding part is working with and getting to know so many fun and interesting people. A few years ago, I began living with my roommates from UCI - the marketing guy, the ticket guy, and the development guy - and now they're some of my best friends, Dom, Vince, and Tim, who are in my wedding. Not to mention working in the best department with the greats like Bob O. and Stacey and now Andrea and Sarah who kill it every single day.

What/where has been your favorite trip you have taken with a UCI team?
How can you pick one, there's so many stories from the road. I'll pick one from each sport I've traveled with:

Women's water polo was my very first to Michigan for NCAAs in 2011

Women's soccer was 2012 UCLA with the fire raging around us

Men's soccer was 2017 NCAAs at Stanford and the prankiest team and staff of all time

Men's basketball in 2017 every trip had a moment, but the winner is Brookings and South Dakota State

Baseball I can't decide - Portland, Eugene, Houston, Springfield, Hawai'i, Knoxville - it's a coin flip

What are you most looking forward to in students returning to campus in the fall?
Getting to interact with coaches, teams, and student-athletes is a lot of fun, and much more rewarding at a practice or around the complex. Having conversations with them to get to know them better is always compelling and makes for great stories to tell our fans. 

Who is your favorite professional team? 
Lifelong Los Angeles Angels, Anaheim Ducks, and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. Never miss a monster truck show when they come to the area. I'm also just a big fan of international soccer and recommend going to a World Cup during your lifetime.

What is something no one knows about you?
I'm close personal friends with Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld

 

Andrea Ohta

Assistant Media Relations Director

4+ Years at UCI

Alma Mater: Occidental College

Sports currently working with: Women's basketball, men's tennis, men's golf, men's and women's cross country/track & field

How did you get started in the profession and what brought you to UCI? 
I guess you could say my initial involvement with the profession started at the undergraduate level, but I didn't know it at the time. I went to a Division III school where my volleyball coach was also our athletic department's SID. I helped her out in that area as the stat keeper for men's and women's basketball. But, I majored in kinesiology thinking I would go into physical therapy. After helping out at a PT clinic, I chose not to go that route, but knew I wanted to stay in athletics so I decided to get my Master's in Sport Management at Long Beach State. That's where I really discovered the profession, interning in the LBSU Athletics media relations office. From there, I went to San Diego State for a little over a year before a full-time opportunity opened back up at Long Beach. I was there for about eight years when I decided it was time to move on, and luckily an opening became available at UC Irvine since I didn't want to leave the Southern California area.

What is your favorite UCI moment or memory? 
I would have to say the women's basketball season opener my second year. We were down by 13 with a few minutes left and came all the way back to tie it up in the final seconds. Utah State had the ball for the last possession but we got the steal and threw up a half-court shot that banked in at the buzzer for the win. The play was No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top-10 that night and I'm pretty sure it's the only half-court game-winner that I've seen live!
 
Where is your favorite place on UCI campus? Also favorite place in the Irvine/Newport area? 
The Bren Events Center, Anteater Tennis Stadium and Anteater Stadium because that's where I get to see the student-athletes of the teams I cover compete. I live in Orange so I can't say I've spent much time in the Irvine/Newport area outside of work. I guess the place I've been most frequently is The Bluffs because when we were working in the office, Chipotle and Islands were my go-to lunch spots.

What is the best part about working at UCI? 
The people, especially the coaches and student-athletes. We have some amazing coaches leading our teams, and being at a UC school, it's just incredible to see the things our student-athletes accomplish both in their sports and in the classroom. You also can't beat the location.

What is the most rewarding part of the job and why? 
I think the most rewarding part of the job is not only seeing the student-athletes excel on and off the playing field, but also being able to watch them develop and mature throughout their careers, and in some cases knowing we may have played a small part in their journey.

What/where has been your favorite trip you have taken with a UCI team? 
Definitely the women's basketball foreign tour to Japan in August 2019. It was great to see the student-athletes and coaches in a completely different environment, and to watch them interact and connect with the locals, especially with the women's basketball program from Ritsumeikan University, which is one of the teams we played. For me personally, being half Japanese, it was just a special and unforgettable experience to be immersed in the country's culture and history. Also, it was fun to see how much I remembered from taking Japanese in high school (it wasn't much), and the food was amazing - curry, okonomiyaki, udon and more -- Oishii!

Who is your favorite professional team? 
The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers
 
What is something no one knows about you? 
I'm left-handed but ended up playing sports right-handed thanks in part to my dad. When I was about five years old, my parents bought me a left-handed glove to get ready for tee-ball. My dad took me out in the front yard to play catch, but apparently it didn't go so well. He told my mom that I must be right-handed because there's no way I could be that bad. So, we took that glove back and got a right-handed one.

 

Sarah Zetlmeisl

Assistant Director, Media Relations

3.5 Years at UCI

Alma Mater: Pittsburgh (undergrad), Frostburg State (grad)

Sport currently working with: Men's basketball, men's and women's water polo, women's tennis

How did you get started in the profession and what brought you to UCI? 
I was a swimmer at Pitt and always knew I wanted to work in sports but didn't know in exactly what capacity, I floated around the ideas of coaching, working in professional sports, marketing, student services. I got to know our media relations contact and ended up interning for the media relations department my junior and senior year and got a full hands on experience (managing the press box at Heinz Field for Pitt football games, working media row at Pitt basketball games, volunteering at the 2015 NCAA men's basketball tournament) and loved the job. After graduation, I accepted a graduate assistant position at Frostburg State and earned my M.B.A while working as a communications assistant. I quickly realized the snowy, below freezing temperatures of Western Maryland were not for me and accepted a communications position with UC San Diego athletics. After a year a UCSD, I made the move to UC Irvine and began my journey as an Anteater :) 

What is your favorite UCI moment or memory? 
The 2018-19 men's basketball season. It was my first year working with the team and getting to be a part of the best team in school history is an experience I will never forget. From upsetting Texas A&M, to watching Jonathan Galloway become UCI's all-time rebounder, the Big West Tournament Championship Game, and finally the historic win over Kansas State at the NCAA Tournament, it was a whirlwind in the best way.

Where is your favorite place on UCI campus? 
I love to walk the pathway that goes from my office in the MOB, past the baseball stadium, tennis courts, aquatics center, soccer fields, track all the way to Crawford, taking in all of UCI's facilities.
 
What is the best part about working at UCI? 
The people first in foremost, my awesome coworkers, the world class coaches I get to work with and the extremely smart and talented student-athletes. Also, cannot beat the location and the overall culture of UCI Athletics.

What do you find to be the most challenging part of the job that people might not realize? 
Probably trying to balance work and life.  

What is the most rewarding part of the job? 
Providing support, watching each team succeed and getting to see the student-athletes fulfill their dreams.

What/where has been your favorite trip you have taken with a UCI team? 
Definitely the trip to San Jose for the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. It was the hardest I've ever worked but also the most rewarding. It was so fun to see all of Anteater nation come support the team, and the energy in the arena, hotel, etc. from the fans and supporters was electric.

What are you most looking forward to when students return to campus in the fall?
Having the campus feel like a college campus again with all the people, noise, energy and activity 

What is your favorite professional team? 
Pittsburgh Steelers