Anteater of the Week: Derin Saran

Derin Saran – Men’s Basketball

October 15, 2025

Redshirt Sophomore Derin Saran has been named Anteater of the Week after his 27-point performance in a 72-68 exhibition victory over Arizona State at the Bren Events Center.

Saran shot 11-19 from the field, while adding 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

After being down by three at the half, UCI outscored the Sun Devils 41-34 in the second half. The Anteaters played strong defensively, holding ASU to just 36.7% shooting from the field after the halftime break.

The game marked Saran’s return to the Bren Events Center after spending a year at Stanford. Saran began his collegiate career at UC Irvine as a freshman during the 2023-24 season.

The ‘Eaters will play their final exhibition game on Oct. 28 at UCLA. 

Suus de Bakker – Women’s Soccer

October 8, 2025

Graduate student Suus de Bakker has been named Anteater of the Week after her two-goal game led UCI to a 2-0 victory over UC Davis.

The Anteaters struck first in the 38th minute in a set-piece goal by de Bakker off an assist from Chifumi Sasaki in a direct volley from eight yards out to inside the far post. 

In the second half, de Bakker secured her brace in the 67th minute. Pushing down the left wing, the duo of de Bakker and Clara Samson hit a give-and-go combination, with Samson nutmegging her defender and dropping it off to de Bakker, who fired it into the net for her second goal of the night to secure the 2-0 win.

This was the first two-goal game of de Bakker’s career and upped her total to eight as an Anteater. It was also her second game-winner and first since her sophomore season in 2022. She is now tied for the team lead in goals with four on the season, alongside teammate Mia Colombini.

The defender was also a key part of the team’s seventh clean sheet of the year, helping limit UC Davis to just four shots and one shot on goal.

Additionally, de Bakker played the entire 90 minutes in UCI’s 1-1 draw vs Long Beach State.

The ‘Eaters now get an extended break and will return to play on October 16, where they'll face UC Santa Barbara at 6 p.m. in Anteater Stadium.

Juan Chantaca – Men’s Cross Country

October 1, 2025

Sophomore Juan Chantaca has been named Anteater of the Week after his record-breaking performance at the UC Riverside Invitational at UCR’s Agricultural Operations Course.

Chantaca broke the 8K school record with a time of 23:38.4. This surpassed the previous record of 23:47.0 and surpassed his own PR by 13 seconds.

A part of the lead pack throughout the race, Chantaca kept pace and finished in fourth out of 224 participants. This was his second-straight top-five finish after his victory at the Vanguard Invitational 8K on September 5.

The Anteaters are back in action at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, Oregon, on Friday, Oct. 10.

Jessica Bates – Women’s Volleyball

September 24, 2025

Redshirt Freshman Jessica Bates has been named Anteater of the Week after impressive performances against Lipscomb and Belmont.

In the match versus Belmont, Bates led the team to a 3-1 victory with her second triple-double of the season. She had a career-high 19 kills, 12 digs, and a season-high 14 set assists. She also hit .412 (19-5-34) to go along with two aces and four block assists.

Bates is the only player in the Big West to record a triple-double this year and is the first league player to accomplish the feat since 2023.

She also tied for the team lead with eight kills against Lipscomb. She added nine set assists, seven digs, two block assists, and an ace.

The past week, Bates averaged 3.86 kills, 3.29 set assists, 2.71 digs, 0.86 blocks, and 4.71 points per set with a hitting percentage of .364 (27-7-55).

Up next, the ‘Eaters kick off Big West play hosting the Black & Blue rivalry vs. Long Beach State on Friday, Sept. 26.

Gustavo Gonzalez – Men’s Soccer

September 17, 2025

Freshman Gustavo Gonzalez has been named Anteater of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against Yale.

In a close affair, Gonzalez’s 13th-minute set-piece goal was the decider, as UCI claimed a 1-0 victory over Yale. Brady Treinen delivered a free kick into the box, where it was headed on by Gonzalez toward the near post. Hunny Yoo was able to corral it and centered it back across goal and Gonzalez was there for the tap-in to give the Anteaters the lead.

From there, UC Irvine’s defense stifled the Bulldogs and secured the clean sheet and the win. Gonzalez, a first-year center back, was also an integral piece of an Anteater defense that allowed only one shot on goal.

The ‘Eaters are on the road for their next matchup at No. 25 San Diego tonight at 7 p.m.

Liana Lee – Women’s Cross Country

September 10, 2025

Sophomore Liana Lee has been named Anteater of the Week after leading UC Irvine women’s cross country to a season-opening victory at the Vanguard Invitational 5K.

Lee earned her first collegiate victory by finishing first out of a field of 41. She set a meet and personal record of 17:43.4, completing the race four seconds ahead of the pack. The Anteaters completed a sweep with a team title and a perfect score of 15 points.

UC Irvine won its season opener for the second consecutive year after a first-place finish at the Irvine Invitational in 2024.

The ‘Eaters are back in action at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Ally Bolden – Women’s Volleyball

September 3, 2025

Sophomore Ally Bolden has been named the Sgt. Pepperoni’s Anteater of the Week after helping UC Irvine women’s volleyball to a 2-1 record at the season-opening Wildcat Invitational in Ogden, Utah.

Bolden closed out the two-day tournament with a career-high 12 kills and nine blocks in a 3-2 win over Nevada. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker committed just one hitting error on 22 swings for a .500 clip. Her nine blocks were the most in a match by any Big West player through the first week of the season. 

Bolden added seven kills and five blocks in UCI’s 25-15, 25-22, 25-13 sweep of Southern Utah.

For the week, Bolden averaged 1.83 kills and a Big West-leading 1.33 blocks per set. She also ranks seventh in the conference with a .340 hitting percentage.

UC Irvine is back in action this weekend, hosting the Anteater Classic, Sept. 4-7. The ‘Eaters are set to face Freson State on Friday, Colorado on Saturday, and Penn on Sunday. 

Nolan DiCenzo - Men's Soccer

August 27, 2025

Senior Nolan DiCenzo has been named the Anteater of the Week after helping lead UC Irvine men's soccer to a 2-0 season-opening victory vs UCLA.

DiCenzo played all 90 minutes on the back line that held the Bruins to just six shots, two shots on goal, and two corner kicks. In the tight match-up, the teams were tied up at the half with both vying for momentum. The 'Eaters then broke through on an Isaac Powell goal in the 64th minute to take the lead.

With a 1-0 advantage, DiCenzo delivered the dagger in the 82nd minute. A corner kick was sent into a crowd in the box and ended at the feet of DiCenzo. He settled the ball and launched it towards goal, finding the back of the net to secure the victory for UC Irvine, 2-0.

This was the second goal of DiCenzo's career and the first since his freshman year in 2022.

The win was the first for UCI in the series since 2013 and marked the fourth victory for the ‘Eaters over UCLA in their 24th all-time meeting.

UC Irvine is back in action this week with two home games vs Cal State LA on Aug 28 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, Aug 31 vs North Florida.

Mia Colombini - Women’s Soccer

August 20, 2025

Senior Mia Colombini has been named Anteater of the Week after leading the UC Irvine women’s soccer team to a 4-1 season-opening victory at Grand Canyon.

Colombini got the scoring going for the ‘Eaters in the sixth minute. A set piece from the far sideline by Trinity Morales hit the crossbar and was recovered by Milan Heisdorf who crossed the ball into the box where Colombini tapped it in for a 1-0 advantage.

After being knotted up at halftime and GCU coming out aggressive in the second half, UC Irvine took back control in the 65th minute. A long shot by Colombini whipped towards goal, the Lopes' keeper fumbled the save, and Fiona Shin crashed the net to put back the game-winner. That started the Anteaters’ second half charge, with the team adding two more goals in the 68th and 77th minutes, claiming the win 4-1. 

Colombini netted her second career goal and second career assist. She also had a team-leading four shots, including three on frame.

UCI opened the campaign with a victory for a fourth consecutive season.

The 'Eaters are back in action this week at San Diego on Thursday, August 21. They are then set to host Washington in their home opener on Sunday, August 24.