GAME NOTES

No. 9 UC Irvine women's water polo team travels to No. 8 Long Beach State for their final game and conference match up of the regular season on Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m.

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• UCI improved to 12-12 overall and 4-2 in Big West play after defeating Harvard and CSUN. 
• The 'Eaters defeated the Crimson, 12-10, on March 22. 
• UC Irvine topped the Matadors, 16-9, in Big West action on March 26. 
• Sophomore Deirdre Murphy led the 'Eaters against Harvard with four goals, while Junior Sara Naulty netted three.
• Junior Vivian Bailey and Freshman Sydney Hagan each netted three against CSUN.
• 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 improved to 9th in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings released on March 18. The 'Eaters climb one spot after going 3-0 last week. 

SCOUTING THE BEACH
No. 8 Long Beach State moved to 14-10 and 5-1 in conference play after defeating Cal State Fullerton and CSUN and dropping to Cal. The Beach topped the Titans in conference play, 22-3, on March 21 before falling to No. 4 Cal, 6-11, on March 25. Long Beach State defeated No. 25 CSUN, 22-6, during Big West action on March 28. Senior Elisa Portillo leads the Beach with 110 points on 64 goals and 46 assists this season. Senior Lucy Miszewski ranks second on the squad with 89 points on 58 goals and 31 assists. Freshman Polina Synytsia leads the Beach in net with 610 minutes and 180 saves (10.12 G.A.A) to go with 15 steals. 

LAST TIME OUT
The 'Eaters defeated No. 11 Harvard, 12-10, on March 22 in their regular-season home finale. Sophomore Deirdre Murphy led the squad with four goals while junior Sara Naulty recorded the hat trick and added one assist. Junior Lauren Hett netted one goal and dished out three assists for a four-point performance against the Crimson. Junior Ella Walker recorded five saves between the pipes. UCI defeated No. 25 CSUN in Big West action, 16-9, on March 26. Junior Vivian Bailey and Freshman Sydney Hagan each recorded a hat trick while freshman Michelle Urkov netted two and added two assists for a four-point outing against the Matadors. Walker stopped 10 shots in net for a .526 save percentage against CSUN. 

ON THE ATTACK
The 'Eaters, who are averaging 12.3 goals per contest, have five players with at least 20 goals on the season. Lauren Hett leads the way with 65 goals and 14 hat tricks, while Sara Naulty has 32 goals and four hat tricks. Madi O'Hara ranks third on the squad with 31 goals and five hat tricks while freshman Michelle Urkov sits fourth with 29 tallies on the season, looking to reach the 30-goal mark for the first time in her career. Deirdre Murphy rounds out the top five with 24 goals on the year, reaching the 20-goal club for the first time in her career. Pippa Heaver sits at 19 tallies while Annabelle Mundelius sits at 17 goals on the year, both of them looking to break the 20-goal threshold for the first time. 

MINDING THE NET
Junior Ella Walker has appeared in 19 of 24 games this season and started for 14 of those matches. She has logged over 491 minutes in the cage with a 8-7 record. Walker has recorded 117 saves, seven steals, and four assists, with a season-high 12 saves against No. 2 UCLA (Feb. 7). Walker owns a 10.34 goals against average and a .424 save percentage. Freshman Annie Peak has appeared in 10 games, starting in five of them, and logging 168 minutes in net. She has tallied 32 saves and 10 steals and owns a 2-3 record. Sophomore Mayezie Loggins has appeared in four games for 23 minutes in net, recording five saves and one steal. Freshman CJ Sirls appeared in two games, logging 32 minutes with four saves and one steal. 

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. Michelle scored her first two goals against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 30) and now leads the freshman class with 10 multi-goal games and 29 tallies. Jess Reagan netted her first career goal against UC Santa Barbara on March 6, and notched her first multi-goal game against CSUN (March 26). Anya Frey netted her first goal and notched her first hat trick against Cal State Fullerton on March 12. 

WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Junior Lauren Hett notched her fourth career, and first of the 2026 season, Big West Player of the Week Honor on Feb. 25. The attacker led the 'Eaters to their first Big West win of the season over the Tritons behind a six point performance on four goals and two assists. 

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 travel to Long Beach State for the Big West Championship, April 10-12.