IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine opens their inaugural Big West season at No. 11/11 UC San Diego on Friday evening.

Week Six Notes

THIS WEEKEND
No. 8/8 UC Irvine at No. 11/11 UC San Diego
Friday, Oct. 6 | 6:00 p.m. | Canyonview Aquatic Center
Live Stats | Watch | Tickets

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
>UC Irvine enters the week ranked 8th in the CWPA Preseason Poll, rising one spot after an action packed weekend for most squads
>UCI is slated tied eighth with Long Beach State in the new Association of College Water Polo Coaches poll
>The Anteaters will make their second trip to La Jolla this season, but their first to face the Tritons
>No. 11/11 UC San Diego split their weekend at the inaugural Big West-WCC Clash, 2-2
>UCSD earned victories over then No. 13/15 San Jose State (11-10) and No. 16/16 California Baptist (12-9), while falling to conference opponents No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (15-11) and No. 8/8 UC Davis (13-12)
>The Tritons enters the Friday meeting with an 11-9 record, 1-0 in conference action
>UCSD defeated Long Beach State in overtime, 11-10 in the Big West opener on Sept. 14
>The two squads last faced off in the Overnght/MPSF Invite two weekends ago where UCI came away with the narrow 10-9 victory

NOTES
>UC Irvine went 3-1 at the Big West-WCC Clash where they defeated then No. 13/14 Loyola Marymount (15-8), then No. 16/16 California Baptist (11-7), and the No. 15/13 San Jose State (12-11)
>The Anteaters game in La Jolla will be their first true road test of the season, excluding non-conference tournaments
> UCI outscored their opponents 44-37 over the weekend
>Freshman Gage Verdegaal tallied eight goals, nine assists, and six steals over the weekend
>Verdegaal produced four assists in the victory over San Jose State
>Freshman Johann Thrall also had eight goals over the weekend including a hat-trick over Loyola Marymount
>Thrall added three assists, six steals, and two field blocks in four games played
>Sophomore Luka Krstic scored three goals, dished out four assists, recorded four steals, and had five field blocks
>The attacker tallied three steals and three field blocks in the match against California Baptist
>Redshirt junior Jake Liechty notched a hat-trick against Loyola Marymount plus dished out an assist and stole the ball once
>Junior Ethan Shipman shot a perfect 2-2 at the cage against San Jose State
>Junior Tyler Padua recorded seven steals over four games while drawing five exclusions against the Spartans
>Junior goalkeeper Garrett Selby earned a 3-0 record in three consecutive starts while compiling 27 saves, one assist, and five steals
>Selby recorded a career high 11 saves in the victory over Loyola Marymount in his first start of the season