IRVINE, Calif. - The seventh-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team is set to open the 2025 campaign at home as it hosts the UCI Invitational, Aug. 29-30. The Anteaters will face No. 16 LMU (10 a.m.) and No. 13 California Baptist (4:15 p.m.) on Friday, before taking on Cal State Fullerton (11:30 a.m.) and Concordia (6 p.m.) on Saturday. All games will be played at Anteater Aquatics Complex.

Due to pool capacity of 500 at Anteater Aquatics Complex, games have been grouped into sessions by times. Tickets for the UCI Invitational are $12 for adults and $8 for kids (ages 6-17) per session. All tickets must be purchased online prior to arrival. There are no on-site sales at the Anteater Aquatics Complex.

 

Session	Day	Time	Game
1	Friday	10:00 AM	UC Irvine vs. LMU
1	Friday	11:30 AM	California Baptist vs. Concordia
2	Friday	2:00 PM	LMU vs. Cal State Fullerton
2	Friday	4:15 PM	UC Irvine vs. California Baptist
2	Friday	6:00 PM	Cal State Fullerton vs. Concordia
Day 2
3	Saturday	10:00 AM	California Baptist vs. Chapman
3	Saturday	11:30 AM	UC Irvine vs. Cal State Fullerton
4	Saturday	2:00 PM	Concordia vs. Chapman
4	Saturday	4:15 PM	California Baptist vs. Cal State Fullerton
4	Saturday	6:00 PM	UC Irvine vs. Concordia

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• UC Irvine won back-to-back Big West regular season titles in 2023 and 2024.
• The Anteaters are 9-1 in conference during that stretch, including a perfect 5-0 mark last year.
• They also claimed the Big West Championship title and made their first NCAA appearance in 30 years in 2023.
• UCI returns nearly 80% of its scoring from a 2024 squad that netted a single-season school record 400 goals.
• Senior Luka Krstic leads the way as a two-time All-American and first-team All-Big West selection.
• The 'Eaters also welcome back All-Big West picks Johann Thrall, Jack Stevens, Cole Francisco, and Ethan Spoon.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 16 LMU welcomes back 16 letterwinners from a 2024 squad that went 9-16 overall. Junior Abel Romero Corbalan is the Lions' top returning scorer as he finished with a team-best 73 goals and earned All-America honors a year ago. Graduate student Tommaso Baldineti also notched 49 goals in 2024, and was an All-America selection in 2023. Last season, the Anteaters defeated LMU, 12-11, with Cole Francisco scoring the game-winner in the final seconds at Burns Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.

No. 13 California Baptist went 23-13 overall, won the West Coast Conference Tournament, and made the program's second NCAA Championship appearance last year. In 2024, the Anteaters and Lancers split their season series with UCI taking a 17-15 victory at home before falling, 12-11, on the road. CBU returns 13 letterwinners including sophomore and preseason All-WCC selection Andrea Nuzzo.

Cal State Fullerton is in its third year of men's water polo. In 2024, the Titans finished with an 11-18 overall record. Graduate student Togan Ozbek led the offense with 49 goals and 77 points. UC Irvine won its last meeting with CSF, 21-7, in Irvine to improve to 2-0 against the Titans.

Concordia is coming off a 2024 campaign in which it went 14-17 overall and 4-0 in the WWPA. The Golden Eagles came up just short in the finals of their conference tournament. They welcome back 10 letterwinners, including their leading goal scorer in senior Harry Bentham (69 goals). UCI and CUI met at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla last year with the Anteaters securing the 24-10 victory.

PRESEASON HONORS
Seniors Luka Krstic and Jack Stevens were named to the eight-member Preseason All-Big West Team as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Krstic is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he led the Anteaters with 80 points on 52 goals and 28 assists. He is a two-time All-American, two-time first-team All-Big West selection, and four-time Big West Player of the Week. Stevens finished with 30 goals and 12 assists a year ago. He is a two-time All-Big West honoree.

IN THE RANKINGS
UCI tied for seventh in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's preseason national rankings released on August 20. It is the third year in a row the Anteaters have been among the top-10 to start the campaign.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The Anteaters welcome back three of their top four scorers from last year's squad that set a single-season school record with 400 goals. Junior Johann Thrall (54) and senior Luka Krstic (52) combined for over 100 of those goals, while sophomore Cole Francisco found the back of the net 29 times in his first collegiate season. Krstic (First Team), Thrall (Second Team), Francisco (Honorable Mention & All-Freshman), Jack Stevens (Honorable Mention), and Ethan Spoon (All-Freshman) received all-conference honors in 2024.

MINDING THE NET
UC Irvine graduated starting goalkeeper Jacob Pyle, but senior Zayd Mahmoud is more than ready to take on the role in 2025. Last year, Mahmoud played 337 minutes in 16 appearances. He finished with 111 saves and a 10.34 goals against average. Behind Mahmoud in the goalkeeping unit is a lot of youth with redshirt junior Blake Borders, redshirt sophomore Nolan Cary, redshirt freshman Vincent Vega, and true freshman Nico Assalian.

NEW FACES, NEW ROLES
UCI has six true freshmen looking to make an immediate impact, including defender Samuel Bowman who competed with the U.S. Youth National Team in 2024. There are also a few returners expecting to play a bigger role this year, highlighted by junior Alex Lopez (8 goals, 14 assists) and sophomore Jayson Hubbard (9 goals, 3 assists), who are primed to have breakout seasons.

HOME SWEET HOME
UCI is set to host the 2025 Big West Championships at Anteater Aquatics Complex, November 21-23. The conference tournament will make its way to Irvine after being held in La Jolla in 2023 and in Davis in 2024.

UP NEXT
The Anteaters will head to Redlands for two games at the Inland Empire Classic next Saturday, September 6.