IRVINE, Calif. – The Anteaters will head down to the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego to face nationally ranked teams.
 
Week Three Notes | Tournament Central

THIS WEEKEND
No. 9 UC Irvine vs. No. 22 Loyola Marymount
Friday, Feb. 2 | 2:40 p.m. | Triton Pool

No. 9 UC Irvine vs. No. 7 Long Beach State
Saturday, Feb. 4 | 11:10 a.m. | Canyonview Aquatic Center

No. 9 UC Irvine vs. TBA
Saturday, Feb. 4 | TBA | TBA

No. 9 UC Irvine vs. TBA
Sunday, Feb. 5 | TBA | TBA

TOURNAMENT STORYLINES
>UCI enters the weekend with a 4-2 record and rank ninth according to the CWPA weekly poll
>Nioka Thomas was named the Big West Player of the Week on Feb. 1 following her efforts in UCI's 3-1 weekend at the Lancer Joust Invitational
>The Anteaters broke a school record in team goals in a game, setting the new standard at 24. The previous record of 23 was first set in 2014 against California Baptist
>UCI also posted back-to-back 20-point scoring efforts, the first in program history, and for the first time since the 2014 season, the 'Eaters have recorded three 20-point showings on the year
>No.22 Loyola Marymount heads into the Triton Invitational with a 2-3 record, earning wins over RV California Baptist and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
>The 'Eaters knotted 16-16 all time against LMU, locking the teams at 16-all after the 13-9 UCI win in Los Angeles last season
>No. 22 Loyola Marymount finished the 2022 season with a 16-12 overall record, 5-2 in the Golden Coast Conference where they fell to No. 8 Fresno State in the championship final
>UCI met No. 7 Long Beach State four times last season with their last meeting at the Big West tournament semifinal contest where UCI prevailed 11-7
>No. 7 Long Beach completed the 2022 campaign with a 15-14 overall record, 3-3 in Big West play
>UCI's final two opponents of the weekend will be determined by the results of the other brackets
 
WEEKEND RECAP
>No. 9 UC Irvine outshot their opponents, 128-85
>The Anteaters scored 75 goals to their opponents 27
>Sophomore Nioka Thomas recorded 15 goals over the weekend to earn the Big West Player of the Week honors, the second straight for UCI
>Thomas notched the hat-trick in all four games to move up to second place in the Big West in goals (20) and points (22)
>Gracie Helberg had eight goals on the weekend, putting up hat-trick efforts over Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific
>Redshirt sophomore Elena Flynn had a seven goal weekend with three of them coming against Azusa Pacific
>Jessica Lynch, Libby Alexander, and Mica Schiavone each had six goals over the four contests
>All four Anteater goalkeepers saw action over the weekend
>On the first day of the invitational, Faith Tedesco made 10 stops for a save percentage of 0.625 against California Baptist and Jordan Frost had six saves and five steals against Azusa Pacific
>Day two of the invitational allowed Erin Tharp to block seven shots against Pacific and Portia Schiavone to make her first career start against Fresno Pacific making five stops awhile adding two steals