IRVINE, Calif. - No. 16 UC Irvine men's water polo travels to No. 10 UC San Diego for a Big West match up on Friday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. at Canyonview Aquatic Center. The 'Eaters return to Anteater Aquatics Complex on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 12 p.m., as they host No. 7 San Jose State for Senior Day. 

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• UCI moved to 2-2 in Big West play after falling to No. 9 Long Beach State, 12-13, on Oct. 30
• The 'Eaters dropped to 14-10 on the season after falling to No. 13 Pepperdine, 10-12, on Nov. 1.
• Johann Thrall led the 'Eaters with 10 goals, bringing his season total to 54.
• Zayd Mahmoud recorded a season-high 14 saves against Long Beach State. 
• 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 moved up to No. 16 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings released on November 5. The Anteaters drop one spot after going 0-2 this week. 

SCOUTING THE TRITONS
No. 10 UC San Diego has won two of its last three games to improve to 18-8 on the season and 1-3 in Big West play. The Tritons defeated No.13 Princeton, 10-9, on Oct. 18, before falling to No. 6 UC Davis, 10-11, in s Sudden Victory thriller on Oct. 25. UCSD defeated Cal State Fullerton, 16-11, on Oct. 30, for their first Big West win. Senior Eamon Hennessey leads the Tritons with 46 goals, followed by Senior Axline Bennett with 39 goals. Redshirt Freshman Alex Hegeman has recorded 170 saves for UCSD. 

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
No. 7 San Jose State has won two of its last three games to improve to 10-6 on the season. The Spartans defeated Pomona-Pitzer, 14-9, on Oct. 25 at the Julian Fraser Memorial, before falling to No. 5 Fordham, 9-10, on Oct. 26. San Jose State defeated Air Force, 14-9, on Nov. 2, and will face California Baptist on Nov. 8 before facing the 'Eaters. Sophomore Samu Biros leads the Spartans with 42 goals, followed by Freshman Sam Keightley with 34 tallies on the year. Junior Brendon Gyapjas has compiled 140 saves for San Jose State. 

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine dropped their second Big West match up of the season against No. 9 Long Beach State, 12-13, on Oct. 30. Johann Thrall netted six and added one assist for a seven-point outing. Zayd Mahmoud stopped a season-high 14 against the Beach. The 'Eaters fell to No. 13 Pepperdine, 10-12, on Nov. 1. Thrall found the back of the net four times while Mahmoud stopped 12 stops for the Anteaters. 

ON THE ATTACK
UC Irvine has scored 10+ goals in 21 of its 24 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 14.0 goals per contest, have five players with 30+ goals on the season. Johann Thrall leads the squad with 54 tallies on the year. Luka Krstic is UCI's second-leading scorer with 40, followed by Wyley Dale with 32, and Ethan Spoon and Cole Francisco, each with 30. Spoon and Francisco have each reached the 30-goal club for the first time in their careers. 

MINDING THE NET
Senior goalkeeper Zayd Mahmoud started 19 of UCI's 22 games this year, logging over 550 minutes in the cage. He has compiled 163 saves and a 11.48 goals against average. Mahmoud stopped a season-high 14 shots vs. Long Beach State on Oct. 30. 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.