IRVINE, Calif. – No. 5 seed UC Irvine (18-9, 4-1 BW) opens the 2023 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship against No. 4 seed Princeton (25-7, 9-1 NWPC) on Friday (Dec. 1) at 2;00 p.m. at the Utengsyu Aquatic Center on the campus of USC.

QUARTERFINALS
No. 5 seed UC Irvine vs. No. 4 seed Princeton
Friday, December 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Utengsyu Aquatic Center
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THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
>UC Irvine enters the weekend with a 18-9 record and rank sixth according to the CWPA weekly poll
>UCI is slated fifth in the new Association of College Water Polo Coaches poll
>The Anteaters are 38-24 (.613) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 10-16 against the 2023 NCAA tournament field
>UC Irvine made history by winning the inaugural Big West Championship title
> Their championship win makes for their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1993
> UCI won the Big West regular season title outright with their 21-3 victory over Cal State Fullerton for a 4-1 record in conference play despite their fourth place preseason projected finish
>The last time the 'Eaters won a share of a regular season title was the 2000 season
>The Anteaters are on an a two-game win streak, holding an 8-4 record in neutral site contests this season
> Jacob Pyle was named the Big West Championship Most Valuable Player after his 14 saves in the championship
> Luka Krstic landed a spot on the All-Big West First Team
>Tyler Padua and Johann Thrall were placed on the All-Big West Second Team
> This was Padua's third career postseason honor
> Pyle joined Jack Stevens on the All-Big West Honorable Mention squad
> Newcomers Thrall and Gage Verdegaal earned spots on the All-Big West Freshman Team

SCOUTING PRINCETON
> Fourth seeded Princeton enters the contest with a 27-5 record, going 9-1 in NWPC play and have won their last four contests
> In Princeton's  last time out, they defeated No. 11/14 Harvard, 8-5, to capture the NWPC title, earning the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament 
> The Tigers championship win was their third consecutive title
> UCI and Princeton last faced off on October 15th in Irvine where Princeton won 11-9
> This is the first time these two squads will meet in postseason play and eighth time overall
> The Tigers opened the 2023 campaign with 10 consecutive wins
> Roko Pozaric leads the team in goals with 74 on the season
> George Caras and Vladan Mitrovic are the other top scorers for the Tigers, netting 49 apiece
> Caras recorded a hat-trick in the meeting with the Anteaters earlier in the season
> JP Ohl has dished out 62 assists in 32 contests played
> Kristoff Kovacs and West Tempkin have split time in the cage this season, each recording winning records, 13-3 and 14-2 respectively
> Kovacs has stopped 183 shots in 486 minutes while Tempkin has denied 179 shots in 548 minutes

NOTES
> Krstic leads the team with 68 total points behind 43 goals and 25 assists. He holds a 26-9 sprint record which is best on the team and a top three mark in the Big West
>The sophomore had 13 multi-goal showings with two of those efforts helping him to earn Big West Player of the Week honors on Oct. 25
> Padua leads the team with 50 drawn exclusions and 12 field blocks. The center's 12 field blocks is the best mark overall in the Big West.
> Thrall is the team's top goal scorer with 48 and is second on the team in points with 65
> In Thrall's 15 multi-goal games, he scored four goals in a contest three different times
> Pyle blocked 146 total shots so far this year, a team best. In the first game of the season, the goalkeeper notched a career-high 14 saves then tied it three other times during the season
> The junior has a 10-6 record and a .469 save percentage.
>Stevens totaled 40 points on the season with 27 goals and 13 assists as well as recording 28 steals.
>Verdegaal notched 62 points off 34 goals and 28 assists, both marks are good for third best for UCI
>The Anteaters average 13.1 goals per game and hold their opponents to 9.5
> Ethan Shipman was named to the inaugural Big West Preseason Team
> The 2023 season has been spent honoring the life of former UC Irvine legend, Peter Campbell (1978-82). The UCI Hall of Famer was a four-time All-American, two-time Olympian, and NCAA Champion. A new scoreboard was installed at the Anteater Aquatics Complex during the year and will be dedicated in Peter Campbell's honor.