2024-25 Year in Review: Fall

Men's Water Polo
Head Coach: Dan Klatt, 3rd Year
2024 Record: 18-9 (5-0, 1st Big West)

UC Irvine men’s water polo ended with an 18-9 overall record and appeared in their second straight Big West Championship under head coach Dan Klatt. The Anteaters topped the Big West for the second consecutive year, this time an unblemished 5-0, and advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament. 

The ‘Eaters were full of upsets, pulling off two just a week apart from each other. UCI took down the three-time defending national champions Cal in a 13-5 trouncing inside the Anteater Aquatics Complex for their first win over the Golden Bears since September 29, 2012, and the first in Irvine since October 2, 2010. Then, several standout performances helped guide the Anteaters to a statement 20-10 win over the No. 4 Pepperdine squad. It was the most goals given up by the Waves all season. The victory over Pepperdine handed UC Irvine a top-five ranking in the national polls for the second straight year.

UCI poured on the offense during the 2024 campaign as they recorded a new program single season record of 400, besting the 360 tallied in 2022 and 2023. Their average of 14.81 goals per game was also a new single season best passing the 12.86 mark set in 2023.

The Anteaters were recognized a program and conference-best six times in the duration of the 11 week season. Junior Luka Krstic took home three weekly awards while freshman Cole Francisco, junior Zayd Mahmoud, and senior Ethan Shipman each garnered one. Krstic, who led the team with 80 points behind 52 goals and 28 assists, led the postseason recognition as a third team ACWPC All-America honoree and All-Big West First Team recipient. Sophomore Johann Thrall was joined by Shipman on the All-Big West Second Team while Francisco, senior Tyler Padua, and senior Jack Stevens were named honorable mentions. Rounding out the athletic awards, Ethan Spoon joined Francisco on the All-Big West Freshman Team. In the classroom, 11 Anteaters were honored with ACWPC All-Academic Team status and 14 landed on the Big West Fall All-Academic Team.

Women's Soccer
Head Coach: Scott Juniper, 18th Year
2024 Record: 6-7-6 (4-2-4, T-3rd Big West)

UC Irvine women’s soccer finished with a record of 6-7-6 and qualified for its 16th Big West Championship and 13th under head coach Scott Juniper. The ‘Eaters ended their regular season tied for third in the Big West to make the conference tournament where they fell 1-0 to Cal State Bakersfield in the first round.

The Anteaters utilized many young players throughout their season. The freshmen played a total of 5,003 minutes, with seven different first-year players making an appearance (Kamryn Taylor, Hailey Clingan, Chifumi Sasaki, Milan Heisdorf, Clara Samson, Kori Pickelle, and Ivy Williams). As a group, they accumulated two goals, including a game winner, and five assists, for a total of nine points on the year.

The season highlight for UCI this season was getting a result against Washington State in Pullman. The Cougars scored first in the 64th minute, with the response coming from All-Big West first team forward Emilie Castagna in the 71st minute. 

The Anteaters were all over the All-Big West teams, with six athletes receiving the honor. Junior forward Emilie Castagna was the sole ‘Eater to be named to the All-Big West first team, as she accounted for four goals and eight points. Laila El Behery and Kiera Smeenge were selected to the All-Big West second team, and midfielder Desiree Mendoza and goalkeeper Ashley Naylor were All-Big West honorable mentions. Ivy Williams was selected to the All-Freshman Team after a great season that saw the midfielder tie for the team high in assists with three. 

UC Irvine also landed two on the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region team in Laila El Behery and Emilie Castagna.

Men's Soccer
Head Coach: Yossi Raz, 8th Year
2024 Record: 8-8-3 (4-3-2, T-3rd Big West)

UC Irvine men’s soccer finished with a record of 8-8-3 and qualified for its 13th Big West Championship and fifth under head coach Yossi Raz. The Anteaters ended the year tied for third in the Big West and advanced to the conference tournament's semifinals. In the first round, UCI shut out sixth-seeded Cal State Fullerton, 1-0, off an 80th-minute Misael Gonzalez game winner. The ‘Eaters then narrowly fell in their 11th semifinal appearance against second-seeded UC Santa Barbara, 2-1. 

The Anteaters had a very successful season despite having an ever-changing situation in goal. The ‘Eaters saw five different goalkeepers in the net, but amid the shuffling as a unit, they were able to keep five shutouts and a 1.22 GAA. The group saw two field players step in goal, as well as a newcomer to the team, Paul Jing. Jing, who came to UCI as a student in 2023 before joining the squad at the beginning of the season, stepped in goal and posted three shutouts, while putting together a 328-minute scoreless streak. He was also named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week on October 21. 

The season highlight for the ‘Eaters was getting a result against the eventual National Champions, Vermont, early in the year at Anteater Stadium. Vermont struck first with a goal in the 64th minute before Big West All-Freshman striker Marcus Lee tied the game up at one apiece in the 80th. 

Five ‘Eaters were named to the All-Big West teams: Mario Anaya, Agaton Pourshahidi, and Mathias Winum all made the first team. Brady Treinen made the second team, with Misael Gonzalez getting an honorable mention nod. Marcus Lee made the All-Freshman Team, continuing the Anteaters’ streak of at least one representative on the team every year since 2016. 

Mario Anaya was also named a United Soccer First Team Scholar All-American to go along with his All-Big West honors. Anaya was able to maintain a 3.62 GPA while helping lead the Anteaters to another successful season. 

Women's Volleyball
Head Coach: Ashlie Hain, 8th Year
2024 Record: 16-14 (10-8, T-6th Big West)

The Anteaters started the conference season with a bang, coming back from two sets down to beat Hawai'i 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-13) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. It was just the second win all-time against the Rainbow Wahine with both coming in reverse sweeps on the road. Graduate student Hunter Riedl was dominant, putting away a match and season-high 21 kills, while hitting .423 (21-4-41). She also added five digs and five block assists in the victory. 

Another come-from-behind victory came in exciting fashion as UCI trailed 13-9 in the fifth before out-scoring Black & Blue Rival Long Beach State 8-2 to end the match. Libero Campbell Jensen was at the service line for five points, firing two aces in the 5-0 run. The Anteaters had a season-high 14 aces that night, including a career-high five from Jensen.

Standing at two wins back of UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara for the sixth spot in the Big West Championships heading into the final week of the season, the Anteaters took care of business, beating Cal State Fullerton (3-0) and Hawai'i (3-1) to clinch a postseason berth. The third all-time win against UH gave UCI its first-ever season series sweep of the Rainbow Wahine in program history. 

UCI tied for sixth in the Big West standings with a 10-8 record, but earned the final spot into the championship because of the sweep of Hawai'i. The Anteaters lost in the first round to UC Davis, 3-1.

Jensen, who was named second team All-Big West, moved into eighth in UCI career-digs with 1,148, trying to track down head coach Ashlie Hain who is seventh with 1,175 from 2001-04. Jensen recorded double-digit digs 26 times during the season, including scooping 32 at UC San Diego which was tied for second most in the conference. She earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors for that performance.

Outside hitter Katie Smith, a graduate transfer from USC, was named All-Big West honorable mention after leading the Big West in aces (0.38). She was also 12th in kills (2.88) and 10th in points (3.63) among Big West players. Riedl was selected to the honorable mention squad for the second consecutive year. She ranked 17th among Big West players in kills (2.61) and 15th in points (3.12).  

Women's Cross Country
Head Coach: Jeff Perkins, 11th Year
2024 Big West Finish: 3rd

UC Irvine women’s cross country finished third at the 2024 Big West Championships at UC Riverside’s Agricultural Operations Course. Senior Anna Vogtmann was the runner-up in a field of 102 competitors with a 6K lifetime-best 19:49.3. Vogtmann broke her own school record she set on the same course in 2022 by three seconds, and her second-place showing was the team’s best since 2008. Her conference finish earned her All-Big West honors for the second time in her career. Kaia Schmidt (20:46.2) and Maggie Sczupak (20:48.2) were also among the top-20. Schmidt's time ranks ninth in program history.

During the regular season, the Anteaters earned their first team win in four years with a victory at the Irvine Invitational (Sept. 6), which they co-hosted at the Great Park with Concordia. The 'Eaters occupied seven of the top-10 spots in the individual standings, led by Schmidt (3rd) and Makena Castillo (4th). UCI had another strong showing at the UC Riverside Invitational (Sept. 21). In the 6K, Vogtmann took third out of 223 runners, completing the course in 19:58.2. She was named the Big West Athlete of the Week for her effort. Castillo (20:42.6) added a personal best to crack the program's all-time top-10. UCI also won the 5K Open with Rachel Moen (17:49.0) and Montgomery Allison (17:53.4) coming in fifth and seventh, respectively.

The Anteaters concluded the campaign at the NCAA West Regional Championships (22nd). They were featured in in all six of the USTFCCCA West Region polls with a high ranking of No. 11, and a final ranking of No. 22. The ‘Eaters also excelled academically. They had 10 student-athletes receive Big West Fall All-Academic honors, while the squad was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for the sixth-straight year. 

Men's Cross Country
Head Coach: Jeff Perkins, 11th Year
2024 Big West Finish: 4th

UC Irvine men’s cross country finished fourth at the Big West Championships at UC Riverside’s Agricultural Operations Course. Redshirt freshman Juan Chantaca led the way as he finished the 8K in 24:06.3 (14th). Chantaca was UCI’s top runner in four of his five races, including at the season-opening Irvine Invitational where he had a career-best second-place showing to earn his first Big West Athlete of the Week award.

The Anteaters had two runner-up team finishes during the regular season, taking second at the Irvine Invitational (Sept. 6), which they co-hosted with Concordia at the Great Park, and at the Charles Bowles Invitational (Oct. 5). The ‘Eaters also had a strong outing at the UCR Invitational where Chantaca clocked the third-fastest 8K in program history at 23:51.4, and Cameron Smith had a season-best 24:18.8. At the Highlander Invitational (Oct. 21), Jacob Bustamante notched a PR 24:16.1 for a career-best seventh-place performance. His time moved him up to No. 8 in school history. UCI closed the 2024 season at the NCAA West Regionals in Washington where it came in 19th, marking the team’s best regional finish since 2017. 

On September 30, the Anteaters made their first appearance in the USTFCCCA West Region Rankings since 2012, and they rose to as high as No. 13 on November 4. The 'Eaters also excelled in the classroom, earning USTFCCCA All-Academic Team recognition for the seventh year in a row, while eight of their nine eligible student-athletes garnered Big West Fall All-Academic honors.