IRVINE, Calif. – Big West regular season championship title implications are on the line as the Anteaters close out league play with Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 8 before taking on Whittier on Nov. 9.
 
Week Ten Notes
 
THIS WEEKEND
Cal State Fullerton at No. 8/8 UC Irvine
Friday, November 8 | 6:00 PM | Anteater Aquatics Complex
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Whittier at No. 8/8 UC Irvine
Saturday, November 9 | 5:00 PM | Anteater Aquatics Complex
Live Stats

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
> UC Irvine enters the week ranked eighth in both the CWPA Weekly Poll and in the Association of College Water Polo Coaches poll
> UCI returns to the Anteater Aquatics Complex for the remainder of the regular season, opening the home stretch with Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 8) and Whittier (Nov. 9)
> The Anteaters clinched at least a share of the Big West regular season title with their victory over the weekend at then No. 10/11 UC Davis and can be the outright holder of the title with a win on Friday over the Titans
> In addition to the share of the title, UCI earned a spot in the semifinals in the 2024 Big West Championship
> UC Irvine is riding a seven game win streak, the longest of any Big West team this season, and longest for the program since the nine-game stretch from Sept. 7-21 in 2013
> At the completion of Friday's match, UC Irvine will honor seven seniors (Aidan Byrne, Ethan Shipman, Jack Stevens, Jacob Pyle, Stewart Campbell, Thomas Cass, Tyler Padua) for their contributions to the program
> Cal State Fullerton enters the contest with an 11-15 overall record, 0-4 in the Big West
> Over the last weekend, the Titans dropped a conference to No. 11 Long Beach State 16-4 on the road
> Togan Ozbek leads Fullerton with 70 points and a team best 44 goals
> Julian Nichols also has a 40 goal season with 41 so far on the year
> Nico D'Angelo has the squad's second most points of the year, 66, and is one goal away (39) of eclipsing the 40 mark on the year
> Garrett Henderson is a mainstay in the cage for the Titans, playing 633 minutes and recording 149 saves during that time
> Whittier sports a 15-9 overall record
> In their last times out, the Poets fell 18-14 at Chapman University and and then defeated Caltech 14-6
> Prior to their stop in Irvine, Whittier heads over to Occidental for a 11 a.m. meeting on Nov. 9

PLAYER NOTES
> UC Irvine went on the road where they picked up two wins, the first over Big West foe No. 10/11 UC Davis, 12-11, and the second at No. 12/13 San Jose State, 11-9
> At No. 10/11 UC Davis
    - Johann Thrall was remarkable for UCI as he scored a game best four goals, drew five exclusions, and added a steal
    - Tyler Padua and Ethan Shipman each contributed two goals
    - Jackson Matos, Luka Krstic, Tyler Laymon, and Ethan Spoon rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece
    - UCI out-shot UCD, 28-26
    - Goalkeeper Jacob Pyle stopped five shots from finding the back of the cage
    - Alex Lopez dished out three assists, both a career and game high
> At No. 12/13 San Jose State
    - Senior Jack Stevens led the offense with his third goals, his third hat-trick of the season, and an assist for a game high four points
    - Stewart Campbell and Johann Thrall made significant contributions, each netting two goals
    - Tyler Padua, Cole Francisco, Luka Krstic, and Gage Verdegaal rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece
    - Senior Zayd Mahmoud picked up his eighth win of the season where he made nine saves
    - Alex Lopez dished a game high two assists
    - Jackson Matos stole the ball four times, a career and game best
    - Padua drew three exclusions with Johann Thrall right behind with two drawn kickouts
> In the Big West as of Nov. 4, several Anteaters rank in the top-10 in several statistical categories: goals (2nd- Krstic), assists (5th- Shipman, 8th- Verdegaal), points (3rd- Krstic), field blocks (1st- Krstic, 3rd- Cass and Matos, 6th- Shipman, 9th- Stevens), sprint wins (3rd- Stevens, 9th- Thrall), steals (8th- Francisco), saves (5th- Pyle, 6th- Mahmoud), save percentage (1st- Mahmoud, 6th- Pyle), and goals against average (3rd- Mahmoud, 6th- Pyle)