IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's water polo continues their road stretch at undefeated No. 1/1 UCLA in Los Angeles.
 
Week Three Notes 
 
GAME SCHEDULE
No. 8/7 UC Irvine vs. No. 1/1 UCLA   
Saturday, February 10 | 1:00 PM | Spieker Aquatics Center  

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
> UC Irvine enters the week in a three-way tie for the eighth ranked spot in the weekly CWPA poll
> UCI comes in ranked seventh in the inaugural ACWPC weekly poll
> The Anteaters head up to Los Angeles to take on the top ranked team in the nation, No. 1/1 UCLA
> This is the second time this season where UCI will challenge a team ranked in the top spot
> The two teams last met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in May 2023 where the Bruins won, 14-12
> No. 1/1 UCLA heads into the contest with a perfect 8-0 record to open the season
> The Bruins had close wins over then No. 10 UC San Diego (W, 10-9) at the UCSB Winter Invitational, then No. 4 Hawai'i (W, 13-12) at the Triton Invitational, and then No. 5 Fresno State (W, 10-8)
> No. 1 UCLA is led offensively by Anna Pearson with a team high 17 goals
> Panni Szegedi is not far behind Pearson with her 13 goals
> Szegedi was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 7 after scoring seven goals, dishing out four assists, stole the ball four times, and won four sprints to help the Bruins to the Triton Invitational title
> Freshman Lauren Steele has earned an 8-0 record in the cage with her 178:36 minutes played
> Steele has blocked a team best 52 shots and holds a 7.35 goals against average
> The Anteaters are looking for their first win over the Bruins in program history

NOTES
> UC Irvine went 2-2 at the Triton Invitational picking up wins over then No. 11 LMU (W, 12-9) and then No. 16 UC Davis (W, 11-8)
> The Anteaters dropped to then No. 5 Fresno State (L, 11-4) and a close game with then No. 10 Michigan (L, 13-12)
> Kennedy East scored the first goal for UCI in the first three games of the weekend
> East notched her first hat-trick of the season against the Lions
> Brooke Hourigan also recorded three goals against LMU
> Jensine Bugelli scored two goals and assisted on two others in the 12-9 win over LMU
> In addition to East, Madi O'Hara, Maja Layden, and Lauren Hett were the goal scorers in the loss to Fresno State
> The loss to the Bulldogs was the first in the all-time series between the two teams
> Bugelli, Airian Grisham, and Gracie Helberg each had two goals in the game against Michigan
> Sophomore Layden rounded out the Triton Invitational with goals in three straight games
> Annabelle Mundelius was the only player to score multiple goals with two in the winning effort over UC Davis
> Senior Sabina Shackelford tallied her first goal of the season against the Aggies
> Ten different Anteaters contributed to the offensive effort versus UCD