UC Irvine Men’s Water Polo Set for Four-Game Inland Empire Classic

Friday, September 4

Redlands, CA

9 A.M

UC Irvine

Redlands

Cole Francisco - MWP vs. George Washington 8-28-26

Photo by: Jacob Thompson

UC Irvine Men’s Water Polo Set for Four-Game Inland Empire Classic

September 02, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

The 13th-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team travels to the Inland Empire Classic after going 3-1 at the season-opening UCI Invitational last weekend. The 'Eaters will open the tournament against host Redlands at 9 a.m. and Cal Lutheran at 12 p.m. on Sept. 4, before facing tournament host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 8 a.m. and Pomona-Pitzer at 2 p.m. on Sept. 5.

ANTEATER TIDBITS
UC Irvine went 3-1 at the season-opening UCI Invitational this weekend, Aug. 28-29
The Anteaters defeated Chapman, 29-4, on Friday, setting a program record for goals scored in a single game.
The 'Eaters topped George Washington, 13-9, on Friday in the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
UCI fell to No. 3 Stanford, 22-12, before defeating Concordia, 16-9, on Saturday.
Senior Johann Thrall led the offense with 15 points on 11 goals and four assists.
Senior Gage Verdegaal recorded 11 points on nine goals and two assists.
Freshman Nico Assalian got his first collegiate starts in net, logging 104 minutes with 36 saves and six assists.
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 in 2024.
They also claimed the Big West Championship title and made their first NCAA appearance in 30 years in 2023.

IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine remained tied for 13th in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's national rankings, released Aug. 19. The 'Eaters held steady at No. 13 after also being ranked 13th in the preseason poll.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Redlands went 0-2 during the opening weekend of the 2026 campaign at the UCI Invitational. The Bulldogs opened with a 11-12 loss to George Washington University before falling to Cal State Fullerton, 8-13. Junior Johnny Starr led Redlands with five points on four goals and one assist, while senior Jake Simpson and freshman Zach Dortch each recorded four points on three goals and one assist. The Bulldogs utilized five different goalkeepers across the two games. The 'Eaters last faced Redlands at the Inland Empire Classic on Sept. 6, 2025, earning a 14-7 victory over the Bulldogs.

Cal Lutheran has yet to open its 2026 campaign after finishing 12-12 in 2025. Junior Levi Cook led the Kingsmen with 93 points on 41 goals and 52 assists, while junior Merrick Giles tallied 66 points on 34 goals and 32 assists. In net, senior Jaeger Gonzales led Cal Lutheran with 320 minutes played, recording 85 saves and an 11.50 goals-against average. The 'Eaters last faced the Kingsmen at the Inland Empire Classic on Sept. 6, 2025, earning an 18-8 victory.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps opened the 2026 season 0-2 at the Triton Invitational. The Stags fell to No. 8 Pepperdine, 9-16, before dropping a 9-28 decision to No. 2 USC on Saturday, Aug. 29. Last season, junior Nick Kennedy led the Stags with 175 points on 99 goals and 76 assists, while graduated senior Thomas Walker added 103 points on 71 goals and 32 assists. In net, graduated senior Jake Taylor paced CMS with 748 minutes played, recording 231 saves and an 11.55 goals-against average. The 'Eaters last faced the Stags at the Gary Troyer Invitational on Oct. 3, 2025, when UCI narrowly fell, 11-12. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will face UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton on Friday before taking on the Anteaters on Saturday morning.

Pomona-Pitzer opened the 2026 season 0-2 at the UCI Invitational. The Sagehens fell to No. 16 LMU, 9-14, before dropping an 11-12 decision to Concordia on Friday, Aug. 28. Senior Indigo Lee and junior Michael Soybel led the Sagehens with five points apiece, each recording four goals and one assist. In net, sophomore Lee DiLascia led Pomona-Pitzer with eight saves and a .571 save percentage. The 'Eaters last faced the Sagehens at the Gary Troyer Invitational on Oct. 5, 2024, earning a 22-14 victory. Pomona-Pitzer will face UC Santa Barbara on Saturday morning before taking on UCI.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The 'Eaters have scored 12 or more goals in each of their first four outings this season, averaging 17.5 goals per game. Junior Johann Thrall leads the way with 15 points on 11 goals and four assists, while senior Gage Verdegaal ranks second with 11 points on nine goals and two assists. Verdegaal has recorded three hat tricks to start the season, while Thrall has two. Junior Cole Francisco has also made an impact, tallying 10 points on four goals and six assists.

MINDING THE NET
Freshman Nico Assalian earned the starting nod in all four games, posting a 3-1 record during the opening weekend. He logged 104 minutes in net, recording 36 saves, six assists, and two steals, while posting a 10.46 goals-against average and a .514 save percentage. Sophomore Vincent Vega appeared in one game for 16 minutes, tallying six saves, two assists, and one steal with a 6.00 goals-against average and a .667 save percentage. Junior Nolan Cary also saw action in one game, playing eight minutes and recording three saves and a .300 save percentage while posting a 28.00 goals-against average.

NEW FACES, NEW ROLES
UCI's freshmen wasted no time making an impact in the pool during their first collegiate weekend. Ryan Fresca led the way with eight points, opening his collegiate career with three points on one goal and two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28. He followed with two assists against George Washington (Aug. 28) and three more assists against Concordia (Aug. 29). Aiden Sexton also made an immediate impact, recording four points on two goals and two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 before adding his third goal of the season against Concordia on Aug. 29. River Davis scored his first collegiate goal against George Washington on Aug. 28 before quickly adding his second goal and first assist against Concordia on Aug. 29 to record his first multi-point game. Luke Kalynij also found the back of the net for the first time in his collegiate career, scoring against Chapman on Aug. 28. Noah Jurgensen recorded his first collegiate assist in his first career minutes against Chapman. Charlie Jones capped the strong opening weekend for UCI's freshmen with the first two goals of his career, scoring against Chapman and George Washington on Aug. 28 after not competing during the 2025 season.

PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Cole Francisco was named to the eight-member Preseason All-Big West Team as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Francisco is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he totaled 69 points on 31 goals and a team-high 38 assists. He is a three-time All-Big West honoree, a two-time Big West Player of the Week selection, and landed on both the CSC Academic All-District At-Large Team and the ACWPC All-Academic Team in the 2025 season.

UP NEXT
The Anteaters return home on Friday, Sept. 11, to host No. 1 UCLA at the Anteater Aquatics Complex at 2 p.m. UCI will then travel to Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 12, to take on No. 2 USC at 1 p.m.