No. 11 UC Irvine travels to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational, Jan. 30-Feb. 1. The 'Eaters are in Bracket C, joined by UC Santa Barbara, Hawai'i, and Concordia. UCI will kick off the tournament against No. 19 UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m. on Friday. Based on the outcome of Friday's matches, the Anteaters will face either Hawai'i or Concordia on Saturday morning. 

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• UCI fell to 1-3 overall after the season-opening Polopalooza tournament (Jan. 17-18). 
• The 'Eaters won their first game of the season against No. 12 San Jose State, 15-7. 
• UC Irvine dropped their last three against No. 7 Fresno State (12-15), No. 10 Indiana (7-8), and No. 5 California (9-16).
• Junior Lauren Hett led the way with 14 goals on the weekend while redshirt senior Madi O'Hara netted 12. 
• UCI finished second in the Big West last season with a 5-2 conference record and 15-13 overall.
• The 'Eaters recorded 413 goals in 28 games played in 2025, a new best in single season history.
• UC Irvine has posted a winning record for 20 straight seasons.

IN THE RANKINGS
UCI dropped to 11th in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings released on January 28. The 'Eaters dropped three spots since the preseason poll after starting the season with a 1-3 record. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 19 UC Santa Barbara fell to 1-3 on the season after the first two weekends of play. The Gauchos dropped to No. 2 USC (5-17) and No. 25 California Baptist (9-16) at The Joust in Riverside on Jan. 16. UC Santa Barbara defeated Biola, 17-7, before falling again to USC, 4-23, on Jan. 23. Redshirt senior Cami Mras leads the Gauchos with nine goals, followed by sophomore Hadley Hall with six tallies. Freshman goalkeeper Siena Jumani has 18 saves on the season. 

No. 5 Hawai'i holds a 2-1 record to start the 2026 season. The Rainbow Wahine defeated No. 12 San Jose State, 11-6, before falling to No. 5 California, 9-14, on Jan. 17 at Polopalooza. Hawai'i defeated No. 15 Michigan, 11-10, on Jan. 18 for the final day of the tournament. Sophomore Ema Vernoux leads the squad with eight goals, followed by senior Roni Perlman with five tallies. Junior goalkeeper Daisy Logtens notched 18 saves after the first weekend of play. 

Concordia posted a 1-1 record after the first weekend of action. The Golden Eagles fell to No. 8 LMU, 4-19, before defeating Whittier, 19-5, on Jan. 17. Sophomores Anna Tyukasz and Emeline Smiley led the squad with four goals apiece in their first two games of the season. 

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine went 1-3 at the season-opening Polopalooza tournament in Fresno. The 'Eaters defeated No. 12 San Jose State, 15-7, before falling to tournament host No. 7 Fresno State, 12-15, on Jan. 17. UCI dropped to No. 10 Indiana, 7-8, and No. 5 California, 9-16, on Jan. 18. Junior Lauren Hett led the squad, scoring at least two goals in every match, and netting a high of five goals against Fresno State, for a total of 14 goals in the opening weekend. Redshirt senior Madi O'Hara recorded a hat trick in three of the four matches, and recorded a high of five tallies against San Jose State, for a total of 12 goals on the season. Each of the four goalkeepers for the 'Eaters saw action between the pipes in the opening tournament, with junior Ella Walker leading the squad with 10 saves. 

ON THE ATTACK
The 'Eaters scored 12+ goals in two of their four outings. UCI's two single-digit goal games came against two top ten teams in No. 10 Indiana and No. 5 California. The 'Eaters, who are averaging 10.8 goals per contest, have four players with at least five goals on the season so far. Lauren Hett leads the way with 14 goals and three hat tricks, while Madi O'Hara has 12 goals and three hat tricks. Freshman Sydney Hagan is the third leading scorer with seven goals and two hat tricks.

MINDING THE NET
Freshman Annie Peak started in two of the four games at Polopalooza, logging 48 minutes in net and tallying three saves and five steals. Junior Ella Walker appeared in two games, logging 48 minutes and recording 10 saves with one steal. Freshman CJ Sirls and sophomore Mayezie Loggins split the game against California, each logging 16 minutes in the cage. Sirls recorded a steal while Loggins tallied two saves. 

COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
Freshman Sydney Hagan quickly made an impact for the 'Eaters, scoring seven goals in her first weekend of collegiate competition. Her first goal came against San Jose State, where she tacked on two more for her first career hat trick on Jan. 17. She notched her second hat trick in her very next game against Fresno State. Chloe Patist netted her first career goal against No. 5 California on Jan. 18.

PRESEASON HONORS
Junior attacker Lauren Hett was named to the seven-member Preseason All-Big West Team as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Hett is coming of a 2025 campaign in which she led the 'Eaters with 67 goals and 97 points. Last year, she also earned a third-team All-America selection and an All-Big West First Team honor. Hett was also the first player in program history to be named to the watch list for the prestigious Peter J. Cutino award in 2025. 

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
With recent rule changes promoting offense, the Anteaters recorded 413 goals in 28 games played in the 2025 season, a new best in single-season history. Last year's squad also averaged 14.8 goals per game, a new single-season record. The 2026 'Eaters aim to build on the offensive momentum generated last season. 

NEW FACES, NEW ROLES
The 2026 roster features eight newcomers this season who look to make an immediate impact. The squad added two goalkeepers, Annie Peak and CJ Sirls, along with center Jess Reagan and defender Chloe Patist. The 'Eaters also welcomed four attackers: Sydney Hagan, Anya Frey, Michelle Urkov, and Marisol Cowles. 

ALL-BIG WEST RETURNERS
The Anteaters return three All-Big West honorees from the 2025 squad.  Lauren Hett was named to the first team, and Madi O'Hara garnered honorable mention distinction. Pippa Heaver was selected to the All-Big West Freshman Team in her rookie season 

UP NEXT
The 'Eaters take a trip to Los Angeles to face No. 9 LMU on Friday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. before facing No. 3 UCLA on Saturday Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.