Year of the Anteater: Top Moments

The 2023-24 season was the most successful year in UC Irvine Athletics history with seven teams making NCAA appearances. The Anteaters were fourth in the nation in the LEARFIELD Director's Cup D-IAAA (non-football) final standings, while six teams ended the year nationally ranked. We continue our three-part Year-in-Review series with some of our top moments from 2023-24.

TOP MOMENTS OF 2023-2024

August 20, 2023: The men's basketball team captured the gold medal at the 42nd Jones Cup in Taiwan with a perfect 8-0 record. UCI was the first United States team to medal since 2012 when the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg won the bronze, and the first American team to win the gold since 2006 (Athletes in Action team).

September 25, 2023: Men's golfer Darien Zhao had a record-breaking day at the season-opening Nick Watney Invitational. After starting the tournament with a 5-under 66, Zhao fired an 18-hole school-record 62 (-9) in the second round. Zhao, who finished with 14 birdies and one eagle against only two bogeys, closed out the day with a program-best 36-hole score of 128 (-14).

October 11, 2023: Men's soccer upset No. 13 Cal State Fullerton and ended their 11-match unbeaten streak and eight-match winning streak thanks to two goals in the first 10 minutes including freshman Brady Treinen's screaming half-volley in the sixth minute, the first goal of his career.

October 19, 2023: Men's tennis player Ali Amiri earned the Anteaters' first ranked singles win of the season at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships. In his second match of the day, Amiri upended No. 53 Noah Berry of Cal Poly 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 to advance to the Round of 32.

October 23, 2023: Women's golfers Jasmine Chen and Megan Yang both carded second round scores of 68 at The Clash at Boulder Creek. Chen, who tied her career-best round, had five birdies on the day, while Yang caught fire on the back nine, recording an eagle 2 on the Par 4 12th hole then two consecutive birdies on 13 and 14.

October 27, 2023: Women's volleyball knocked off No. 25 UC Santa Barbara 3-1 at Crawford Hall. The Anteaters snapped UCSB's 11-match winning streak and handed the Gauchos one of only three regular season losses. Four Anteaters recorded double-figure kills led by outside hitter Marianna Bertolone with 15 kills to go with six digs and two blocks. Middle blocker Isabella Scarlett was impressive not committing an error and was one shy of a career-best, logging 14 kills and hitting .636 (14-0-22) with four block assists. 

October 28, 2023: In a pivotal game, the men's water polo team beat league-leading and previously undefeated in league play, No. 7 UC Davis, in a thrilling 13-12 overtime victory. Jack Stevens scored the game winner off a spinning backhand move with 1:09 left on the clock in the final extra period.

November 4, 2023: Men's water polo defeated Cal State Fullerton 21-3 to claim the program's first regular season conference title since 2000. Ethan Shipman and Johann Thrall led all players with four goals each.

November 5, 2023: Women's soccer player Mirayah Villalpando scored in the 40th minute and the defense pitched a third-straight shutout to win the Big West Championship, 1-0 over Cal Poly. The Anteaters were the third program to ever complete a three-peat in Big West Championship history. Emilie Castagna was named Big West Championship MVP.

November 10, 2023: For a third straight year, UCI women's soccer upset a top-seeded program in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, this time 1-seed UCLA, just the second time a 1-seed had lost in the opening round, with a 1-0 victory from an 87th-minute goal by Alyssa Moore after the 'Eaters had been issued a red card in the 75th minute.

November 11, 2023:  Men's soccer captured the Big West Championship on penalty shots. Goalkeeper Luke Pruter saved two penalty kicks including the game-clincher to claim head coach Yossi Raz's first Big West Championship, 0-0, 8-7 in PKs. Oscar Cervantes was named Big West Championship MVP.

November 15, 2023: The men's basketball team shocked No. 16/20 USC in a 70-60 upset win at the Galen Center, taking down a ranked Pac-12 opponent for the second consecutive year on the road. Guard Justin Hohn poured in a career-best 25-points to lead the Anteaters. Hohn went 10-16 shooting from the field including 3-6 from three-point distance in the victory.

November 18, 2023: Trailing 10-7 with six minutes to play in the semifinal contest of the men's water polo Big West Championship against UC Davis, UCI came alive with four goals. Luka Krstic started the scoring at 5:35 and after goals by Stewart Campbell and Samuel Otta, Krstic notched the game-winner with just 34 seconds remaining.

November 19, 2023: The men's water polo team made history with an 11-9 win against UC Santa Barbara for the inaugural Big West Championship title. Goalkeeper Jacob Pyle was named MVP after stopping a career-high 14 saves. UCI would advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1993.

December 16, 2023: After being on the road for 28 days, the men's basketball team returned to the Bren Center with a dominating 121-78 victory over South Dakota. Seven Anteaters scored in double figures including Dean Keeler's career-best 22 points in 14 minutes, shooting 9-11 (.818) from the floor to go with eight rebounds and two blocks. The Anteaters' 121 points were just shy of the record for points against a DI opponent which stands at 125 vs VMI in 1980 and two away from tying the program record in field goals made against a Division I opponent.

January 13, 2024: Men's volleyball player Hilir Henno tied his own UCI and Big West record with nine aces in a 3-1 win over Princeton. The outside hitter tallied 11 kills and two total blocks (1 solo, 1 assisted) in the victory.

February 25, 2024: Reyna Johnson became the women's indoor track & field team's first MPSF individual champion with a victory in the long jump. Her winning mark of 5.97m/19-7 was a personal and program best. It was the third time Johnson broke the long jump school record in 2024. Sameen Andar also bettered her own 5000m school record with a time of 16:31.81 to claim runner-up honors at the MPSF Championships.

February 26, 2024: Deandra Tyler was crowned the MPSF Indoor Champion in the women's shot put. Tyler led wire-to-wire as her first toss of 14.21m/46-7.5 put her at the top of the leaderboard. She bettered that mark on her second attempt at 14.93m/48-11.75, which beat out the rest of the competition by over a foot.

March 2, 2024: Men's basketball toppled Long Beach State 82-61 on Homecoming in front of a sell-out crowd. Pierre Crockrell II notched his fourth double-double of the season, recording 12 points and 11 assists.

March 3, 2024: The baseball team took on UCLA in the finale of the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium. A leadoff home run by Myles Smith and a 7th-inning tiebreaking grand slam by Caden Kendle led to the emphatic 5-2 win over the Bruins to push UCI to 9-0 on the season.

March 7, 2024: UC Irvine women's basketball defeated Cal Poly, 65-31, on the road for their 20th win of the season. It marked the first time in program history the Anteaters recorded three-straight 20-win campaigns.

March 7, 2024: The men's volleyball team toppled No. 1 and undefeated GCU in the first match of the OUTRIGGER Volleyball Invitational at SimpliFi Arena. The Anteaters put away 72 kills in the five-set victory, which was tied for fourth most in the nation in 2024. Outside hitter Hilir Henno tied his then-career-high with a match-best 29 kills.

March 8, 2024: The baseball team played Columbia in Fresno winning the final game of their 12-0 start to the season and 18-game winning streak that dated back to 2023. Jo Oyama set a program record with nine RBIs and hit the program's first cycle since 1981 as part of a five-hit day, Chase Call joined him with 8 RBIs to tie the previous program record, with each homering and scoring four times as UCI scoring a program-record 32 runs in a 32-2 victory finishing as the third-most runs scored in a game in the 2024 college baseball season.

March 11, 2024: Men's volleyball player Hilir Henno had a career-high and nation's best 36 kills in the championship match of the OUTRIGGER Invitational. Henno was just one shy of the UCI rally-scoring record and is tied for seventh most all-time at UCI. The junior hit .412 (36-8-68), fired three aces and had six digs and two block assists. His 68 attack attempts are a UCI rally scoring record and also the most in the country this season.

March 15, 2024: Jacob Hawkins broke a 41-year-old school record in the men's discus at the Challenge Cup in Fullerton. On his fourth attempt of the day, Hawkins unleashed a personal-best 59.03m/193-8. He topped the previous standard of 58.44m/191-9, which was set by Ken Mills back in 1983. Hawkins won the event by over 12 feet, and also took first in the shot put with a then lifetime-best 17.83m/58-6.

March 16, 2024: The second-seeded UC Irvine women's basketball team routed No. 5 seed UC Davis, 53-39, in the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Championship final at The Dollar Loan Center. The Anteaters hoisted the trophy for the second time in program history and first since 1995. Déja Lee, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, finished with a game-high 21 points. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba also had 13 points and nine rebounds, and was named to The Big West All-Tournament Team.

April 12, 2024: The men's volleyball team finished the home schedule in style with a 3-0 sweep of No. 1 Long Beach State in front of 2,364 fans. The Beach suffered their first league loss and only the second loss of the season. The UCI offense was dominant, hitting .397 (42-11-78), powered by Hilir Henno's match-best 14 kills and seven digs as well as William D'Arcy's career-high .750 hitting percentage with 13 kills in 16 attempts and just one error.  

April 18, 2024: Women's water polo beat Long Beach State 14-13 in overtime in the regular season finale. With the win, UCI clinched the second seed in the Big West Championship. Goalkeeper Faith Tedesco collected a career-high 19 saves, one shy of tying the school record. Lauren Hett came in clutch down the stretch, scoring five of the last six goals for UCI including the game-winner.

April 28, 2024: For the third-straight year, UC Irvine men's tennis went up against top-seeded and nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara in the final of the Big West Championship. The Anteaters, who dropped a close 4-3 decision to UCSB in the regular season, avenged that loss with a dominant 4-1 victory over the 45th-ranked Gauchos. Enrique Luque Rico cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 72 Pablo Masjuan at the top of the lineup. Andy Nguyen and Noah Zamora also won their respective singles matches before Hiroki Sakagawa clinched UCI's second Big West title in three years with a 6-2, 7-6 triumph on court two.

April 30, 2024: In the opening round of the NCAA Championships UC Irvine men's volleyball swept Penn State, 3-0, to advance to the national semifinals. AVCA National Player of the Year Hilir Henno led the way with 15 kills and five blocks.

May 4, 2024: UC Irvine track & field swept the multi-events at the Big West Championships. Jolie Robinson defended her conference title in the heptathlon, while Josh Farmer won the program's first Big West decathlon championship since 1993.

May 10, 2024: Liam Miksic defended his Big West title in the men's javelin, while Jacob Hawkins claimed the Anteaters' first conference championship in the men's discus since 1992.

May 11, 2024: UC Irvine track & field won two more individual titles on the last day of the Big West Championships. Justin Willingham was crowned the Big West men's shot put champion. He broke his own school record in the sixth and final round with a winning toss of 18.74m/61-5.75. It was the fourth time Willingham set the program standard in 2024. Kailah McKenzie became the Anteaters' first women's high jump champion since Hall of Famer Lauren Collins in 2009. On her third and final attempt, McKenzie cleared the winning height of 1.76m/5-9.25.

May 22, 2024: Liam Miksic broke the school record in the men's javelin at the NCAA West First Round in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Miksic had an impressive series, throwing for over 64 meters on all three of his attempts. He hit his personal and school-record 68.34m/224-2 in the second round. The Big West champion was the top finisher in Flight 1 and placed 14th overall, just two spots shy of qualifying for nationals.

May 31, 2024:  At the NCAA Corvallis Regional, the baseball team opened the 2024 postseason with a crazy 13-12 come from behind victory over Nicholls. The Anteaters held a 9-1 lead only to watch the Colonels chip away and score three in the top of the ninth to take a 12-11 lead. Senior Caden Kendle finished off a two-out rally singling home the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 13-12, the team's sixth ninth-inning comeback victory of the season.

June 6, 2024: Josh Farmer finished 12th in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships. It was his best showing in his third career NCAA meet. Farmer earned second-team All-America honors for his performance, making him UCI men's track & field's first three-time NCAA Division I All-American in the decathlon.