UC Irvine Hosts Big West Championship; Opens With UC Santa Barbara - UCI Athletics
IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine heads into the 2025 Big West Championship as the third seed and will open against sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 p.m. on Friday April 25 inside the Anteater Aquatics Complex.Big West Championship First Round Notes
GAME SCHEDULE
[6] UC Santa Barbara at [3] UC Irvine
Friday, April 25 | 4:30 PM | Anteater Aquatics Complex
Live Stats | Tickets
THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
> UC Irvine enters the week ranked seventh in the CWPA Weekly Poll and seventh in the Association of College Water Polo Coaches poll
> UCI is the host site for the 2025 Big West Championship and are the third seed
> The Anteaters are looking to get back into the win column after dropping their last two contests
> UCI will face the sixth seed in UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 pm on Friday (Apr. 25)
> A win for the Anteaters will place them in the 2 p.m. semifinal on Apr. 26 and they would face either [2] Long Beach State or [7] CSUN
> UC Irvine holds a 30-6 overall record in the tournament and last took home the title in 2023 with a 10-9 overtime win over Hawai'i
> No. 18/18 UC Santa Barbara enters the contest with a 16-12 overall record and finished 2-5 against Big West opponents
> In their last outing, the Gauchos dropped a 13-11 contest to then-No. 13 UC San Diego
> Five of UCSB's contests against the league have ended by a three-point or less margin
> UCSB's Annie Kuester and Juju Amaral compliment each other on offense
> Kuester leads with 79 points, topping the Gauchos with 58 goals, while Amaral has posted a team-high 50 assists
> In the scoring department, Imani Clemons adds 49 goals followed by Bella Mady's 44
> Christina Mullane chips in 53, sitting third on the squad, behind 30 goals and 23 assists
> Ana Donleavy has spent most of the time in the cage for UCSB, playing 24 games and stopping 205 shots
NOTES
> UC Irvine closed out the regular season with a loss to Black and Blue rival No. 6/6 Long Beach State, 15-12, confirming their spot as the third seed in the Big West Championship
> Versus Long Beach State...
-- Brooke Hourigan led all players with four goals while adding two assists and two steals
-- Lauren Hett, Kennedy East, and Madi O'Hara each chipped two goals
-- Sara Naulty and Libby Alexander rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece
-- Rachel Kirchner matched her career-high 11 saves for the third time this season
-- Maja Layden led the team with three assists
-- UCI was 2-9 (0.222) on power play's while LBSU was 4-8 (0.500)
-- Both sides made one five-meter penalty
> Lauren Hett is the team leader at 89 points with 61 goals and 28 assists
> Hett's 61 goals rank tied sixth all-time in a single season as she sits fifth in the Big West in goals
> Brooke Hourigan is next at 73 points which combines her 37 goals and team-best 36 assists
> Hourigan 36 dimes are tied for sixth in the league rankings
> A handful of Anteaters sit over the 50-point milestone led by Libby Alexander (39 goals, 18 assists) and Sara Naulty's (32 goals, 25 assists) 57 points
> Nioka Thomas follows closely behind with 46 goals and 10 assists for 56 points then Kennedy East's 38 goals and 15 assists for 53 points rounds it out
> Madi O'Hara leads the Anteaters with 53 drawn exclusions as Thomas is nearby with 39
> Hourigan is second best on the squad in steals (31) while East has the top-spot in field blocks (9)
> Rachel Kirchner has 154 saves in the cage through 22 games and Ella Walker has 60 in 11
