IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's water polo team returns to action this week, first heading to the Inland Empire Classic hosted by Redlands on Sept. 9 before hosting No. 2 USC for the Anteaters home opener.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THERE IS A CAPACITY LIMIT OF 500 AT THE ANTEATER AQUATICS COMPLEX. FANS WILL BE ADMITTED ON A FIRST-COME FIRST-ADMITTED BASIS.
 
Week Two Notes
 
THIS WEEKEND
No. 8 UC Irvine vs. Whittier
Saturday, Sept. 9 | 12:00 p.m. | Thompson Aquatic Center
Live Stats | Watch

No. 8 UC Irvine vs. Redlands
Saturday, Sept. 9 | 3:30 p.m. | Thompson Aquatic Center
Live Stats | Watch

No. 8 UC Irvine vs. No. 2 USC
Sunday, Sept. 10 | 12:00 p.m. | Anteater Aquatics Complex
Live Stats | Watch

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
>UC Irvine enters the week ranked tied 8th in the CWPA Preseason Poll, two spots higher than their preseason poll ranking (10th)
>UCI is tied eighth in the polls with Pepperdine and Long Beach State
>The Anteaters will face Whittier and Redlands in the Inland Empire Classic before taking on No. 2 ranked Southern California for UCI's home opener
>Whittier kicks off their 2023 campaign at the IE Classic with their first game coming against UC Irvine
>The Poets concluded the 2022 season with an 11-19 overall record and 3-8 in SCIAC play
>Redlands enters the weekend with a 2-2 record, picking up wins over John Hopkins (20-15) and Ottawa University Arizona (11-7) and had a narrow defeat against then No. 19 Air Force (14-13)
>The Bulldogs are coming a history year after winning the program's first Division III NCAA Championship
>Senior Andrew Higginson earned SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after he tallied seven goals and five assists to go with a steal over the four games
>No. 2 Southern California remained perfect after going 4-0 at the Trition Invitational with their wins coming against California Baptist, Pomona-Pitzer, Biola, and UC San Diego
>The national championship runner-ups will rematch with the defending National Champions No. 1 California on Saturday before heading over to Irvine
>The Trojans are led by 2022 top scorer, All-American and MPSF Newcomer of the Year Massimo Di Martire (63 goals), along with Delfina All-MPSF honorees Carson Kranz and Luka Brnetic
>USC was picked to finish second in the MPSF, tied with No. 3 UCLA

NOTES
>UC Irvine split the Triton Invitational, coming back with a 2-2 record and picked up wins over then No. 17 California Baptist (18-10) and Biola (18-7)
> UCI outscored their opponents 57-51 over the weekend
>Redshirt sophomore Samuel Otta leads the team with 10 goals and scored six of them in the 18-10 victory over then No. 17 California Baptist
>Freshman Johann Thrall made in impact in his first week with seven goals including a crucial five-meter penalty make against Biola to start a scoring spurt for the Anteaters
>Stewart Campell and Dylan Patist share the team lead in assists, each dishing out six times
>Luka Krstic holds a 9-4 record in sprints
>Krstic, Otta, and Thrall are on four game scoring streaks
>Jacob Pyle recorded a 2-0 record in the cage along with 26 saves, five assists, and two steals