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Anteater Update: June 16

June 16, 2025

• Liam Miksic and Zharia Taylor earned second-team All-America honors with their respective top-16 finishes at the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field last week. 

• Liam Miksic placed 12th in the men's javelin with a toss of 70.13 meters (230-1). It was the second-best mark of his career as he was just short of his school-record 71.06m (233-1). He closed out a decorated career as a second-team All-American, four-time NCAA regional qualifier and three-time Big West champion. Miksic is UC Irvine's first NCAA Division I All-American in the men's javelin.

• Zharia Taylor tied for 16th in the women's high jump. Taylor easily cleared the opening height at 1.74 meters (5-8.5) on her first try. She then got over the bar at 1.79m (5-10.5) on her second attempt. That height and her number of attempts put her in the top-16 for second-team All-America honors. Taylor is the first Anteater on the women's side to advance to nationals since 2009 and first to earn All-America honors since 1997.

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June 2, 2025

National Rankings
Baseball - No. 25

• UC Irvine track & field's Liam Miksic and Zharia Taylor placed among the top-12 in their respective events at the NCAA West First Round to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Miksic opened the regional meet in the men's javelin. He moved into the top-10 in the standings on his second attempt where he hit 68.57 meters (224-1), and that mark held through the final round as the 12th-best of the competition. Miksic was coming off his third-straight Big West javelin title where he broke his own school-record at 71.06m (233-1). Taylor did not miss at her first three heights to tie for ninth in the women's high jump. Her third and final clearance of the day was a personal-record 1.81 meters (5-11.25), which ranks second in school history. Miksic and Taylor will now head to Eugene, Oregon, for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 11-14.

• Three Anteaters also made it to the quarterfinals to place among the top half of the field at the NCAA West First Round. Senior Malia Gay finished 18th in the women's 800m after running a personal-record 2:05.72 in the opening round. Gay's PR ranks second in program history. Senior Jazzmine Davis was 24th in the women's 400m hurdles, while freshman Justin Johnson took 22nd in the men's 200m. In his quarterfinal heat, Johnson crossed the finish line in a wind-legal lifetime-best 20.69, moving him up to No. 2 among UCI's all-time leaders.

• Women's water polo sophomore Lauren Hett was named to the All-American Third Team by the ACWPC. It is her first All-America honor in her career and her second postseason accolade of 2025. Hett was named to the All-Big West First Team after leading UC Irvine with 67 goals and 97 points. She posted a career-high five goals twice and notched hat-tricks on 13 occasions. 

• Baseball's season ended in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. UCI lost its opener to Arizona State before fighting through elimination games vs. Fresno State and Arizona State to reach the regional final against UCLA and ultimately losing Sunday night, 8-5. UC Irvine finishes their season with a 43-17 record reaching their 11th Division I Regional and third under head coach Ben Orloff. Jacob McCombs, Alonso Reyes, and Chase Call each hit two home runs over the weekend to earn All-Regional honors as did pitcher Ricky Ojeda

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May 26, 2025

National Rankings
Baseball - No. 20
Men's Volleyball - No. 5 (Final)
Women's Water Polo - No. 8 (Final)
Men's Tennis - No. 44 (Final)
 

• Baseball's season continues with an at-large berth to the postseason reaching an 11th Division I NCAA Regional. The ‘Eaters head to the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA beginning Friday, May 30. UCI will be the 2-seed taking on Arizona State to open the weekend with Fresno State the fourth and final member of the regional. UCI concluded the regular season with a 41-15 record and Big West regular season champions. The Anteaters finished runners-up in the Big West Championship with Trevor Hansen, Blake Penso, and Jacob McCombs earning spots on the All-Tournament Team.

• After winning their first Big West Championship, the UC Irvine women's track & field team continued to make history with a program-record 10 student-athletes selected to the NCAA West First Round, which will be held in College Station, Texas, May 28-31. Jazzmine Davis (100H, 400H), Esmeray Demirbas (400H, High Jump) and Kailah McKenzie (High Jump, Long Jump) are all double event qualifiers. Zharia Taylor is set to join Demirbas and McKenzie in the high jump, while there will also be three Anteaters in the long jump with Reyna Johnson and Jolie Robinson accompanying McKenzie among the top-48 in the region. UCI has two 800m qualifiers in Big West Champion Luz Mercado and conference runner-up Malia Gay. Nyla Baker (Shot Put) and DeAna Davis (Hammer) will also represent the 'Eaters in the throws.

• UC Irvine men's track & field is sending seven student-athletes to College Station, Texas, for the NCAA West First Round, May 28-31. Liam Miksic is an NCAA qualifier in the javelin for the fourth year in a row and is seeded eighth after breaking the school record at 71.06m (233-1) at the Big West Championships. Kenechukwu Okonkwo (Triple Jump), Jacob Hawkins (Discus) and Logan Peyton (Javelin) will also be making their second-straight NCAA appearances, while senior Joshua Schuld (Steeplechase), freshman Angel Cordero (800m) and freshman Justin Johnson (200m) are set for their postseason debuts.

• Jazzmine Davis was named the Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Meet. She had three podium finishes, scoring 20 individual points and contributing to 11 points in the relays to lead UC Irvine to its first Big West Women's Track & Field Championship in school history. Davis was unstoppable on championship Saturday, starting the final day of the meet by running the first leg of the Anteaters' 4x100 relay that took runner-up honors in a season-best 44.87. It was the second-fastest 4x100 time in program history. Forty minutes later, Davis placed third in the 100m hurdles with a wind-aided personal-record of 13.42. She made her way back onto the track just over an hour later to stun the 400m hurdle field with a winning time and PR of 58.14.

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May 19, 2025

National Rankings
Baseball - No. 18
Men's Volleyball - No. 5 (Final)
Women's Water Polo - No. 8 (Final)
Men's Tennis - No. 44 (Final)
 

• Baseball closed out the regular season by wrapping up the program's third Big West regular season title with a home win over rival Cal State Fullerton, 12-10, on Senior Day. The ‘Eaters earned the top seed in the Big West Championship that will be held this week on the campus of Cal State Fullerton to determine who will go to the NCAA Tournament with the conference’s automatic bid. UC Irvine's postseason resume has all the makings of earning an at-large bid with a 39-13 overall record, ranked as high as No. 18 in the national polls, and an RPI in the 20s with its 24-6 Big West record. The ‘Eaters await their opening opponent in the Big West Championship as UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i play an elimination game to get the final spot. Regardless of opponent, UCI's journey begins Thursday, May 22, at 3:00 p.m. playing in the double-elimination regional-style tournament bracket through the 25th.

• Women's track & field made history, winning the program's first Big West Championship. The Anteaters built a decent lead before holding off a late Cal Poly push to claim the team title this past weekend in Long Beach. It came down to the final event of the meet with UCI needing to place ahead of the Mustangs in the 4x400 relay. After falling behind early, Jazzmine Davis and Luz Mercado willed themselves to make up the ground as they brought UC Irvine in front, beating out CP by .35 seconds to place sixth and secure the historic team victory. The Anteaters finished with 150.5 points to edge Cal Poly, which took second with 149 points.

• Jazzmine Davis and Luz Mercado were both individual conference champions. Mercado came from behind in the 800m as she made her move on the outside with less than 100 meters to go to claim the title at 2:08.12. Davis also stunned the 400m hurdle field, winning the event with a huge personal-record 58.14. UCI's other podium finishes came from Malia Gay (2nd, 800m), Kaia Schmidt (2nd, Steeple), Zharia Taylor (2nd, High Jump), DeAna Davis (2nd, Hammer), Jolie Robinson (2nd, Heptathlon; 3rd, Javelin), Esmeray Demirbas (3rd, High Jump; 3rd, 400H) and Jazzmine Davis (3rd, 100H). In addition, Davis, Halle Sutherland, Reyna Johnson and Samantha Bartz took second in the 4x100 relay with a time of 44.87, which ranks second in program history.

• Liam Miksic led the Anteater men at the Big West Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Long Beach. Miksic won his third-straight conference title in the javelin in record-breaking fashion. With the victory already locked up, Miksic unleashed a personal-best 71.06 meters (233-1) to break his own school record. He is the third 'Eater to surpass 70 meters and the first to do so since the javelin specifications changed in 1986. In addition, he is only the third Big West athlete to three-peat as the conference champion in the men's javelin, and first since 1989.

• Three other Anteaters made their way onto the Big West podium. In the 800m, Angel Cordero claimed runner-up honors with a personal-record 1:48.10 to move up to No. 4 in program history. He remained undefeated against fellow freshmen this season. Jacob Hawkins also took second in the discus, while Kenechukwu Okonkwo was second in the triple jump.

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May 12, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 5
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 12
Men's Tennis - No. 44
 

• Baseball had a 4-0 week with four hard-fought victories on the road at California Baptist and Cal State Bakersfield clinching a share of the third Big West regular season title in program history and the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big West Championship. The 'Eaters moved up to a No. 12 national ranking, and Blake Penso took home Big West Field Player of the Week, the sixth for the Anteaters in 2025, from a week where he batted .600 and drove in 12 RBIs. The final week of the regular season comes to Anteater Ballpark in a three-game series vs. Cal State Fullerton starting Thursday night.

• The women's track & field team scored 12 points in the Big West Heptathlon. Jolie Robinson made her way onto the podium for the third-straight year with a runner-up finish. She closed out the two-day meet with a personal-record 5,524 points, which ranks second among UCI's all-time leaders and is just 25 points shy of Hall of Famer Lauren Collins' school record. Jazzmine Davis also placed fifth with a lifetime-best 5,368 points. She moved up to No. 3 in program history. The Anteaters head to Long Beach State's Jack Rose Track for the remainder of the Big West Championships this weekend (May 16-17).

• Men's volleyball player Hilir Henno earned a special AVCA Distinction of Excellence Award, presented by Nike Volleyball. The award recognizes a student-athlete whose contribution to the sport extends beyond accolades, uniting generational athletic excellence with personal integrity, academic commitment, and a long-term impact. 

• Men's golf had three All-Big West selections. Junior Rei Harashima earned his third career all-conference award with a second-team nod. Freshmen Tommy Lin and Jack Yu also received honorable mention recognition.

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Jazzmine Davis & Jolie Robinson
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May 5, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 13
Men's Tennis - No. 44
 

• The 44th-ranked men's tennis team made the drive down to the University of San Diego for their 14th NCAA Division I Championship appearance last Saturday. The Anteaters put up a fight against the host and seventh-ranked Toreros, but fell just short in a 4-2 loss at Hogan Tennis Center. Andy Nguyen earned his third ranked win of the season as he took down No. 83 Savriyan Danilov, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 2 singles. Sohrob Amiryavari also defeated Blake Kasday, 6-2, 6-2, on court six for UCI's first point of the match. It was another successful season for the 'Eaters who won their second-straight Big West Championship and third in the last four years. They wrapped up the 2025 campaign with an 18-6 overall record, marking their most wins in a season since 2015. UC Irvine was ranked among the top-50 in the nation in every ITA poll since February 20, with a high of No. 36.
 

• Noah Zamora was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Year. He is the 10th Anteater to earn the conference's top award, and first since 2015. Mike Saunders was also tabbed the Big West Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. Zamora and Andy Nguyen garnered first-team All-Big West honors in singles and doubles, while Rithvik Krishna and Max Fardanesh each received an honorable mention nod in singles.


• Baseball went 2-2 last week now with an overall record of 34-11 and No. 13 in the nation. The Anteaters stand in first place in the Big West at 20-4 two games ahead of second place Cal Poly. Pitcher Ricky Ojeda leads the nation with 12 wins, the only pitcher with double-digit wins, and ranks fifth in the NCAA with a 1.97 ERA. The 'Eaters head out on their final road trip playing at California Baptist Tuesday and out to Cal State Bakersfield for a weekend series.

• Six men's volleyball players earned All-America status. Hilir Henno was named to the first team for the third consecutive year. He is the third Anteater all-time to be named to the first-team three times in a career, joining Michael Brinkley and Carson Clark. Nolan Flexen was named second team All-America, while Maxim Grigoriev, William D'Arcy, Micah Goss and Shane Aitken were honorable mention selections. Six selections were the most in program history.

• Men's golf tied for third at the Big West Championships in La Quinta with a 54-hole total of 8-under 856 (290-285-281). Rei Harashima led the Anteaters with his fourth top-10 finish of the season as he tied for eighth with a 4-under 212 (72-68-72). 

• Track & field hosted the Steve Scott Invitational at Anteater Stadium last Friday and Saturday. The ‘Eaters combined for seven event wins - Liam Miksic (Javelin), Angel Cordero (800m Invite), Josh Schuld (Steeple), Malia Gay (800m Invite), Makena Castillo (800m Open), Esmeray Demirbas (400H) and the men’s 4x400 relay. In addition, Jolie Robinson established personal-records of 44.46 meters (145-10) in the javelin and 13.31m (43-8) in the shot put to rank third and 10th, respectively, among UCI's all-time leaders. Halle Sutherland also clocked the second-fastest 200m in program history with a PR 23.69. The Anteaters recognized their 25 graduating seniors in their final home meet.

• Six women's water polo players earned All-Big West honors. Sophomore Lauren Hett was named to the first team while both graduating attackers Kennedy East and Brooke Hourigan placed on the second team. Centers Madi O'Hara and Nioka Thomas got honorable mention nods. The rookie Pippa Heaver rounded it out with a selection to the freshman team. 

• Three women's tennis players found their way onto the All-Big West Second Team. Kayla Meraz earned the recognition playing at the top of the lineup in singles while the duo of Carolyna Fowler and Yen Nhi Huynh garnered attention in doubles.

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April 29, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 8
Men's Tennis - No. 44
 

• The then 49th-ranked men’s tennis team won their second-straight Big West Championship and third in the last four years. The Anteaters upended No. 34 UC Santa Barbara, 4-3, in the final. The 'Eaters were trailing, 2-0, when Rithvik Krishna, Andy Nguyen and Max Fardanesh completed straight-set singles wins to turn the tables. The Gauchos tied it up at 3-3 before Noah Zamora delivered the title-clinching point in dramatic fashion. After dropping the first set, Zamora came charging back for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 63rd-ranked Gianluca Brunkow at the top of the lineup. UCI also erased a 3-0 deficit against UC Davis in a 4-3 semifinal win. The Anteaters earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will travel to seventh-ranked San Diego for a first round match on Saturday, May 3.

• Baseball had an impressive week going 4-0 with a win over No. 15 UCLA before a three-game sweep on the road at Big West title contender Cal Poly including a ninth-inning comeback Sunday. Ricky Ojeda won three games last week to give him 11 this season which leads the NCAA. Chase Call took home his first Big West Field Player of the Week honor, the fifth this season for the Anteaters. UCI now stands at 32-9 overall and are first place in the Big West by four games at 19-2 moving up to their highest ranking since the 2014 College World Series run currently No. 8. Tuesday begins a fun week with a non-conference matchup in Angel Stadium against Cal State Fullerton before another pivotal Big West series in Anteater Ballpark hosting UC San Diego starting Friday night, May 2

• Men’s volleyball ended the season ranked No. 4 in the country and 21-7 overall, being left out of the NCAA Championship field.

• Senior Hilir Henno ended his career tying the NCAA all-time ace record with 255.

• Henno became the second player in Big West history to be named to the All-Big West first team. Nolan Flexan and Maxim Grigoriev joined Henno on the first team, while William D'Arcy was an honorable mention selection and Micah Goss was named to the All-Freshman team.  

• Women's tennis dueled in the first round of the 2025 Big West Championship where they fell 4-1 to Black and Blue rival Long Beach State. Freshman Yen Nhi Huynh got on the board for the Anteaters and was one of five UCI players who went to a third set in singles.

• Women's water polo finished the year with a 15-13 overall record after advancing to the semifinal round of the Big West Championship. UCI collected a narrow 12-11 victory over the six-seed UC Santa Barbara to be one of the final four teams vying for the championship title.

• Women's golfer Alona Avery became the third Anteater to be named Big West Freshman of the Year. She was also named to the first team with freshmen Katherine Gerbing named to the second team and Katelyn Kong honorable mention.

• Men's golf is currently competing in the Big West Championship at La Quinta Country Club (April 27-29). The Anteaters are seeded third out of 12 teams vying for the conference title.

• Track & field was idle last week, but returns to action as it hosts the Steve Scott Invitational at Anteater Stadium, May 2-3.

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April 21, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 12
Men's Tennis - No. 46
 

• Congratulations to five UCI student-athletes for being named finalists for the OC Sports Awards which will be held June 3 at Angel Stadium. Hilir Henno (volleyball) and Ricky Ojeda (baseball) for Male College Athlete of the Year, Kailah McKenzie (track & field) for Female Athlete of the Year, Will Bermudez (baseball) for Heart & Hustle and Noah Zamora (tennis) for Rising Star.

• Baseball raised their profile with a weekend sweep of Hawai'i that included two complete game shutouts from sophomore starters Trevor Hansen, a three-hitter on Friday night, and Ryder Brooks, a two-hitter on Saturday, with each recording the final out on their 10th strikeout of the game. The team's national ranking moved up to No. 12 with an overall record of 28-9 as it welcomes in No. 15 UCLA for a Tuesday night matchup in Anteater Ballpark. The wins bumped the team up to sole possession of first place in the Big West at 16-2, a game ahead of Cal Poly with whom the 'Eaters square off with this weekend in San Luis Obispo for a three-game series starting Friday, April 25.

• Men’s volleyball closed out the regular season on a five-match winning streak, including with a pair of wins over No. 9 CSUN. The five wins are the longest in the Big West.

• The teams will meet again in the first round of the Big West Championship Thursday (Apr. 24) at 10:00 p.m. PT.

• Last week, senior Hilir Henno led UCI with a season-high 26 kills in the second meeting with the Matadors. He had six aces over the two matches last week, leaving him nine shy of the NCAA all-time record. 

• Esmeray Demirbas, Lauren Aquino, Jazzmine Davis and Jolie Robinson broke a 13-year-old school record in the 4x400 relay to highlight a busy week for the track & field squad. The quartet ran a program-best 3:41.03 at the Mt. SAC Relays. Demirbas followed that performance with UCI's second-best time in the 400m hurdles (57.81). The distance crew also had an impressive showing at the Bryan Clay Invitational with five marks that rank among the top-10 in program history.

• The 46th-ranked men’s tennis team closed out the regular season with a 4-2 win over UC Davis at Anteater Tennis Stadium. Noah Zamora, who is ranked 67th in the nation in singles, defeated Ryan Torres at the top of the lineup to improve to 22-1 against Big West opponents in his four-year career. Andy Nguyen also took down Lucas Bollinger in straight sets at No. 2 to extend his season-long unbeaten streak to 16 matches where he is 13-0. The ‘Eaters clinched the No. 2 seed in this weekend’s Big West Championships at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. They will open the tournament against seventh-seeded UC Riverside in Friday's quarterfinal round.

• Women's tennis saw two individual victories this weekend, both from freshman Yen Nhi Huynh, to close out the regular season versus Black and Blue rival No. 72 Long Beach State and Hawai'i. Y. Huynh, who won both of her matches at the No. 4 spot, improved to 15-5 overall and 5-4 against conference opponents. The freshman has played in five of the six spots in the lineup, going as high as No. 2 (1-0) and as low as No. 6 (4-0). Her 15 individual victories are the most on the squad. The Anteaters will rematch The Beach in the first round of the 2025 Big West Championship in San Diego on Thursday Apr. 24 at 1 p.m.

• Women's water polo will host the Big West Championship inside the Anteater Aquatics Center from Apr. 25-27. The Anteaters, who finished 5-2 in the league standings, enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will take on the sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (Apr. 25). 

• The women’s golf team was fourth at the Big West Championships, the highest finish since 2021. Freshman Katherine Gerbing led the Anteaters with a score of 221 (76-67-78) which was tied for seventh. Gerbing finished the season leading the Anteaters in the last three tournaments, including a second place performance at the USF Invitational. The freshman carded a season-low 67 on the second round of the Big West Championship.

• Men's golf closed out its regular season at the prestigious Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz last week. Rei Harashima led the Anteaters with a 1-under 209 to tie for 11th. Up next for UCI is the Big West Championships at La Quinta Country Club, April 27-29.

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April 14, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 13
Men's Tennis - No. 46
 

• Baseball holds steady with a No. 13 national ranking after a series win up at UC Davis. Colin Yeaman blasted his Big West-leading 11th home run to extend his hitting streak to 19 games in a 13-2 win Sunday. All three Anteater starting pitchers went at least six innings and did not give up an earned run between them. Next up is a week at home facing LMU Tuesday night before Hawai'i comes in for a series starting Thursday night, April 17.

• Men’s Volleyball won the series over UC Santa Barbara last week and head into the regular season final week. No. 4 UC Irvine will host No. 9 CSUN Thursday (Apr. 17) at 6:00 p.m. at the Bren Center before ending in Northridge on Saturday. 

• Opposite William D'Arcy had a career-high 21 kills and libero Shane Aitken had a career-best 13 digs in the win on the road. 

• Senior Hilir Henno had four aces against UCSB and moved within 15 of the NCAA all-time record.

• Jolie Robinson and Jazzmine Davis both set personal bests that rank among the top-five in program history in the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Multis. Robinson, the two-time defending Big West heptathlon champion, totaled 5,489 points to rank second among UCI's all-time leaders. Her score leads the Big West and is 10th in the nation this season. Davis took first in Group B with 5,358 points to climb four spots to No. 5 in school history. She is also second in the conference and 19th in all of NCAA Division I.

• The 46th-ranked men’s tennis team split its two matches last week, defeating UC San Diego, 4-0, before falling to No. 43 UC Santa Barbara in a battle for first place in the Big West. The Anteaters (14-5, 4-1 Big West) are now one game behind the Gauchos with one match remaining. They are set to host UC Davis in their regular-season finale on Saturday, April 19.

• Women's tennis saw two individual victories this weekend, both from junior Haily Huynh, on the road at No. 42 UC Santa Barbara and No. 52 Cal Poly. H. Huynh, who won both of her matches at the No. 4 position, holds an unblemished 7-0 record at the fourth spot and improved to 14-3 overall and 5-2 against conference opponents. Her 14 individual victories are the most on the squad.

• Women's water polo earned their fifth Big West win over the weekend with a 17-13 result over No. 17 UC Davis in Davis. Four Anteaters notched hat-tricks in the contest with Libby Alexander and Brooke Hourigan leading the goal scoring effort with four goals apiece while Lauren Hett and Nioka Thomas put away three each.

• Women’s golf is participating at the Big West Championships at the Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas, NV this week. The Anteaters have won two tournaments this season and finished in the Top 5 four other times. 

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Haily Huynh
Photo by Raymond Tran-Nguyen

April 7, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 5
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 13
Men's Tennis - No. 46
 

• No. 1 seeded UC Irvine's men's basketball team advanced to the NIT championship game following a 69-67 victory over North Texas in the semifinal. The Anteaters used a 7-0 spurt to help pull away and secure the win. Forward Devin Tillis led four Anteaters in double figures as he recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Center Bent Leuchten came alive in the second half where he scored 11 of his 14 points and ended with nine rebounds. Justin Hohn hit timely triples, knocking down three in the contest, as part of his 12 points. Guard Myles Che rounded it out with 11 points. 

• The Anteaters ended the season with a school record 32 wins, 32-7 overall. UCI joined Duke, Florida, Houston, and Auburn as the only schools with 32 or more wins this season.

• Bent Leuchten pulled down 11 rebounds in the NIT championship game to set the new all-time single season rebounding record at 354, passing the great Kevin Magee's mark set in 1981. Additionally, Leuchten was just the first Anteater to pull down 300 rebounds in 43 years and is the first player to average 9.1 rebounds or more per game since Magee pulled down 12.1 in 1980-81.

• In the program's all-time stat rankings, Justin Hohn is fifth in both career made three-pointers (207) and steals (152). Devin Tillis is ninth in the all-time rebounding list with 703 boards while Bent Leuchten is 14th at 678 rebounds. The trio of Hohn (11th--1,380), Leuchten (26th--1,180), and Tillis (32nd--1,079) all landed on the 1,000-career point scorers list. 

• Men's Volleyball split a pair of matches with UC San Diego last week and are No. 5 currently in the national rankings.

• Following four aces last week, senior Hilir Henno moved into second all-time in NCAA aces with 236. He now chases NCAA history, only 19 behind tying Evan Patak’s record of 255 set from 2004-07.

• This week the Anteaters have a series with No. 18 UC Santa Barbara, playing at home at the Bren Events Center on Saturday (Apr. 12) at 6:00 p.m.

• The then 45th-ranked men’s tennis team remained undefeated in Big West play with road wins at UC Riverside and Cal Poly. The Anteaters (13-4, 3-0 Big West) enter the final stretch of the regular season with three home matches remaining. This week, UCI is set to host UC San Diego at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, before welcoming fellow Big West unbeaten and 43rd-ranked UC Santa Barbara to Anteater Tennis Stadium for a 12 p.m. showdown on Saturday, April 12.

• The mid-distance crew highlighted UC Irvine track & field's weekend at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Angel Cordero clocked in at 1:50.76 to finish first in an 800m field of 73 athletes. Cordero is unbeaten in his three 800m races this season. Joshua Schuld also picked up his second individual victory of the year, winning the 1500m in a personal-record 3:50.04. On the women's side, Malia Gay took top honors in the 800m with a lifetime-best 2:06.21, while Luz Mercado was the runner-up in a personal-best 2:06.96. Their 800m times rank third and fifth in program history. Halle Sutherland (100m, 11.61), Reyna Johnson (100H, 13.75) and Nyla Baker (Shot Put, 15.53m) also established PRs that rank among the Anteaters' all-time top-10.

• Women's tennis split their matches over the weekend, sweeping Hope International 6-0 before falling to Cal State Fullerton 5-2. The Anteaters hold 10 wins on the year, posting double digit wins for the second time in three seasons. Freshman Yen Nhi Huynh holds a 13-3 individual record, the most wins of any UCI player this season and is 12-2 in doubles play with partner Carolyna Fowler.

• Baseball had a hard-fought week going 2-2 starting with a home win vs. San Diego which featured a home run by Chase Call as he became the program's all-time leader in home runs now with 26. The weekend came with a showdown in Corvallis against No. 11 Oregon State. UCI took command with a Friday night win, 12-0, but the host Beavers won the final two games, 4-2 and 7-4, to win the series.

• Women's golf finished second at the USF Invitational with three players placing in the Top 10. Freshman Katherine Gerbing led the Anteaters with a second place finish with a score of 216 (71-75-70), the highest of her career.

• The Anteaters will now wait for the Big West Championships Apr. 13-15 at the Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas, NV.

• JJ Nakao led the men's golf team with a top-20 showing at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, which featured nine teams that rank among the top-75 in the nation. Nakao, who was playing in his first tournament since Feb. 10-11, carded a 4-under 212 (68-72-72). Up next for the Anteaters is the Western Intercollegiate, April 14-16, at Pasatiempo Golf Club. The tournament will be broadcast on Golf Channel.

NIT Championship Game
Yen Nhi Huynh
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April 1, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 12
Men's Tennis - No. 45
 

• Men's basketball takes on [2] North Texas at 4 p.m. PT on April 1st in the first semifinal game. Fans who couldn't make the trip to Indy can attend the watch party inside the Bren Events Center (free admission). Doors open at 3:30 p.m. The game will be on ESPN.

• No. 1 seeded UC Irvine's men's basketball team is still rallying on in the NIT, using a 81-77 overtime victory over UAB in the quarterfinals to advance to the championship site at Butler University for the semifinals. 

• In the win, Devin Tillis scored five of his game-high 22 points in the final 1:23 of the contest and grabbed a big rebound with three seconds left. Tillis recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 22 points a team-high 11 rebounds The redshirt senior went 7-15 from the floor, including three three-pointers, and 5-6 from the line. He added three assists and a steal in his 34 minutes on the floor.

• For just the second time in the program's history and under head coach Russell Turner, UC Irvine reached the 30-win mark and have tied the school record in wins (31). The Anteaters are one of ten teams in the nation to hit the 30-win milestone in 2024-25.

• In the program's all-time stat rankings, Justin Hohn moves up to fifth in both career made three-pointers (203) and steals (148). Devin Tillis is 13th in the all-time rebounding list with 684 boards while Bent Leuchten is 15th at 658 rebounds. The trio of Hohn (11th--1,351), Leuchten (26th--1,151), and Tillis (34th--1,044) keep moving up the 1,000-career point scorers list. On the single season side, Leuchten is top three in program history for rebounds in a season, placing third with 334, and is chasing down Kevin Magee's 337 (1980-81) and 353 (1981-82) marks. Additionally, Leuchten is now top ten in single season scoring with 570 points, just one point away from meeting Jerry Green (571, 2000-01) for ninth and 19 from catching Jeff Cunningham (589, 1968-69) for eighth. 

• Men's Volleyball went on the road and upset unbeaten No. 1 Long Beach State, 3-0 at the Walter Pyramid. The Anteaters hit .437, the the third highest mark of the season and out-blocked the Beach 7.5-0. William D'Arcy and Hilir Henno led UCI with nine kills each.

• The two teams played the next day in front of a school record crowd of 4,758 at the Bren Center. While UCI lost that match they moved up to No. 4 in the country. Henno had a match-high 21 kills.

• For his performance last week, Henno was named AVCA National Player of the Week.

• Men's Volleyball will play UC San Diego this week, hosting the Tritons on Saturday (Apr. 4) at 6:00 p.m. at the Bren Center.

• The then 43rd-ranked men’s tennis team won its Big West opener on the road, taking down Hawai'i, 4-1, at the UH Tennis Complex. After the ‘Bows clinched the doubles point, the Anteaters bounced back in singles with victories from Sohrob Amiryavari, Max Fardanesh and Ruining Huang giving them a 3-1 lead. No. 58 Noah Zamora then delivered the final point with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 107 Azuma Visaya at the top of the lineup. The 'Eaters improved to 11-4 overall and are 1-0 in conference play for the fourth-straight year. UCI continues Big West action on the road this week, traveling to UC Riverside (April 1) and Cal Poly (April 6).

• Track & field combined for eight event wins last weekend. At the Vince O'Boyle Classic, which was UCI's second home meet of the season, the Anteater women also established several marks that rank among the top-three in program history. DeAna Davis was the individual champion in the hammer throw with a personal-record 57.65m (189-1), which moved her up to No. 2 among UC Irvine's all-time leaders. Nyla Baker (Shot Put, 15.48m/50-9.5) and Esmeray Demirbas (400H, 58.88) also won their respective events with PRs that rank third in school history. Reyna Johnson added a wind-aided personal-record 6.34m (20-9.75) in the long jump, which ranks sixth in the nation this season. Johnson was named the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week for her effort. Jacob Hawkins highlighted the men's side as a double champion in the shot put and discus, while Liam Miksic earned his third javelin victory of the year.

• Women's tennis won two of their three matches over the last week. The Anteaters collected two sweeps, the first over Stanton on Thursday (Mar. 27) and then at Westmont on Friday (Mar. 28) as they improved to 9-7 on the season. Both Haily Huynh and Yen Nhi Huynh reach a team-high 11 individual wins behind 11-2 and 11-3 overall records, respectively. Y. Huynh also dominates in doubles with partner Carolyna Fowler as they hold a 10-2 record, the most wins of any pair. UCI is back in action this weekend with a match on Apr. 5 at Hope International. 

• Women's water polo continues their winning ways as they added two more wins in the last week of action to reach nine-straight victories. The Anteaters dominated No. 22/22 Brown 20-9 for their fifth 20-goal effort of the season. Nioka Thomas led all players against the Bears with four goals on perfect shooting at the cage while Lauren Hett and Madi O'Hara both chipped in hat-tricks. UCI was able to edge out No. 19/17 UC Santa Barbara, 13-11, to remain an unbeaten 4-0 in Big West action. Brooke Hourigan facilitated the Anteaters offense against the Gauchos behind an impressive seven-point outing with two goals and five assists along with three steals. No. 7/7 UC Irvine heads out to No. 3/3 Hawai'i on Saturday Apr. 5 in a match to determine the top spot in the conference as the Rainbow Wahine are also undefeated (3-0) in league play.

• Baseball scored 53 runs over their four wins last week over USC and UC Riverside to push their winning streak to 10 games, longest active streak in the nation. They also moved up five spots to No. 12 in the national polls and remain ranked in all five major polls. They have a much-anticipated series this weekend at No. 11 Oregon State, UCI's opponents from the 2024 NCAA postseason, starting Friday, April 4.

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Jurian Dixon
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March 24, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 5
Women's Water Polo - No. 8
Baseball - No. 17
Men's Tennis - No. 45
 

• No. 1 seeded UC Irvine's men's basketball team is making noise in the NIT, using wins over Northern Colorado and Jacksonville State in first and second rounds to advance to the NIT quarterfinals, a program first.  

• In the 82-72 win over Northern Colorado, forward Devin Tillis went off for 24 points, one shy of his career-high, while going 10-15 from the floor including three three-pointers (3-5). Tillis became the 35th Anteater to join the 1,000-career point scoring club and third UCI player of the season to reach this accomplishment this season. The forward was supported by Bent Leuchten's 18th double-double of the season (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Justin Hohn's 15 points on the strength of three triples and six free throws. The victory marked the Anteaters first NIT win since 1986.

• Justin Hohn's performance helped to power UC Irvine past Jax State, 66-61. Hohn poured in a season-high 22 points as he shot 7-15 from the floor and matched his career-high four made three-pointers while also going 4-5 from the line and grabbing three rebounds. UCI, who faced a deficit late, outscored the Gamecocks 13-6 in the final 5:20 to pull away, taking advantage of the free throw line where the Anteaters were 7-7 and Jax State was 3-7.

• For just the second time in the program's history and under head coach Russell Turner, UC Irvine reached the 30-win mark. The Anteaters are one of eight teams in the nation to hit the milestone in 2024-25.

• In the program's all-time stat rankings, Justin Hohn moves up to fifth in both career made three-pointers (203) and steals (147). Devin Tillis is now 13th in the all-time rebounding list with 673 boards while Bent Leuchten is 15th at 648 rebounds. The trio of Hohn (11th--1,347), Leuchten (29th--1,133), and Tillis (34th--1,022) keep moving up the 1,000-career point scorers list. On the single season side, Leuchten is top three in program history for rebounds in a season, placing third with 324, and is chasing down Kevin Magee's 337 (1980-81) and 353 (1981-82) marks. Additionally, Leuchten is now top ten in single season scoring with 552 points, moving in front of both Darren Moore (544, 2010-11) and Jeff Herdman (544, 1990-91).

• Men's basketball's hosts UAB inside the Bren Events Center on Wednesday Mar. 26 at 6 p.m. in the NIT Quarterfinals. Fans who cannot make the trip can follow along on ESPN2.

• The fifth-ranked men's volleyball team recorded a pair of sweeps on the East Coast last week, hitting .643 (40-4-56) against Daemen, the best by a Big West team this season and fourth best in the country in 2025.

• Senir Hilir Henno led UCI in both matches, hitting .733 versus Daemen and recording 14 kills and six aces against RV George Mason.

• In a mega match-up, No. 5 UCI takes on No. 1 Long Beach State this week. First match is in Long Beach Friday and then at the Bren Events Center Saturday (Mar. 29) at 6:00 p.m.

• Anteater baseball made national waves last week with a sweep of No. 21 UC Santa Barbara on the road winning decisively each time - 10-0, 9-3, and 9-4. The win propelled UCI into all major top-25 polls with its highest at No. 17 from Baseball America. The 'Eaters swept the weekly awards with junior shortstop Colin Yeaman winning Big West Field Player of the Week from hitting .462 with 2 HR and 6 RBIs, and sophomore reliever Ricky Ojeda taking home Big West Pitcher of the Week where he allowed two hits in 5.2 innings over two outings picking up a win, a hold, and striking out 11 to take over the team season lead with 34. UCI finishes up a 19-day trip away from home with a Tuesday matchup at USC before returning home over the weekend to host UC Riverside for a series beginning March 28.

• The 45th-ranked men’s tennis team went 1-1 against a pair of ranked opponents at Anteater Tennis Stadium over the weekend. The ‘Eaters came up clutch down the stretch to defeat No. 62 Dartmouth in a 4-3 thriller on Saturday. UCI was down 3-2 before No. 58 Noah Zamora stepped up with an impressive 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 win at the top of the singles lineup. Lawee Sherif then secured the team victory at the fifth spot. Sherif showed incredible resilience, responding from a tough second set where he had an injury scare and lost a 6-1 tiebreaker, to take down Yujiro Onuma, 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-4. The Anteaters then fell to 10th-ranked Harvard, 6-1, on Sunday. Andy Nguyen earned UC Irvine's point as he extended his singles win streak to nine-straight matches. The ‘Eaters will open Big West play at Hawai’i this Saturday, March 29.

• Track & field combined to win 10 of their 18 events last Saturday at the UCR Spring Classic. DeAna Davis set the tone in the first event of the day with a personal-record 57.32 meters (188-0) for her second hammer victory of the season. She moved up to No. 3 in program history. Jolie Robinson also took top honors in the long jump with a lifetime-best 6.19m (20-3.75) to rank fourth among UCI's all-time leaders. Nyla Baker remained undefeated in the discus, while Pinkie Schnayer (Shot Put) and Jazzmine Davis (400H) won their respective events. On the men's side, Jacob Hawkins was a double champion in the shot put and discus. Logan Peyton added an individual victory in the javelin and Kenechukwu Okonkwo picked up his second-straight triple jump win. AJ Taylor was also the top finisher in the 400m hurdles.

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Devin Tillis
NIT - March 19, 2025
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Men's Basketball vs Jacksonville State - NIT Second Round
March 23, 2025

March 17, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 5
Women's Water Polo - No. 8
Baseball - No. 20
Men's Tennis - No. 44
 

• The entire men’ basketball starting lineup was honored with All-Big West honors, including Jurian Dixon as Freshman of the Year.

• UCI men’s basketball picked up more national recognition as Bent Leucthen was named a finalist for the Lou Hensen Award, and honor presented annually to the top player in mid-major in college basketball, while Devin Tillis was announced as a finalist for the Nolan Richardson Award, and honor presented annually to a Division I player who is the heart and soul of his team and a leader on and off the court.

• UC Irvine men's basketball returns from the 2025 Big West Championships where they earned a 96-78 win over the seventh-seeded Cal Poly in the semifinals before falling 75-61 in the title game to UC San Diego. In the two-game stint, Justin Hohn led the Anteaters in the tournament with 16.5 points per game followed by Bent Leuchten (15.5 ppg) and Devin Tillis (14.5 ppg). UCI averaged nine three-pointers per game (6.9 season average), only missed four total shots from the free throw line (31-35, 0.886), and dished out 20 assists per contest.

• Bent Leuchten is officially top three in program history for rebounds in a season, placing third with 307, and is chasing down Kevin Magee's 337 (1980-81) and 353 (1981-82) marks. UCI continues to be the most winningest program away from their home court this season, collecting their 18th win away from Irvine.

• Men's basketball's season continues this week, earning a No. 1 seed in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) for the Irvine Region, and are hosting the programs first-ever NIT home game with a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday Mar. 19 against Northern Colorado inside the Bren Events Center,

• Women's water polo had a school record 28 goals in a 28-15 victory over Irvine neighbor Concordia on Wednesday. UCI got goals from 14 different players and were led by junior Maja Layden with a career-high five goals and four tallies each from Lauren Hett and Libby Alexander. The Anteaters remain an unblemished 3-0 in the Big West standings after carrying their fiery offense into Friday's (Mar. 14) meeting with No. 23/24 CSUN for the 19-6 victory. Freshman Pippa Heaver dished out a career-best four assists as part of her game-high five points and Madi O'Hara recorded four goals on the afternoon.

• Anteater baseball improved to 14-5 after a sweep on the road at CSUN winning games 11-3, 15-2, and 6-2. Blake Penso broke out with 2 of the team's 10 home runs on the weekend and went 7-for-8 as UCI begins Big West play with a 5-1 record before they head to Santa Barbara in a ranked matchup against the preseason favorites to win the conference title.

• After being idle men’s volleyball returns to action heading to Fairfax, VA where they will face Daemen Friday and RV George Mason Saturday. 

• Senior outside hitter Hilir Henno is second in the country in points (5.25) and aces (.673) as well as fifth in kills (4.29) nationally. 

• Track & field continued an impressive start to the outdoor campaign with 11 event wins and 11 marks that rank among the program’s all-time top-10 at the Challenge Cup, which the Anteaters hosted on Saturday, March 15. Seven ‘Eaters also lead all of NCAA Division I in their respective events through the first three weeks of the season – Angel Cordero (800m, 1:48.88), Joshua Schuld (Steeple, 8:54.14), Kenechukwu Okonkwo (Triple Jump, 15.83m), Malia Gay (800m, 2:06.90), Zharia Taylor (High Jump, 1.79m), Esmeray Demirbas (High Jump, 1.79m) and Kailah McKenzie (Long Jump, 6.33m). McKenzie earned her second-straight Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week award.

• The 44th-ranked men’s tennis team extended its win streak to five with a 6-1 victory over Navy last Thursday. Sophomore Andy Nguyen blanked his opponent for his seventh-straight win. Senior and 54th-ranked Noah Zamora also won his fifth-straight match with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph at the top of the lineup. Zamora was named the Big West Player of the Week.

• Women's tennis tallied their third straight win with a 6-1 victory over Lehigh inside the Anteater Tennis Stadium. Five Anteaters claimed individual wins before sweeping doubles. Several UCI players are dominating in singles as freshman Yen Nhi Huynh has won 10-straight, junior Haily Huynh at seven-straight, and Kayla Meraz on a six-match streak. As a doubles player, Meraz has won five straight in the line with a 5-2 overall record in her last ten matches.

• Women's basketball’s season came to an end in the Big West semifinals last Friday. The Anteaters finished with a 21-10 overall record, marking their fourth consecutive 20-win campaign. It was a milestone-filled season as head coach Tamara Inoue became the program’s all-time wins leader, senior Nikki Tom broke the all-time career steals record and senior Déja Lee became the 15th member of UC Irvine’s 1,000-point club. Lee ranks 10th in school history with 1,108 career points. As a team, UCI will likely finish among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense for the third-straight year as they are 11th with 54.3 points allowed per game.

• UC Irvine was the only school to land two players on the six-member All-Big West Women's Basketball First Team with junior Hunter Hernandez and senior Déja Lee earning their third career postseason honor. Sophomore Summah Hanson was named the Big West's Best Sixth Player.

UCI Hosts NIT Rotator
Justin Hohn
Big West Semifinal - March 14, 2025
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March 10, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 8
Baseball - No. 18
Men's Tennis - No. 41
 

• UCI picked up Player/Athlete of the Week in five different sports. Baseball player Anthony Martinez was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week, men’s volleyball player Hilir Henno was named  Big West Offensive Player of the Week, Track & Field athlete Kailah McKenzie was the Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week, Lauren Hett claimed Women’s Water Polo Player of the Week, and Andy Nguyen Men’s Tennis Player of the Week. 

• UC Irvine downed UC Davis, 88-59, inside the University Credit Union behind sophomore guard Myles Che's impressive 31-point performance. Che was almost perfect from the floor, shooting 10-11, including 3-3 from three-point range. He was also 8-9 from the line. It was the first time an Anteater has scored 30 or more since Dawson Baker had 33 on Feb. 23, 2023.

• The Anteaters then pulled off a second half comeback in their 97-88 victory at UC Santa Barbara on Mar. 8. UCI erased a 13-point halftime deficit with a 67-point second half. Jurian Dixon led the way with his career-best 23 points on 6-9 shooting, including two three-pointers, while remaining perfect from the stripe (9-9). Devin Tillis was right behind with 21 points.

UCI set a new school record as they won their nation's best 14th true road win of the season at UCSB. The 'Eaters also have a combined 17 wins away from Irvine, ranking first in the nation.

• Men's basketball's Bent Leuchten jumped into UCI's single season rebounding ranks and currently places sixth with 290.

The Anteaters won their fifth straight contest, ending the regular season with a 27-5 overall and 17-3 in the Big West. 27 wins are the program's most since the historic 31-6 run in 2018-19.

• Men's basketball begins the Hercules Tires Big West Championship Friday (Mar. 14) where they will battle the winner of No. 3 seed UC Riverside and No. 6 UC Davis/No. 7 Cal Poly at 8:30 p.m. at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.

• Women's basketball closed out the regular season with home wins over UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara to clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Hercules Tires Big West Championships. The Anteaters will be looking to defend their conference title starting in the semifinals on Friday, March 14, where they will face the winner of No. 3 UC Davis and No. 6 Long Beach State/No. 7 UC Riverside at 2:30 p.m. at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. 

• The Anteaters' defense continues to be among the best in the nation, ranking seventh in all of NCAA Division I in field goal percentage defense (.352) and 10th in scoring defense (54.0 ppg). 

• Anteater baseball improved to 11-4 with a win at San Diego and home series win over Long Beach State to start Big West play. They remain at No. 18 in the national rankings while impressively sitting No. 1 nationally in triples with 11 and No. 2 with 52 hit by pitch. 

• Anthony Martinez earned Big West Field Player of the Week for the third time in his career after hitting his first home run of the season and driving in nine. Trevor Hansen had a career performance striking out nine in seven 2-hit innings to win the game and series Sunday.

• Men’s volleyball player Hilir Henno was instrumental in UCI’s 3-0 victories over No. 8 Pepperdine and Sacred Heart last week and was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.

• The senior averaged 4.17 kills, 5.25 points, 1.00 digs, and 0.83 service aces over the two matches. On the season, Henno leads the Big West and is third in points in the country (5.25) and is fourth in kills (4/29) and aces (.673) nationally. 

• Freshman middle blocker, Micah Goss hit .769, recording 10 kills on 13 swings without an error last week. He has now gone four consecutive matches without an error.  For the season, Goss is ranked sixth nationally in blocks with a 1.13 average.  

• No. 4 UCI is idle this week.

• Men's tennis, which is ranked 41st in the nation, won three home matches last week, defeating Temple (4-0), Villanova (7-0) and LMU (4-2). The Anteaters improved to 8-3 on the season. Noah Zamora is ranked 54th in singles, while Zamora/Andy Nguyen are 90th in doubles.

• Women's tennis reeled in a 4-3 victory over Utah State on Sunday (Mar. 12). The Anteaters debuted two new doubles pairs in Asha Gidwani/Nour Khayat at No. 3's who won 6-2 and Haily Huynh/Kayla Meraz at No. 1's who clinched the point with their 6-4 victory. H Huynh played the hero in singles for the second straight match, clinching the 'Eaters win behind her 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 outing at the No. 4 spot.

• Women's water polo won both their Big West contests, defeating Cal State Fullerton (W, 16-5) and No. 9/7 UC San Diego (W, 16-11). Both Nioka Thomas and Lauren Hett recorded career-highs in goals with Thomas scoring five at the Titans and Hett tallying five at the Tritons.

• Track & field kicked off the outdoor season with 10 event wins at the Beach Opener and Ben Brown Invitational. In Fullerton, DeAna Davis (Women's Hammer), Nyla Baker (Women's Discus), Zharia Taylor (Women's High Jump), Esmeray Demirbas (Women's 400H), Angel Cordero (Men's 800m) and Jacob Hawkins (Men's Discus) finished first in their respective events. Liam Miksic (Men's Javelin), Joshua Schuld (Men's Steeple), Kaia Schmidt (Women's Steeple) and Kailah McKenzie (Women's High Jump) added individual victories in Long Beach.

WBB vs. UCSB
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March 3, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 4
Women's Water Polo - No. 10
Baseball - No. 18
Men's Tennis - No. 50
 

• UC Irvine defeated Cal State Fullerton, 76-51, to earn their 12th road win, tied for most in the country with Central Connecticut State with an identical 12-3 road record. The Anteaters lead the country with most wins away from home with 15 (12 road and three neutral). Redshirt freshman Jurian Dixon led the way with a career-high 21 points on 82 percent shooting on the floor (9-11, 0.818) with three three-pointers.

• In another installment of the Black and Blue rivalry, the Anteaters sent off their seniors with a 70-60 victory, the fifth straight win against Long Beach State inside the Bren Events Center. Guard Myles Che led the Anteaters with 19 points, going 5-10 from the floor and 8-10 from the line while center Bent Leuchten recorded his third consecutive double-double and 14th of the season with 13 points and game-high 12 rebounds.

• The win on Saturday (Mar. 1) for UCI (25-5, 15-3) clinched a top two finish in the Big West standings, advancing to Friday's semifinal of the Big West Championship on Mar. 14 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, NV.

• Men's basketball player Ofure Ujadughele set a Big West record on Feb. 27 with his 149 appearance in a UC Irvine uniform for the most games played in the league. Ujadughele who has now been a part of 150 games, is joined by Justin Hohn who entered into the top five on Mar. 1 with his 144 games played.

• Anteater baseball were a perfect 4-0 at home including a sweep of perennial postseason participant Louisiana. The offense has been outstanding averaging nearly 10 runs a game doing it with 16 home runs to date, nine triples which is second in the nation, and their pitching stepped up over the weekend led by a 12-strikeout performance Friday night by starter Danny Suarez. The 'Eaters continue to climb in the rankings now at No. 18 according to Baseball America with an overall record of 8-3.

• UC Irvine women's basketball hit two significant milestones as senior Nikki Tom broke the school record with her 197th career steal less than two minutes into a 62-34 win over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27. She added four more at Long Beach State on Saturday to become the first Anteater to surpass 200 career steals. Last Thursday's win over the Titans was also the 159th career victory for Tamara Inoue, making her the program's all-time winningest head coach. UCI's defense continues to be among the best in the nation, ranking sixth in all of NCAA Division I in field goal percentage (.353) and 11th in scoring defense (54.2 ppg). 

• The 'Eaters are second in the Big West standings at 13-5 as the teams enter the final week of the regular season. They are one game back of league-leading Hawai'i (14-4) and one game ahead of UC Davis and UC San Diego, who are tied for third with identical 12-6 conference records. UC Irvine will host the Aggies on Thursday, March 6, before welcoming UC Santa Barbara to the Bren Events Center for Senior Day on Saturday, March 8. 

• The men's volleyball team dropped the Big West opening weekend at Hawaii and fell one spot in the rankings to No. 4

• Even in the two losses. outside hitter Hilir Henno played like the reigning National Player of the Year, averaging 5.00 kills, 5.58 points, 1.17 digs and 0.50 aces. He ranks third in points (5.26) and fifth in kills (4.23) nationally.

• Another bright spot over the weekend was freshman middle blocker Micah Goss. Goss did not commit an error over the two matches, hitting .688 (11-0-16) with four aces and six total blocks. 

• There were venue and time changes for this week's home matches. The Anteaters will host No. 8 Pepperdine Friday (Mar. 7) and Sacred Heart Saturday (Mar.8). Both matches will start at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

• Men's tennis, which is ranked 50th in the nation, opened a month-long homestand with a 6-1 victory over Portland last Saturday, March 1. This week, the 'Eaters will host Temple (March 3), Villanova (March 4), Grand Canyon (March 8) and LMU (March 9) at Anteater Tennis Stadium.

• Women's tennis went 2-1 over the last week, including sweeps of Oakland (W, 7-0) at home and on the road at UTEP (W, 4-0).  After a week off, UCI will host three teams in Utah State (Mar. 9), Illinois State (Mar. 11), and Lehigh (Mar. 12), all at 2 p.m.

• Women's water polo went 3-1 at the Convergence Invitational, scoring 20 goals in two of the wins. Center Nioka Thomas posted a team-best eight goals over the four games including two hat-tricks. Both freshmen Gabbie Graniello and Bella Calderon recorded their first career goals over the weekend.

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February 24, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 3
Women's Water Polo - No. 6
Baseball - No. 20
Men's Tennis - No. 36
 

• Men's basketball player Torian Lee had a standout performance against CSUN (Feb. 20), posting a career-high 20 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 4-8 from three-point distance in 29 minutes of action. He also had three steals and three rebounds. Center Bent Leuchten also reached the 1,000-point career milestone marker, the 34th Anteater to do it, against the Matadors.

• UC Irvine defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 73-64, to earn their 11th road win, tied for most in the country with Central Connecticut State with an identical 11-3 road record. The Anteaters lead the country with most wins away from home with 14 (11 road and three neutral). Leuchten posted his 12th double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) of the season in the win.

• Men's basketball player Ofure Ujadughele's appearance against the Roadrunners tied the most games played in the Big West (148) with former Anteater Mike Best (2012-16). Ujadughele has the chance to set the new standard in his next game played.

• Anteater baseball went 2-2 last week highlighted by a series win on the road at vaunted Texas Tech. For the team's efforts, they moved up one spot in the Baseball America national rankings to No. 20, and Jacob McCombs earned the team's first weekly award named Big West Field Player of the Week after hitting .526 with two triples, two home runs, and eight RBIs.

• UC Irvine clinched a spot in the Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championships in Henderson with a 100-56 victory at CSUN on Feb. 20. It was the sixth 100-point game in program history and first since Nov. 9, 2021. The Anteaters are currently second in the conference standings. They are two games back of league-leading Hawai’i and 1.5 games ahead of third-place UC Davis with two weeks left in the regular season.

• Women’s basketball is ranked ninth in all of NCAA Division I in field goal percentage (.354) and 12th in scoring defense (54.2 ppg). The ‘Eaters have been even better in Big West games where they have held their opponent to under 50 nine times and are tops in the conference at 51.4 points allowed per game.

• The men's volleyball team is ranked No. 3 this week and will travel to No. 4 Hawaii to open the Big West schedule. 

• Outside hitter Hilir Henno is ranked second in aces (0.67), third in points (5.21) and fourth in kills (4.21) nationally.

• As a team, the Anteaters rank second in aces (2.09), eighth in assists (11.93) and ninth in hitting percentage (3.19).

• Men’s tennis came in at No. 36 in the ITA’s NCAA Division I rankings released on Feb. 20. Noah Zamora was also 54th in singles, while Zamora and Andy Nguyen were 88th in doubles. The Anteaters are 4-3 on the season with their three losses coming to No. 6 Stanford, No. 20 UCLA and USC.

• Women's tennis posted a pair of wins during the last week, including a 5-2 triumph of Big West foe UC Riverside on Thursday (Feb. 20). Both Kayla Meraz and Yen Nhi Huynh earned doubles and singles wins against the Highlanders. The Anteaters also took down Occidental, 6-1.

• UC Irvine had four podium finishes and set two school records at the MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships. Kaia Schmidt, Anna Vogtmann, Amelia Trautman and Malia Gay combined for a program-best 11:36.11 to take third in the distance medley relay. Jolie Robinson also broke her own school record in the long jump at 6.04 meters (19-9.75) on her way to a runner-up performance in the pentathlon. Nyla Baker and Zharia Taylor added third-place showings in the shot put and high jump, respectively.

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Torian Lee
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February 17, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 2
Women's Water Polo - No. 6
Baseball - No. 21
 

• The men's volleyball team continued to roll, improving to 10-0 after sweeping the season series against No. 5 USC last week. The Anteaters and Long Beach State are the only two undefeated teams left in the country.

• Setter Joe Karlous set a UCI rally scoring and Big West record for set assists in a match with 73 in the first meeting with the Trojans. The 73 assists are also the most by a player nationally this year. Karlous ranks fourth in the country in set assists (10.88) and is 12th in digs (2.44).

• Outside hitter Nolan Flexen pounded a career-high 27 kills, fifth most in the country this year to lead UCI the first night at the Bren Center then had a team-best 14 kills in a sweep of USC at the Galen Center.

• Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev had a career-and nation's best 12 total blocks (2 solo) in the first win over USC 

• The Anteaters face another tough test this week when they entertain No. 3 UCLA Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 6:00 p.m. The last time the two teams met was last year's NCAA semifinals with the Bruins coming away with a 3-2 win.

• Men's basketball player Devin Tillis hit a fall-away five-footer as time expired to give UC Irvine a 62-60 victory over UC Santa Barbara at the Bren Events Center last Thursday. Tillis ended the night with a game-high 22 points, going 10-15 from the floor, including two three-pointers. He also had a team-best eight rebounds.

• UC Irvine then beat Hawaii, 66-49 to earn their tenth road win, tied for most in the country with Central Connecticut State with an identical 10-3 road record. Center Bent Leuchten led all players with 21 points, his ninth 20+ point performance of the season.

• With the wins, UC Irvine clinched their spot in the Hercules Tires Men's Basketball Big West Championship in Henderson, Nevada at Lee's Family Forum from Mar. 12-15. 

• Anteater baseball went 2-1 in the MLB Desert Invitational including a win over No. 24 Nebraska and a one-run loss to SEC power No. 16 Vanderbilt. The new rankings came out with UCI ranked No. 21 nationally according to Baseball America.

• After two games last week, women's basketball remains among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense (14th, 54.4 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (15th, .358). Déja Lee was recognized prior to Saturday's (Feb. 15) home game against Hawai'i for becoming the newest member of UC Irvine's 1,000-point club.

• With a win this week, the Anteaters will secure a spot in the Hercules Tires Big West Women's Basketball Championships in Henderson, Nevada, in March. UCI heads to CSUN on Thursday, Feb. 20, before returning to the Bren Events Center to host Cal State Bakersfield in their Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Saturday, Feb. 22.

• Noah Zamora is 52nd in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Rankings. Zamora and Andy Nguyen are also 74th in the nation in doubles. UCI men's tennis was idle last week and returns to action with a pair of road matches this weekend.

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Devin Tillis
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February 10, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 2
Women's Water Polo - No. 6
Baseball - No. 24 (Preseason)
 

• The women’s golf team captured its second tournament title of the season winning the UCR Soboba Classic. It’s the first time since 2008-09 that the Anteaters have won a pair of titles in a single season.

• Three players were in the top 10 individually, led by freshman Alona Avery who was fourth with a score of 217 and was one of three Anteaters to record an eagle over the three-day event. Sophomore Alyson Sor led the tournament field with 15 birdies and was fifth overall (221) followed by freshman Katherine Gerbing a shot behind in a tie for sixth (222).

• Senior Malia Gay broke two indoor school records last weekend at the Riverfront Invitational & Multis in Spokane, Washington. On Friday, Feb. 7, Gay won the 800m in a program-best 2:09.52. Twenty-four hours later, she finished ahead of the pack in the 600m, clocking in at 1:32.23 to rank first in program history.

• The second ranked men’s volleyball team remained undefeated at 8-0 with a 3-1 victory over neighbor Concordia. Reigning National Player of the Year Hilir Henno led the Anteaters with a season-high 18 kills. 

• Henno leads the nation in points (5.39) and is ranked second in the country in ace average (.889) and fourth in kills (4.19). 

• In an important week, the Anteaters will host No. 5 USC, who is undefeated at 9-0 Wednesday (Feb. 12) at 6:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center. The two teams will then head to Los Angeles Friday for a 7:00 p.m. match at the Galen Center. The two teams are two of the four teams left undefeated this season.

• Women's basketball completed a regular-season series sweep over UC San Diego with a 56-49 road win on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Anteaters improved to 10-2 in Big West play and sit a half-game back of Hawai'i (11-2) in the conference standings. UCI will head to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 13, before hosting the Rainbow Wahine in a crucial match-up at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Feb. 15.

• UC Irvine men's tennis defeated Pacific, 4-2, in a thrilling match at Anteater Tennis Stadium on Friday, Feb. 7. Senior Noah Zamora, who is ranked 52nd in the nation in singles, clinched the win with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 99 Tiago Silva at the top of the lineup.

• Anthony Martinez was named by USA Baseball last week to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List naming the best 55 players to watch for college baseball's prestigious individual award. Martinez has also heralded preseason All-American recognition from multiple publications, and he and sophomore pitcher Ricky Ojeda were tabbed on the All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team last week as well.

• Women's tennis freshman Yen Nhi Huynh earned her first collegiate victory over the weekend, defeating her opponent 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 6 singles.

• For the second consecutive year, the Bren Events Center sold-out as UC Irvine played UC San Diego on national television.

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February 3, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 2
Women's Water Polo - No. 6
Baseball - No. 24 (Preseason)
Men's Basketball - Receiving Votes

• UC Irvine men's volleyball remained undefeated at 7-0 and is ranked No. 2 nationally, picking up two first place votes.

• Senior Hilir Henno was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week, while grad student Joe Karlous was named Setter of the Week, for the second consecutive week. 

• The Anteaters lead the nation in aces (2.88) behind the serving of Henno who is second in the country with a 1.00 ace average. He is also second in the country in points per set (5.29) and sixth in kills (3.94).

• UC Irvine men's basketball is receiving votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll and are ranked third in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Poll.

• Men's basketball, who are 20-3 overall and lead the Big West with an 10-1 mark in the Big West, has won a school record 22 consecutive home games at the Bren Events Center. Additionally, UCI became the third team in the country to win 20 games this season for their 15th 20-win season in program history and 10th under head coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters recorded their 20th win in 23 games, matching the 2000-01 squad as the fastest to accomplish the feat.

• The Anteaters are ranked third in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (30.26), third in free throw percentage (80.7), 10th in field goal percentage defense (38.3), 27th in rebounds per game (39.74), and 29th in scoring defense (65.1). UCI also holds the fourth best winning percentage in the nation (87.0).

• UC Irvine women's basketball improved to 9-2 in Big West play to remain in a tie for first with Hawai'i. The Anteaters went 2-0 last week, defeating two of the top-four teams in the conference standings as they took down Long Beach State, 61-47, before a 52-49 road victory at UC Davis. The 'Eaters improved both their scoring defense (54.5 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.362), which rank 13th and 21st in the nation, respectively.

• Senior Déja Lee reached a significant milestone at UC Davis on Feb. 1. Lee scored her 1,000th career point on a clutch free throw with 17 seconds left in the three-point win. She joins elite company as only the 15th member of UCI women's basketball's 1,000-point club.

• UC Irvine women's water polo reached the third place game of the Triton Invitational this past weekend led by sophomore Lauren Hett's 11 goals, including two hat-tricks.

• Nine new members were inducted into the UC Irvine Athletics Hall of Fame last Friday. Daniel Bibona (baseball), Carson Clark (men's volleyball), Mike Heckman (men's basketball), Maria Myers (women's tennis), Kari Pestolesi (women's volleyball), Jeff Powers (men's water polo), Kristina Smith (women's tennis), Ralph Cicerone (former UC Irvine Chancellor) and Dan Guerrero (former UC Irvine Athletic Director). Myers and Smith made history becoming the first mother/daughter duo to be inducted.

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January 28, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Volleyball - No. 2
Women's Water Polo - No. 7
Baseball - No. 24 (Preseason)
Men's Basketball - Receiving Votes

• UC Irvine men's volleyball is ranked No. 2 nationally and is one of seven teams in the country that remains undefeated at 5-0.

• UCI swept the Men's Volleyball Player of the Week accolades this week. Nolan Flexen was named Offensive Player of the Week, while Joe Karlous was Setter of the Week and Micah Goss was Defensive and Freshman of the Week.

• UC Irvine men's basketball is receiving votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll and are ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Poll.

• The Anteaters are ranked second in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (30.62), sixth in free throw percentage (79.7), 11th in field goal percentage defense (38.0), 23rd in rebounds per game (40.1), and 28th in scoring defense (64.6).

• Men's basketball, who are 18-3 overall and lead the Big West with an 8-1 mark in the Big West, has won a school record 21 consecutive home games at the Bren Events Center.

• UC Irvine women's basketball is tied for first in The Big West with a 7-2 conference record. The Anteaters will host fellow Big West leader, Long Beach State, in a Black & Blue Rivalry game at the Bren Events Center on Thursday, Jan. 30. The 'Eaters rank among the top-20 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 55.2 points per contest.

• UCI men's tennis player Noah Zamora is 31st in the ITA Singles Rankings. 

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