No. 6 UCI Carries Momentum Into Gary Troyer Invitational

Friday, October 2

Claremont, Calif.

11:30 A.M.

UC Irvine

Whittier College

Photo by: Robert Huskey

No. 6 UCI Carries Momentum Into Gary Troyer Invitational

September 30, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. - The 6th-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team travels to Claremont, Calif. for the Gary Troyer Invitational on Friday, Oct. 2, where they take on Whittier at 11:30 a.m. before facing Cal Lutheran at 5:45 p.m.

ANTEATER TIDBITS
UC Irvine went 3-0 during their weekend homestand, including two wins in the UCI Mini Tournament.
The Anteaters defeated No. 11 LMU, 13-8, before edging No. 17 Santa Clara, 14-23, in the UCI Mini Tournament.
The 'Eaters topped No. 18 Navy, 11-10, on Sunday for a perfect 3-0 weekend.
Senior Alex Lopez led the offense with 12 points on seven goals and five assists.
Junior Cole Francisco recorded 10 points on seven goals and three assists.
Freshman Nico Assalian logged 96 minutes in net with 32 saves and two steals.
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 climbed to No. 6 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's national rankings, released Sept. 30. The Anteaters moved up two spots from No. 8 after earning three wins over ranked opponents this past weekend. UCI opened the season ranked No. 13 in the first four polls, spanning the preseason through Week 3, before breaking into the top 10.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Whittier defeated Caltech, 24-7, on Sept. 26 to improve to 9-3 overall on the season. Sebastian Cadena and Ivan Cardenas led the Poets with four goals apiece, while Pedro Carvalho, Daniel Totev and Louis Hackett each recorded hat tricks in the victory. The Anteaters are 6-0 all-time against the Poets, including a 27-11 win in the teams' most recent matchup on Nov. 9, 2024. Whittier will face the University of La Verne and Concordia later this week before taking on the Anteaters.

Cal Lutheran fell to Pomona-Pitzer, 14-11, on Sept. 26 to move to 3-7 overall on the season. Paul Patterson leads the Kingsmen with 43 points, including 33 goals and 10 assists, while Levi Cook has recorded 33 points on 15 goals and 18 assists. Jacob Taff leads Cal Lutheran in goal, totaling 160 minutes played, 49 saves, three steals, a .340 save percentage and an 18.98 goals-against average. The Anteaters and Kingsmen met earlier this season at the Inland Empire Classic on Sept. 4, when UCI earned a 19-8 victory. UCI is 3-0 all-time against Cal Lutheran. The Kingsmen will face Occidental, UC Merced and Air Force later this week before taking on the Anteaters.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The 'Eaters have scored at least 11 goals in 15 of their 17 games this season, averaging 14.2 goals per game. Six players have already reached the 20-goal mark, led by Johann Thrall with 30 goals. Alex Lopez is close behind with 29, while Cole Francisco has 26 goals and leads the team with 47 total points, including 21 assists. Wyley Dale has added 22 goals, Brody Luke has 21, and Gage Verdegaal rounds out the group with 20 goals on the season. Thrall has recorded a team-high six hat tricks, while Verdegaal and Dale have four apiece. Francisco, Lopez and Luke have each recorded two hat tricks this season.

MINDING THE NET
Freshman Nico Assalian has started 12 of the team's 15 games this season, compiling an 8-3 record. He has played 400 minutes in goal, recording 106 saves, eight assists, and 17 steals while posting an 10.40 goals-against average and a .449 save percentage. Sophomore Vincent Vega has appeared in four games, including three starts, totaling 96 minutes in goal. He has recorded 30 saves, two assists, and two steals, along with a 8.33 goals-against average and a .545 save percentage. Junior Nolan Cary has seen action in four games, making two starts and playing 48 minutes. He has tallied 14 saves, two steals and posted a .412 save percentage and a 13.33 goals-against average.

COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
UCI's freshmen made an immediate impact during their first season of collegiate action. Ryan Fresca has led the group with 16 points on 15 assists and one goal. He opened his career with three points on one goal and two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 and has recorded two or more assists in five of UCI's first eight games. River Davis ranks second among the newcomers with 11 points on eight goals and three assists. He scored his first collegiate goal against George Washington on Aug. 28 before adding his second goal and first assist against Concordia the following day for his first multi-point game. Davis became UCI's first freshman this season to record a hat trick, accomplishing the feat against Cal Lutheran on Sept. 4. Aiden Sexton also made an immediate impact, scoring twice and adding two assists against Chapman on Aug. 28 before netting his third goal of the season against Concordia on Aug. 29. He has totaled five points on three goals and two assists. Luke Kalynij scored the first goal of his collegiate career against Chapman on Aug. 28, while Noah Jurgensen recorded his first collegiate assist in his first career minutes against the Panthers. Charlie Jones capped a 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 sitting out the 2025 season. He added two more goals against Cal Lutheran on Sept. 4 for the first multi-goal game of his career.

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 to Anteater Aquatics Complex for their first Big West match up of the season against No. 20 Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6 p.m. before hosting the Ted Newland Alumni Game on Oct. 10 at 11 a.m.