Big West Academic Honors Show
Tuesday, Aug. 29 - 12 p.m. (PDT)
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IRVINE, Calif. - Alyssa Moore (Women's Soccer) and Francesco Sani (Men's Volleyball) have been named UC Irvine's 2022-23 Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon.
 
Two student-athletes from each Big West school - one male and one female - were honored by their institution and conference for their accomplishments in competition, in the classroom and in the community.
 
Alyssa Moore played a key role in UC Irvine women's soccer's back-to-back Big West Championships and NCAA Tournament runs. In 2022, the 5-foot-11 forward tied for the team lead with six goals. She had four game-winners, which was tops in the conference and ranked 34th in the nation. Moore started the season with the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Cal and was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for her effort. Moore also found the back of the net in the 108th minute of a 1-0 Big West semifinal win over UC Davis. The Anteaters went on to defeat Long Beach State, 3-0, in the final for their second consecutive Big West title. Moore's impressive campaign continued in the NCAA Tournament where she led the 'Eaters to the Sweet 16. She struck first in a 2-0 victory over No. 14 USC in the opening round before delivering UCI's goal in a 1-1 tie against Brown. The 'Eaters beat the Bears in penalty kicks to advance to the third round.
 
In 2021, Moore scored the game-winner in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. She connected on a header in the 14th minute of a 1-0 victory at third-ranked and second-seeded UCLA.
 
Moore has made the All-Big West Team in each of her two full seasons at UC Irvine. Off the field, she is a double major in criminology, law & society and psychological sciences. Moore is an eight-time Dean's List honoree, two-time Big West All-Academic selection and was named to the Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll with Highest Honors in 2021 and 2023. In addition, Moore has served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and interned at KidWorks. She hopes to continue playing soccer professionally after graduating and then has aspirations to become a criminal behavior anaylst or forensic psychologist.
 
Francesco Sani led the UC Irvine men's volleyball team to a No. 5 national ranking in the final 2023 AVCA Poll. The Anteaters were featured among the top-eight every week and found their stride late in the season, advancing to the Big West championship match with wins over CSUN and second-seeded Long Beach State. Sani closed out the year ranked second in the conference in points (4.72), kills (3.90) and aces (0.44) per set, while he was also among the top-15 in the nation in all three categories. The 6-foot-8 outside hitter had seven 20+ kill matches and registered five of the top 13 kill performances in The Big West. Sani earned All-America and first-team All-Big West honors for the second year in a row. He was also named the AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week and the Big West Offensive Player of the Week on April 4, 2023.
 
In his three seasons at UCI, Sani has amassed 965 career kills which ranks 13th among active NCAA players. He has also competed for the USA Men's Volleyball National Team.
 
Off the court, Sani was a four-time Dean's List honoree, two-time Big West All-Academic selection and was twice named to the Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll. He is currently pursuing a professional volleyball career in Italy and eventually wants to become an investor or start his own business.