IRVINE, Calif. - No. 16 UC Irvine men's water polo travels to Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Oct. 24, for a Big West match up at 6 p.m. at Titan Aquatics Center. 

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• UCI improved to 1-1 in Big West play after defeating No. 10 UC Santa Barbara,10-9, on Oct. 18.
• The Anteaters moved to 13-8 on the season after falling to No. 15 Princeton, 8-9, on Oct. 15.
• The 'Eaters snapped a three-game losing streak with their first Big West win at UCSB.
• With their win over the Gauchos, UC Irvine boosts their Big West record to 10-2 since 2023.
• Cole Francisco led the 'Eaters with 10 points on four goals and six assists againts the Tigers and Gauchos.
• Johann Thrall netted three goals this week, bringing his season total to 40. 
• The 'Eaters won back-to-back Big West regular season titles in 2023 and 2024.
• The Anteaters are 9-1 in conference during that stretch, including a perfect 5-0 mark last year.
• They also claimed the Big West Championship title and made their first NCAA appearance in 30 years in 2023.
• UCI returns nearly 80% of its scoring from a 2024 squad that netted a single-season school record 400 goals.

IN THE RANKINGS
UCI came in at No. 16 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings released on October 22. The Anteaters remain at No. 16 for the second week in a row after splitting their games. 

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton has dropped its last two Big West games and moved to 15-10 on the season. The Titans dropped to No. 10 Long Beach State, 9-10, on Oct. 9 before falling to No. 6 UC Davis, 11-22, on Oct. 17. Junior Andrew Barnuevo leads the Titans with 52 goals on the season, followed by Junior Ethan MacLeod with 37 tallies. Junior Ethan Ivey has compiled 145 saves in 20 games played. 

SERIES HISTORY
UC Irvine has won it's last three match ups against Cal State Fullerton. Their most recent win came earlier this season on Aug. 30, at the UCI Invitational, where the 'Eaters secured the 15-8 victory. UCI won their last two conference games against the Titans, their most recent coming on Nov. 8, 2024, where the Anteaters triumphed, 21-7. The Big West teams met once in the 2023 season, on Nov. 4, which saw the 'Eaters come out on top, 21-3.  

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine won their first Big West match of the season,10-9, against No. 10 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Dos Pueblos High School. Sophomore Cole Francisco led the 'Eaters with two goals and two assists for a four-point showing against the Gauchos. Junior Johann Thrall recorded two goals and one assist for a three-point day, while bringing his season total to 40 tallies. 

ON THE ATTACK
UC Irvine has scored 10+ goals in 18 of its 21 outings. The Anteaters' three single-digit goal games this year came against No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 USC, and No. 15 Princeton. The 'Eaters, who are averaging 14.3 goals per contest, have seven players with 20+ goals on the season. Johann Thrall leads the squad with 40 tallies on the year. Luka Krstic is UCI's second-leading scorer with 38, followed by Wyley Dale (29), Cole Francisco (27), Ethan Spoon (26), Jack Stevens (24), and Samuel Otta (21). Thrall's three goals this week puts him at the 40-goal mark. Samuel Otta's two goals this week puts him in the 20-goal club for the second time in his career. Spoon's goal against the Gaucho's ties his career-high of 26 tallies. 

MINDING THE NET
Senior goalkeeper Zayd Mahmoud started 16 of UCI's 21 games this year, logging over 460 minutes in the cage. He has compiled 124 saves and a 11.64 goals against average. Mahmoud stopped a season-high 12 shots vs. No. 19 CMS on Oct. 3. Junior Blake Borders earned the start against Cal Lutheran (Sept. 6) and Biola (Sept. 27), finishing with seven and nine saves. Redshirt freshman Vincent Vega got the nod vs. UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 20) and Occidental (Sept. 27), logging nine saves against the Tigers. Redshirt Sophomore Nolan Cary got his first start against Concordia and stopped a season-best 11 shots. 

COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
Freshman Dylan Rosmann recorded his first multi-goal game in a 16-7 win over Biola (Sept. 27). Freshman Samuel Bowman scored his first collegiate goal with 1:35 left in the third quarter of a 21-7 victory over Concordia. Bowman struck again one minute later to cap a seven-goal period for the Anteaters. Rosmann also connected for his first career goal in a 13-12 win over UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 20). Sophomore Keegan McGann had the first multi-goal game of his collegiate career with two tallies against Cal State Fullerton, while sophomore Maddox McEwen netted a career-high four goals vs. Cal Lutheran. 

WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Cole Francisco was named Big West Player of the Week for the second time in his career, on Oct 22. He tallied 10 points on four goals and six assists against two top-15 ranked teams. Ethan Spoon was named the Big West Player of the Week for the first time in his career, on Oct. 1. Spoon recorded 10 goals at the Lancer Joust and netted a career-high six against Occidental. Luka Krstic was named the Big West Player of the Week for the first time this season, and fifth time in his career, on Sept. 17. Krstic had a pair of multi-goal games against the top-two ranked teams in the country, finishing with two at No. 1 UCLA and three vs. No. 2 USC. 

PRESEASON HONORS
Seniors Luka Krstic and Jack Stevens were named to the eight-member Preseason All-Big West Team as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Krstic is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he led the Anteaters with 80 points on 52 goals and 28 assists. He is a two-time All-American and first-team All-Big West selection. Stevens finished with 30 goals and 12 assists a year ago. He is a two-time All-Big West honoree. As a team, UCI was picked to finish third in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. The 'Eaters received 18 points to come in behind Long Beach State (29) and UC San Diego (20).

ALL-BIG WEST RETURNERS
The Anteaters return five All-Big West honorees from a 2024 squad that won their second-straight regular-season title. Luka Krstic was named to the first team, and Johann Thrall garnered second-team distinction. Cole Francisco and Jack Stevens were both honorable mention selections, while Francisco and Ethan Spoon made the All-Freshman Team.

STORIED HISTORY
UC Irvine men's water polo is in its 60th year as a program, and 59th season of competition (2020 season canceled). Since 1965, the Anteaters have put together 17 seasons with 20 or more wins, including a perfect 30-0 campaign in 1982 when they won the second of their three NCAA Championships (1970, 1982, 1988). The 'Eaters, who earned a spot in each of the first 10 NCAA tournaments, have made 22 postseason appearances.

HOME SWEET HOME
UCI is set to host the 2025 Big West Championships at Anteater Aquatics Complex, November 21-23. The conference tournament will make its way to Irvine after being held in La Jolla in 2023 and in Davis in 2024.