Anteater Update: September 22

September 22, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Soccer - No. 20
Men's Water Polo - No. 15

• UC Irvine men's soccer is up to No. 20 in the national rankings, the program's highest since 2015 and went up against another ranked foe, San Diego, at No. 23 in the team's first road match of the season. It ended in a 2-0 defeat, the team's first loss, now sitting at 5-1-1 on the year and heading into another tough test Monday night at California Baptist. The previous week, UC Irvine took home two Big West awards with defender Gustavo Gonzalez earning Big West Freshman of the Week after scoring his first goal in a win over Yale, and sophomore Joe O'Shaughnessy taking home Big West Defensive Player of the Week from two more shutouts of Cornell and Yale in goal. The team will conclude non-conference action Friday, September 26, at UNLV.

• Women's soccer started Big West play in its one match last week winning 3-1 over UC Riverside Sunday. Ella Colombini had her second consecutive match registering two assists as she helped Chifumi Sasaki score her first career goal, and Ella's twin sister Mia Colombini netted the game-winning goal on a second half penalty kick. UCI's three points earned puts them in a tie for first place early in the conference season. Up next is a challenging road trip this week to CSUN (Sept. 25) and Cal State Bakersfield (Sept. 28).

• The men's water polo team went 1-3 at the Overnght MPSF Invitational at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Sept. 19-21. The 15th-ranked Anteaters will take a 7-5 overall record into this weekend's action at the Lancer Joust (Sept. 26-27). The 'Eaters are set to face Concordia and tournament host California Baptist on Friday, before taking on Occidental and Biola on Saturday.

• Women’s Volleyball opens Big West play Friday (Sept.26) hosting Long Beach State Friday (Sept. 26) at 6:00 p.m. and UC San Diego Saturday (Sept. 27) at 5:00 p.m. Both matches are at the Bren Events Center.

• Setter Jessica Bates was named Big West Freshman of the Week after recording her second triple-double of the season with a career-high 19 kills, 12 digs, four block assists and two aces with a season-high 14 set assists. She hit .412 (19-5-34) versus the Bruins and tied the team lead in kills against Lipscomb with eight.

• The Anteaters out-blocked the Bruins 13-8 behind Abby Pekrul and Sydnee Rowe’s career-high six block assists. Senior Kendra Duffey had a career-best six total blocks (1 solo) and eight kills in the win.

• Missing three starters against Vanderbilt, the Anteaters took a set off of the SEC opponent and tied the Commodores with seven blocks each.

• Men's and women's cross country return to action at the UC Riverside Invitational this Saturday, Sept. 27. The meet gets underway with the women's 8K Invitational at 7:15 a.m. The men will then hit the course, running the 8K Invitational at 7:50 a.m. Two more races are on the schedule with the women's 5K Open at 8:25 a.m., and the men's 8K Open at 8:55 a.m. All four races will be held at UCR's Agricultural Operations Course.

September 15, 2025

National Rankings
Men's Soccer - No. 22
Men's Water Polo - No. 8

• UC Irvine men's soccer has started the season out hot with five wins and one tie in their six-match stretch in Anteater Stadium including wins over UCLA (2-0), Cornell (1-0), Yale (1-0), and North Florida (3-0). The run has vaulted the ‘Eaters into the national rankings for the first time since 2019 at No. 22 as of last week. UCI has claimed a pair of weekly awards as well with Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors going to redshirt junior Isaac Powell and senior Misael Gonzalez Lopez. Gonzalez Lopez has netted four goals to lead the team in goals and points as the Anteaters' 12 goals are tops in the Big West. The Anteaters’ strength has been its defense allowing one goal through its first six matches led by sophomore goalkeeper Joe O'Shaughnessy helping in all five shutout wins.

• Women's soccer scoring a big win to close out non-conference play Sunday topping Washington State, 2-0. Clara Samson scored the game-winner right out of the halftime break and fifth-year senior Suus de Bakker headed home the dagger in the 82nd minute. UCI's stern defense has carried them to a 3-2-4 mark through the first half of the season allowing a grand total of four goals while earning wins over programs like Grand Canyon and San Francisco and drawing with Washington, Northern Arizona, and San Diego.

• The eighth-ranked men's water polo team is 6-2 after No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 USC handed UC Irvine its first two losses of the season last week. The Anteaters head to the MPSF Invitational this weekend, which will be held at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center and USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Sept. 19-21. Senior Luka Krstic leads the UCI offense with a team-high 15 goals on the season, while senior Zayd Mahmoud has seen most of the action in the cage, compiling 51 saves and an 11.20 goals against average.

• Redshirt freshman women's volleyball player Jessica Bates made her season debut last weekend at Oregon State’s Asics Invitational and was impressive in UCI’s victory over Montana State doing what only a handful of players in the NCAA have done this season - posting a triple-double. She recorded a career-high 13 kills and 10 digs to go with 11 set assists. Bates is the first Big West player to record the feat since Nov. 11, 2023.

The team remains on the road for a three-match swing in Nashville, Tenn. The Anteaters will take on Lipscomb Thursday (Sept. 17), Vanderbilt on Friday (Sept. 18) and Belmont on Saturday (Sept. 20) before opening Big West play hosting Long Beach State at the Bren Events Center Sept. 26.

• Men's and women's cross country are idle this week after opening the season with victories at the Vanguard Invitational on Sept. 6. The Anteater women took home the team title with a perfect score of 15 points. Sophomore Liana Lee led the way, winning the 5K in a personal and meet-record 17:43.4. On the men's side, sophomore Juan Chantaca led the ‘Eaters to their first team victory since 2017. Chantaca finished ahead of the pack in an 8K meet-record 24:05.8. He was named the Big West Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 9.