UC Irvine Athletics ended the year with a bang, racking up two more Big West regular season titles and women's water polo's ninth Big West Championship crown and seventh NCAA appearance. Jolie Robinson won the heptathlon at the Big West Championships and was named both the Big West Field Athlete of the Meet and Field Athlete of the Year, while men's volleyball and baseball proved to be one of the nation's best once again with Coach Ben Orloff's team going 10-2 vs. Power 5 opponents, including 8-1 vs. Pac-12 teams.

SPRING
Women's Water Polo
Once again women's water polo provided spring excitement, ending the regular season with a perfect 7-0 record then capturing the Big West Championship with an extra time 10-9 thriller against Hawaii. Goalkeeper Erin Tharp was named the 2023 Big West Women's Water Polo Championship Most Valuable Player with her 14 saves to earn the win for the Anteaters. After the win, UCI moved up to No. 3 in the national rankings, tying the highest ranking in program history.

The Anteaters would make their seventh NCAA appearance, falling just short against UCLA. Elena Flynn led UCI with six goals, earning NCAA All-Tournament team honors.

Head coach Dan Klatt's squad ended the year with a 20-7 overall record, the program's ninth 20-win season.

The Anteaters ended the year ranked fourth overall, the highest final national position in program history. Flynn put herself in the record books, scoring seven goals against Fresno State, tying the school record that was first set in 2002 and then tied again in 2022. In the same contest, Tharp wrote her name in the record lists with 17 saves, second most in a game all-time.

UCI created a new standard for goals in a game, putting away 24 against Azusa Pacific on January 27th.

Flynn and Nioka Thomas were named second team All-America, while Tharp and Jessica Lynch earned All-America honorable mention accolades. Flynn, Tharp and Thomas were All-Big West first team picks with Lynch on the second team. Klatt was named Big West Coach of the Year, his ninth honor.

Elena Flynn (Jan. 25), Nioka Thomas (Feb. 1), Kennedy East (April 19), and Jessica Lynch (April 26) all were named Big West Players of the Week in 2023.

Men's Volleyball
Maintaining its status as an elite program nationally, UCI ended the year ranked No. 5 in the country with an 18-11 overall record.
 
The Anteaters advanced to the title match of the Big West Championship, beating CSUN in the first round and blowing past Long Beach State, 3-0 in the semifinals. UCI would fall 3-1 to then-No. 1 Hawaii in the championship in front of 4,064 fans at the Bren Events Center.
 
Sophomore Hilir Henno earned first team AVCA All-America honors after a dominating year at the service line. He led the nation with a .880 ace average on his way to being a first team All-Big West selection.  
 
He ended the year with 87 aces, a new school record and the second most in the NCAA all-time for a single season. The outside hitter fired a career-high nine aces against Penn State, which was tied for the most in the country this year and was the most by a UCI player.
 
Opposite Francesco Sani was honored as a second team All-American and first team All-Big West selection. He ranked eighth in points per set (4.72), 13^th in kills (3.9) and 14^th in aces (.444) nationally. He posted a season-best 26 kills, while his 23 kills against CSUN were the second most in the country this season in a three-set match.  
 
Outside hitter Cole Gillis and setter Joe Karlous were All-American honorable mention picks with Karlous also receiving All-Big West honorable mention accolades.
 
Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, becoming the fifth conference Newcomer of the Year in program history. He was named Big West Freshman of the Week three times.
 
Anteater players saw several other awards during the season. Henno was named AVCA National Player of the Week on Jan. 10 and Big West Offensive Player of the Week twice on Jan. 9 and Mar. 20.
 
Sani was honored as AVCA National Player of the Week on (Apr. 3) and joined Gillis (Jan. 23) in being named Big West Offensive Player of the Week during the season. Cole Power (Jan. 9) and Karlous (Mar. 20) were tabbed Big West Defensive Player of the Week, while William D'Arcy was named Freshman of the Week twice.
 
As a team, UCI ranked fourth in the country in aces with a 1.80 per set average. They were also 12th in hitting percentage (.313), ninth in assists (11.84), 13th in kills (12.38) and 14^th in blocks (2.20). The potent offense owned two of the top three hitting percentages in the Big West, including the top mark of .592 at Concordia and third with a .542 performance at UC San Diego.
 
Men's Tennis
UC Irvine men's tennis went 5-1 in conference play to clinch a share of their first Big West regular-season title since 2015. The Anteaters finished in a three-way tie for first with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis.
 
As the No. 2 seed at the Big West Championships, the 'Eaters defeated the third-seeded Aggies to advance to the title match for the second year in a row.
 
Following a tough 1-6 start to the dual-match campaign, the Anteaters responded with 10-straight wins. Their 4-0 victory against UC Davis on April 14 was eighth-year head coach Mike Saunders' 100th career dual-match win. Not including the canceled 2020 season, Saunders has led UCI to 10+ wins every year since 2017-18.
 
Graduate student Enrique Luque Rico and sophomore Noah Zamora were first-team All-Big West selections in singles. Luque Rico went 10-6 in dual matches and 8-3 at No. 1. One of his victories came against a ranked opponent as he defeated No. 83 Noah Berry of Cal Poly in straight sets. Zamora, who was a perfect 6-0 against Big West foes, went unbeaten in his last 15 outings where he was 11-0 with four matches that went unfinished. Junior Brandon Park also earned All-Big West second team recognition, while sophomore Rithvik Krishna received an honorable mention nod. In addition, Park/Zamora made the All-Big West First Team in doubles after posting a team-leading 12 dual-match victories.
 
Baseball
UC Irvine baseball had a wildly successful 2023 season, finishing the regular season second on the West Coast with 38 wins and second in winning percentage at .690 following a 38-17 campaign.

The Anteaters took the series from Arizona State, USC, UCLA, Tulane, UC Santa Barbara, and wins off Michigan, Cal State Fullerton, and Washington State. 

Infielder Anthony Martinez led the Anteater award winners with an All-American third team nod. He also took home Freshman Field Player of the Year joining Caden Kendle on the All-Big West first team who was named co-Field Player of the Year in the conference.

Five others made All-Big West with second-Teamers Dub Gleed and Jo Oyama, and honorable mentions Michael Stanford, Thomas McCaffrey, and Chase Call.

UCI secured five weekly awards with Nick Pinto and Anthony Martinez each earning Player of the Week twice with Martinez named National Player of the Week once, and Michael Stanford scoring Big West Pitcher of the Week as well. 
 
Men's Golf
UC Irvine men's golf competed in 11 tournaments, closing out the campaign with a fifth-place finish at the Big West Championships. The Anteaters had two runner-up showings during the regular season as they were second at the Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 10-11) and at The Joust (Feb. 20-21). During the fall, the 'Eaters came in below par in all four outings with a season-best 16-under 836 at the Visit Stockton Invitational (Oct. 20-22).
 
Freshman Rei Harashima and junior Darien Zhao both garnered All-Big West honorable mention recognition. Zhao led the squad with a 72.13 stroke average. He had 19 rounds at or below par with seven sub-70 scores. The San Diego native also owned a team-best three top-10 finishes, tying for first at the Bill Cullum Invite, coming in eighth at The Joust and tying for sixth in a loaded field at the Western Intercollegiate.
 
In his first collegiate season, Harashima registered a 72.42 stroke average with five top-20 performances. His best showing came at The Joust where he was third overall, while his best 54-hole score came at the Visit Stockton Invitational where he carded a 5-under 208. Harashima also had a low 18-hole score of 65, which is tied for sixth in program history.

Women's Outdoor Track & Field
UC Irvine women's outdoor track & field finished fourth at the Big West Championships. Sophomore Jolie Robinson scored 20 of the team's 98 points as she won the heptathlon, was the runner-up in the long jump and took seventh in the javelin. Robinson was named both the Big West Field Athlete of the Meet and Field Athlete of the Year for her effort. She closed out the season ranked among the top-10 in the conference in the heptathlon (1st), long jump (5th), javelin (8th) and high jump (9th).

Sophomore Sameen Andar took home the Big West title in the 10,000-meter. Andar stayed with the lead group before pulling away over the final four laps for the win. She ran a meet-record 33:44.80, coming in seven seconds ahead of the field. Less than 24 hours later, Andar had a third-place showing in the 5,000m. For the second year in a row, junior Deandra Tyler claimed runner-up honors in the shot put. Graduate student Hannah Chau also earned her second All-Big West award in the steeplechase where she was third. Sophomore Malia Gay rounded out UCI's podium finishers as she placed third in the 800m.

Andar (10K), Evelin Meza (10K) and Reyna Johnson (Long Jump) all advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Andar ran a personal-record 33:20.89 at the regional meet, which puts her at No. 2 in program history. Johnson's qualifying mark of 6.12 meters (20-1) in the long jump also ranks third among UC Irvine's all-time leaders. She was the first 'Eater to surpass 20 feet since 1992.

Two school records were set during the regular season. Andar eclipsed a 37-year-old standard in the 5,000m with a time of 16:13.12 at the Steve Scott Invitational, while Chau's run of 10:20.11 at the UCSB Invitational bettered her own record in the steeplechase.

Women's Golf
UC Irvine was once again led by senior Megan Yang who earned second team All-Big West honors after leading the Anteaters with a 74.63 scoring average over 24 rounds. She posted three rounds in the 60s this season, including a season-best 66 at the Colonel Wollenberg Ram Classic. Yang had three top 10 finishes and two more in the Top 20. 
 
The Anteaters placed fifth at the Big West Championship, led by Yang's seventh place finish. She was followed by freshman Kiana Briggs who tied for 11^th place, her best career finish.  Briggs followed Yang in scoring average with a 76.85 mark, ending the season with back-to-back Top 20 performances.  
 
Freshman Jasmine Chen also had two Top 20 finishes and ended her initial campaign with a 77.30 scoring average over 27 rounds. Her season was highlighted by a round of 68 on the second round of The Clash at Boulder Creek in October.

Men's Outdoor Track & Field
UC Irvine men's track & field finished sixth at the Big West Championships. Sophomore Liam Miksic led the way, claiming the conference title in the javelin. Miksic was in second entering the sixth and final round. Needing a big mark, he delivered with a season-best 64.23 meters (210-8) to become the Anteaters' first Big West men's javelin champion. That was also an NCAA qualifying mark as he advanced to the West Preliminary Round for the second year in a row. Miksic improved his season best with a toss of 64.52m (211-8) at the regional meet.

In the shot put, junior Justin Willingham missed the Big West podium by less than a foot, finishing fourth overall at 16.88m (55-4.75). Fifth-year senior Malcolm Overbaugh was a Big West finalist in the 100m (6th) and 200m (7th), while also scoring as a member of the 4x100 (4th) and 4x400 (5th) relay. Junior Drew Pickett and sophomore Maxwell Jefferson were conference scorers in the 110m hurdles, and the distance crew combined for 15 points in the 5K, 10K and steeplechase.

Overbaugh (100m, 200m), Pickett (110H), Cameron Smith (Steeple), Willingham (Shot Put), Julian Sotelo (Javelin) and Quincy Stokes (Hammer) made their way into UCI's all-time top-10 in their respective events.

Women's Tennis
UCI completed the season 11-9 overall, the most wins since the 2018-19 season.

The Anteaters, who advanced to the Big West quarterfinals for the second consecutive season, started the spring dual match season with three consecutive wins.

Jenna Schlatter stepped into the No. 1 singles spot going 7-7 in dual match action en route to an All-Big West honorable mention nod.

Asha Gidwani had a standout season, compiling an overall 11-6 record in singles play (3-1 at No. 2, 8-5 at No.3), while the duo of Gidwani and Perez competed together at No. 3 doubles for a 12-4 record.