IRVINE, Calif. – The second annual Zotspys was held Tuesday at the Bren Events Center, celebrating all of the success UC Irvine Athletics has had during the 2024-25 season academically as well as athletically.
Â
So far, UC Irvine has had regular season championships in men's water polo and baseball, while women's track & field claimed the program's first-ever Big West Championship. Men's tennis won their third Big West Championship in the last four years and advanced to the NCAAs. In the Fall, men's tennis player Noah Zamora also qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship.
Baseball players Chase Call and Tim Grack, women's distance runner Abby Binder, women's volleyball player
Ofure Iselen, women's tennis player Haily Huynh and women's track & field athlete Jackie Acosta all received the Leadership Award for their dedication to their community and their efforts for making the athletic space a better place for everyone.
Zamora was named Male Athlete of the Year, while women's track and field athlete Jolie Robinson was named Female Athlete of the Year. Zamora was the first Anteater to qualify for the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship since 2011 and the first to advance in the tournament since 1989 as he upset the 13th-ranked player in the nation in the Round of 64. The Big West Player of the Year also led the 'Eaters to their second-straight Big West Championship and NCAA team appearance. Robinson set a personal record in the heptathlon with 5,524 points at the Big West meet as she finished second. Her score is second in program history and sits just 25 points shy of the school record. She placed third at the Big West Championships in the javelin and ran the anchor leg on UCI's school-record 4x400 relay. During the indoor season, Robinson was the runner-up in the pentathlon at the MPSF Championships where she compiled a lifetime-best 3,888 points, which ranks third in program history as well as breaking the indoor school record in the long jump.Â
The Academic Achievement Award goes to student-athletes that work diligently to become a high-achieving student while continuing to contribute to their sport was presented to men's water polo player Aidan Byre and women's track & field athlete Jazzmine Davis.
The International Student-Athletes Award went to women's basketball player Deja Lee and men's volleyball player Hilir Henno. The award acknowledges the extra obstacles international students encounter while participating in intercollegiate athletics and pursuing their studies.
The event also celebrated 236 scholar-athletes as well as team and unit grade point average (GPA) leaders. Women's golf and men's tennis received the Dr. Dave Snow Award for the highest team GPAs.Â
Several specialty awards were also given out with student-athletes voting on team awards and coaches and staff voting on individual honors.
Â
Women's basketball players Nikki Tom and Deja Lee were the Dynamic Duo award winners.
Â
Women's volleyball beating Hawaii twice was the Best Upset, while Best Individual Performance went to men's water polo player
Luka Krstic who led the Anteaters to a Big West regular season title. The All-American topped UCI with 80 total points on 52 goals and 28 assists.
Men's volleyball player Hilir Henno, who became three-time All-American, had the Best Record-Breaking Performance when he tied the NCAA all-time ace record with 255 in his career.
Â
Women's track athlete Esmeray Demirbas was tabbed Female Newcomer of the Year and men's track athlete Angel Cordero was the Male Newcomer of the Year. Cordero was the Big West runner-up in the 800m with a UCI freshman record of 1:48.10, while Demirbas placed third in the 400m hurdles and high jump at the Big West Championships.
New categories this year included Male and Female Comeback Player of the Year, won by baseball player Riley Kelly and women's soccer player Jenika Davis, and Staffer of the Year, which was won by Assistant Director Athletic Performance Dalton White.
Â
The night culminated by recognizing the graduating seniors and presenting the student-athlete sashes.
UNIT GPA LEADERS
Biological Sciences                               Sameen Andar, Women's Cross Country
Business                                               Justin Conyers, Men's Soccer
Education                                              Kendra MacDonald, Women's Volleyball
Engineering                                           Indy De Smet, Women's Volleyball
Graduate Division                                   Jacob Pyle, Men's Water Polo
Humanities                                             Maggie Sczupak, Women's Cross Country
Information & Computer Sciences        Agaton Pourshahidi Men's Track & Field
Nursing Science                                    Olivia Liuson, Women's Track & Field
Pharmacy                                              Kaia Schmidt,  Women's Cross Country
Physical Sciences                                  Mia Colombini, Women's Soccer
Public Health                                         Reina Kabbara, Women's Cross Country
Social Ecology                                       Ally Bolden, Women's Volleyball
Social Sciences                                     Chanelle Hwang, Women's Golf
TEAM GPA LEADERS
Baseball                                                David Utagawa
Women's Tennis                                   Haily Huynh
Men's Tennis                                        Noah Zamora
Women's Volleyball                               Indy De Smet
Men's Volleyball                                   Shane Aitken
Women's Water Polo                            Mary Hassett
Men's Water Polo                                Thomas Cass
Women's Basketball                             Haley Hernandez
Men's basketball                                  Akiva McBirney-Griffin
Women's soccer                                  Mia Colombini
Men's Soccer                                       Justin Conyers
Women's Golf                                       Chanelle Hwang
Men's Golf                                           Jason Tang
Women's Cross Country                     Sameen Andar
Men's Cross Country                          Jimmy Markowicz
Women's Track & Field                       Amelia Trautman
Men's Track & Field                            Garren Haynes
Â
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Baseball
Aiden Alvarez
Jaxton Andeel
Ryder Brooks
Chase Call
Zach Crandall
Tim Grack
Dane Grant
Andrew Grove
Auggie Gutierrez
Theo Kim
Brandon Luu
Jacob McCombs
Ricky Ojeda
Michael Podstreleny
Jack Ross
David Utagawa
Finnegan Wall
Â
Men's Basketball
Tishan Ahir
Berk Can Akin
Andre Henry
Bent Leuchten
Akiva McBirney-Griffin
Langston Redfield
Ofure Ujadughele
Â
Men's Cross Country/Track & Field                                             Â
Brandon Burns
Bryce Bushnell
Jacob Bustamante
Juan Chantaca
Max Daniels
Ashton Fegel
Garren Haynes
Zeid Hussain
Matthew Irvine
Jake Jensen
Jimmy Markowicz
Caleb McDaniel
Kenechukwu Okonkwo
Chimobi Onye
Logan Peyton
Jake Reed
Jerry Roberts
AJÂ Sager
Juan Sanchez
Joshua Schuld
Alex Skalmowski
AJ Taylor
Jake Troxell
Alan Vuong
Men's Golf
Owen Davis-Piger
Rei Harashima
Joshua Lane
JJ Nakao
Jason Tang
Â
Men's Soccer
Travis Babineau
Noah Clarkson
Justin Conyers
Nolan DiCenzo
Braden Ferreira
Misael Gonzalez
Isaiahs Gutierrez
Elijah Juge
Josh Kenworthy
Marcus Lee
Darwin Lopez
Agaton Pourshahidi
Luke Pruter
Isaiah Quarcoo
Alex Shields
Brady Treinen
Roman Warren
Cade Williams
Mathias Winum
Hunny Yoo
Â
Men's Tennis                               Â
Mason Bui
Max Fardanesh
Ruining Huang
Andy Nguyen
Hiroki Sakagawa
Lawee Sherif
Noah Zamora
Â
Men's Volleyball                       Â
Shane Aitken
Alec Apelian
Kobe Brown
Aidan Cuppett
Tim Ennis
Nolan Flexen
Maxim Grigoriev
Hilir Henry
Joe Karlous
Andon Kiriakou
Aidan Rigg
Aidan Schulten
Micah Tumas
Beck Weber
Lukas Winn
Â
Men's Water Polo                     Â
Stewart Campbell
Thomas Cass
Jasper Dale
Wyley Dale
Cole Francisco
Tyler Laymon
Brody Luke
Zayd Mahmoud
Maddox McEwen
Keegan McGann
Samuel Otta
Tyler Padua
Jacob Pyle
Ethan Spoon
Jack Stevens
Johann Thrall
Vincent Vega
Gage Verdegaal
Â
Women's Basketball
Nevaeh Dean
Daniela Falcón Hernández
Summah Hanson
Haley Hernandez
Kimiko Kennedy
Déja Lee
Lauryn Madsen
Shirel Nahum
Reese Noa
Amelia Scharpf
Nikki Tom
Olivia Williams
Â
Women's Golf
Kiana Briggs
Jasmine Chen
Katherine Gerbing
Chanelle Hwang
Katelyn Kong
Hayoung Lee
Charlotte Ryoo
Apple Zheng
Â
Women's Cross Country/Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field
Jackie Acosta
Jayla Addison
Sarah Ajayi
Montgomery Allison
Sameen Andar
Lauren Aquino
Nyla Baker
Samantha Bartz
Abby Binder
Makena Castillo
Nadia Combs-Mahone
DeAna Davis
Jazzmine Davis
Esmeray Demirbas
Malia Gay
Cynthia Herrera
Reyna Johnson
Reina Kabbara
Arden Keeton
Stella Knobbe
Breckyn Kornachuk
Kailey Lai
Hailey Lauifi
Liana Lee
Olivia Liuson
Sophie Lopez
Elizabeth Melcher
Rachel Moen
Kaitlene Ofilan
Ihe Okoh
Kathleen Overbaugh
Jackie Pan
Jolie Robinson
Lauren Scarpelli
Kaia Schmidt
Pinkie Schnayer
Maggie Sczupak
Kayla Smith
Anna Soares
Tatiana Sprock
Alana Sugue
Halle Sutherland
Zharia Tayor
Lauren Thai
Roxane Thomas
Amelia Trautman
Anna Vogtmann
Laura Yontz
Â
Women's Soccer                       Â
Savanna Arruda
Ella Colombini
Mia Colombini
Jenika Davis
Suus de Bakker
Laila El Behery
Milan Heisdorf
Desiree Mendoza
Alana Odom
Aveka Singh
Kelsey Swyney
Autumn Thompkins
Mirayah Villalpando
Alyssa Wheeler
Ivy Williams
Laurynn Ziller
Â
Women's Tennis                       Â
Carolyna Fowler
Asha Gidwani
Yen Nhi Huynh
Haily Huynh
Maily Huynh
Nour Khayat
Lindsay Kim
Kayla Meraz
Amanda Perez
Bella Pitchford
Â
Women's Volleyball
Jessica Bates
Ally Bolden
Brianna Brewer
Indy De Smet
Nicole Feliciano
Ofure Iselen
Lillian Lansing
Amanda Leinbach
Kendra MacDonald
Elizabeth Miller
Hunter Riedl
Katie Smith
Ellen Veargason
Keelan Williams
Â
Women's Water Polo              Â
Libby Alexander
Vivian Bailey
Charley Birdsall
Bella Calderon
Kennedy East
Mary Hassett
Pippa Heaver
Lauren Hett
Maja Layden
Alex Mould
Annabelle Mundelius
Deirdre Murphy
Sara Naulty
Madi O'Hara
Ella Walker
Â