FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
No. 13 UC Irvine (2-0) at No. 1 UCLA
Friday, Sept. 10 | 5 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Center
Live stats | Video

No. 13 UC Irvine (2-0) at La Verne (0-2)
Saturday, Sept. 11 | 1:20 p.m. | Inland Empire Classic at La Verne
Live stats | Video

No. 13 UC Irvine (2-0) at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2-2)
Sunday, Sept. 12 | 2:45 p.m. | Inland Empire Classic at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Live stats | Video

13^th-ranked continues action on the road this week. The Anteaters will face No. 1 ranked UCLA at Spieker Aquatics Center on Friday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. UCI will then compete in the Inland Empire Classic, playing La Verne Saturday, Sept. 11 followed by Claremont-Mudd-Scipps Sunday, Sept. 12.

STORYLINES
- UCI entered the season ranked 13^th in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national poll and remained No. 13 after the first week
- After returning to the pool for the first time since 2019, the Anteaters opened the season 2-0 with wins against Chapman and Redlands
- Five Anteaters scored goals in their UCI debuts including Dylan Patist (6), Stewart Campbell (5), Thomas Cass (2), Archer Sauer (1), and Tyler Padua (1)
- UCI returns only 11 players from the 2019 squad as the 2021 team features 18 new Anteaters who will see action for the first time this season
- The Anteaters play eight regular season games at home as well as host the 2021 GCC Tournament in November for the first time since 2017
- UCI was ranked sixth in the GCC preseason poll
- Head coach Marc Hunt begins his 17^th season at the helm. He has amassed over 200 wins in 15 seasons and has a 204-199 (.506) overall record

WEEKEND REWIND
> UCI opened the 2021 season with a big splash, earning convincing victories over Chapman (23-8) and Redlands (21-2)
> Against the Panthers, Grant Chiponis led the way with five goals followed by freshman Dylan Patist with four. Harrison Land made four saves in goal
> Against the Bulldogs, Zlatan Nikocevic and Michael Swieca each tallied five goals while freshman Zayd Mahmoud made nine saves in just eight minutes of action in goal

AGAINST THE BRUINS
> UCI is 53-74-1 all-time against UCLA
> The 'Eaters have lost two-straight against the Bruins with their last win coming in 2017
> UCLA entered the season as the top-ranked team and holds a 4-0 record after staying undefeated at the Triton Invitational with wins over Biola, Whittier, California Baptist and UC Santa Barbara

AGAINST THE LEOPARDS
> La Verne is 0-2 against the season with losses at USC and against West Valley
> UCI is 6-0 all-time against the Leopards. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2018

AGAINST THE STAGS
> UCI is 9-0 against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
> The 'Eaters and Stags last played on Sept. 9 2019 as UCI earned an 8-7 win
> CMS opened the season 2-2 with wins against McKendree and Ottawa (Ariz.)

RETURNING 'EATERS
UC Irvine returns three all-conference players from the 2019 season including second team all-conference honoree senior Casey Lynton. Lynton was second on the team in goals (26), assists (21) and steals (21). He started every game for the 'Eaters in 2019 and has tallied 60 career goals.

Sophomore Chad Gornay and sophomore goalkeeper Harrison Land, who were both name on the GCC All-Freshman Team in 2019, also return for the 'Eaters. Gornay saw action in every game and scored nine goals, dished out 10 assists and drew eight exclusions.

Land started 16 games in goal, tallying 139 saves, good for fourth in the conference as a freshman. He finished his first year campaign with a .471 save percentage and a 9.75 goals against average.

Zlatan Nikocevic will also provide experience he finished the 2019 season with 18 goals while veterans Ivan Mercep and Carson Arnett had 13 and eight, respectively.

At center, Grant Chiponis and Kiyan Mohebbizadeh are expected to provide force and improve on their performances from the 2019 season.

Michael Sweica will also provide veteran leadership and depth to the talented Anteater team.

NEW FACES
The UCI roster will look almost entirely different with the addition of 18 new Anteaters. Joining Land in goal is newcomer Zayd Mahmoud, a USA National Youth Team player. Dylan Patist, Tyler Padua, Jacob Pyle and Nikola Ilic are also expected to make an immediate impact on the roster.

The new faces also include assistant coaches Bojan Hrlec and Randy Galza. Hrlec, a UCI alum, returns to his alma mater after coaching several club teams in the area. Hrlec was an All-American for the 'Eaters and graduated on the Dean's List in 2014. Galza joins the staff as a goalkeeper coach. He has several years of experience developing some of the top goalkeepers in the area.

UP NEXT
UCI will return home to host Princeton Sunday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m.