Anteater of the Week: Travis Babineau & Derin Saran

Travis Babineau – Men’s Soccer & Derin Saran – Men’s Basketball

November 19, 2025

Senior Travis Babineau (men’s soccer) and redshirt sophomore Derin Saran (men’s basketball) have been named co-Anteaters of the Week after their recent standout performances.

In the men's soccer Big West Championship game, Babineau led UCI to a 2-1 victory at UC Santa Barbara for the program's sixth conference tournament title. In the 27th minute, the Babineau, a Santa Barbara native, curled in a free kick from just outside the penalty box to give the Anteaters the early advantage. At the start of the second half, the senior sent a long ball to a streaking Hunny Yoo at the right side of the penalty box. Yoo settled it, shook off the defender, and placed it into the bottom right corner for a 2-0 lead.

UCSB responded with an answer in the 66th minute to put it at 2-1, but Babineau and the Anteater defense were able to stifle the Gauchos for the rest of the match to seal UCI’s eighth NCAA Tournament berth. Babineau ended the night with a goal and assist and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his efforts. 

The Anteaters kick off the NCAA Tournament with a first-round match at Denver at 2 p.m. (PT) on Thursday, Nov. 20.

On the hardwood, Saran recorded the first triple-double in UC Irvine men's basketball history in a dominant 130-63 win over Lincoln.

Saran joined Nebraska’s Rienk Mast as the only two players in the country to achieve the feat this season. The redshirt sophomore posted a career-high 20 points, a career-high 10 assists, 12 rebounds, and three steals in the victory. 

Led by Saran’s performance, the Anteaters also broke multiple school records. The team bested the school record for assists in a game for the second time this season with 40, six more than the mark set the previous week versus Bethesda. Their 59 made field goals were also a school and Bren Events Center record.

Saran also finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists in a 79-70 victory against Weber State. The 'Eaters return to action tonight at Utah Valley (5 p.m. PT).

Hunter Hernandez – Women's Basketball

November 12, 2025

Senior Hunter Hernandez has been named Anteater of the Week after averaging 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in UC Irvine women’s basketball’s first two games of the season.

In a road contest at Big 12 member Arizona on Sunday, Hernandez finished with a team-high 23 points and a season-best eight rebounds. She made eight field goals, including two from beyond the arc, while also going 5-of-6 at the free throw line.

In the opener last Wednesday, Hernandez had 13 points, six boards, and two assists in 25 minutes played to help the ‘Eaters to a 72-54 win over San Diego. She was 3-for-5 from distance.

For the week, Hernandez shot 38.7% from the field, 41.7% from 3-point range, and 87.5% at the charity stripe.

UC Irvine will be in action tonight at Idaho State with a 7 p.m. (MT)/6 p.m.(PT) tip-off.

Marcus Lee – Men’s Soccer

November 5, 2025

Sophomore Marcus Lee has been named Anteater of the Week after his two-goal performance against UC Riverside helped UC Irvine secure a share of the Big West regular season title.

In a back-and-forth affair, the Highlanders and Anteaters were knotted up at one apiece at the halftime break. In the 48th minute, Lee gave UCI the 2-1 lead, slipping the ball past the keeper from the middle of the box off a cross from Travis Babineau.

Just 10 minutes later, Lee capitalized off a set piece corner kick to put the 'Eaters up 3-1. Babineau, Misael Gonzalez Lopez, and Lee played a beautiful three-man game, with Lopez setting up Lee cutting across the box, who fired it inside the left post for a two-goal advantage.

The score ended in a 3-2 Anteater victory with Lee securing a brace. His two goals were his first of the season, putting him at eight points. This performance also doubled his career goal total to go along with his second career game-winning goal.

By virtue of tiebreakers, the 'Eaters will be the 2-seed heading into the Big West Championships. They receive a bye into the Big West Semifinal and will host the winner of the Cal Poly - UC San Diego in Anteater Stadium at 6 p.m. on November 8.

Campbell Jensen – Women’s Volleyball

October 29, 2025

Senior Campbell Jensen has been named Anteater of the Week after standout performances in UC Irvine's sweeps over Hawai'i and Cal State Fullerton.

Jensen recorded 17 digs in each match, averaging 5.67 digs per set. She also added four set assists against Hawai'i and two versus the Titans.

In UCI’s fourth-ever victory over Hawai'i, Jensen led the Anteater defense that limited the Rainbow Wahine to a -.041 hitting percentage. The libero also helped keep CSUF at a .000 mark.

Among active NCAA Division 1 players, Jensen ranks fourth in career digs at 1,741 and is now just 15 shy of second all-time in the UCI record books.

The Anteaters hit the road this week to take on UC San Diego (Oct. 31) and Long Beach State (Nov. 1). 

Cole Francisco – Men’s Water Polo

October 22, 2025

Sophomore Cole Francisco has been named Anteater of the Week after helping lead UC Irvine to a 10-9 victory over No. 10 UC Santa Barbara.

Francisco recorded two goals and two assists in the ‘Eaters 10-9 upset of the 10th-ranked Gauchos. His first goal gave UCI the lead, 8-7, at the end of the third quarter. With time winding down, Francisco found the back of the net again to put the Anteaters up 10-8 with 3:29 remaining in the fourth period to seal their first Big West victory of the season.

Francisco also had two goals and a career-high four assists in UCI’s narrow 9-8 loss vs. No. 15 Princeton. On the season, the attacker leads the team with 26 assists and ranks fourth with 27 goals scored.

The Anteaters will face Cal State Fullerton in their next matchup on Oct. 24. 

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.