UC Irvine Anteaters - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from UC Irvine Anteaters women's golf) Sports teams of the University of California, Irvine This article is about the collegiate athletics teams known by this nickname. For the mascot, see University of California, Irvine § Anteater as mascot. For the collective student body known by this demonym, see Student activities and traditions at UC Irvine. For specific members of the student body, see List of University of California, Irvine people § Students and alumni.

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Athletic teams representing University of California, Irvine

UC Irvine Anteaters

University	University of California, Irvine
Conference	Big West (primary) Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (women's indoor track & field)
NCAA	Division I
Athletic director	Paula Smith (Interim)
Location	Irvine, California
Varsity teams	18
Basketball arena	Bren Events Center
Baseball stadium	Anteater Ballpark
Soccer stadium	Anteater Stadium
Other venues	Anteater Aquatics Complex Big Canyon Country Club Dove Canyon Country Club Microsemi Field UC Irvine Tennis Stadium
Mascot	Peter the Anteater
Nickname	Anteaters
Fight song	"Anteaters, Go!" and "The Big C"
Colors	Blue and gold
Website	ucirvinesports.com

The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine). Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.

UC Irvine fields teams in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country running, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, women's indoor track & field, men's and women's outdoor track & field, men's and women's volleyball, and men's and women's water polo. The Anteaters have won 28 national championships in nine different team sports. 64 Anteaters have won individual national championships, and 53 Anteaters have competed in the Olympics.

Conference affiliations

1965–66 to 1976–77 – NCAA Division II Independent
1977–78 to present – Big West Conference

Sports sponsored

Men's sports	Women's sports
Baseball	Basketball
Basketball	Cross country
Cross country	Golf
Golf	Soccer
Soccer	Tennis
Tennis	Track and field
Track and field	Volleyball
Volleyball	Water polo
Water polo
– outdoor only

Baseball

Main article: UC Irvine Anteaters baseball

UC Irvine's baseball team won two national championships at the College Division and the Division II level in 1973 and 1974, prior to moving to Division I. The program was eliminated in 1992 due to state budget cuts, but was reinstated in 2002.

Since the return of its baseball program in 2002, UCI has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the country. In 2007, UCI participated in the College World Series for the first time in school history. The Anteaters eliminated both Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State before losing to Oregon State, earning a 3rd-place finish. In 2014, the Anteaters returned to the College World Series and earned a 5th-place finish.

Basketball

Main articles: UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball and UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball

During the 1982 season the men's basketball team were led by two-time first team All-American Kevin Magee. That season, the team was ranked as high as No. 19 in the nation for NCAA Division I basketball. During the 1986 season the Anteaters were led by future NBA player and former head coach of the Washington Wizards, Scott Brooks.

The Anteaters hired Golden State Warriors assistant Russell Turner as the head men's basketball coach in 2010. Turner was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year after he led the Anteaters to the 2013-2014 conference regular season championship.

The Anteaters won their first ever NCAA tournament game in school history on March 22, 2019, upsetting No. 4 Kansas State Wildcats 70-64.

Cross country

The UC Irvine Anteaters men's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times, with their highest finish being 11th place in the 1986–87 school year. The UC Irvine Anteaters women's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times, with their highest finish being 4th place in the 1990–91 school year.

Year	Gender	Ranking	Points
1977	Men	No. 15	376
1983	Women	No. 16	390
1986	Men	No. 11	281
1987	Men	No. 14	323
1987	Women	No. 8	213
1989	Women	No. 10	279
1990	Women	No. 4	210

Golf

During the early years when the UC Irvine Anteater men's golf team participated at the Division II level, the teams were highly successful for five consecutive years from 1973 through 1977. Coach Jerry Hulbert formed teams consisting of local southern California players. The teams played in the NCAA Division II team national championship for each of these five years, including winning the national team championship in 1975. Anteater team member Jerry Wisz also won the individual national championship that year. At these national championships, the teams finished fourth in 1973, second in 1974, second in 1976, and thirteenth in 1977. Seven players from the 1972 through 1976 teams earned All-American honors awarded by the Golf Coaches Association of America, with two of these players awarded for two consecutive years. After reaching the Division I level, the Anteater teams have played in the NCAA National Regionals fourteen times, including reaching the national championship three of those seasons. In coach Paul Smolinski's quite successful twenty-three years as head coach, his teams have played in twelve NCAA regionals, and two NCAA national championships (2001 & 2008). Arguably his best player John Chin, who along with the above-mentioned Jerry Wisz have been the two best players in the entire school history, earned NCAA Division I All-American honors in 2010. John has played as a member of the PGA Tour and what is currently named the Korn Ferry Tour.

Soccer

Main article: UC Irvine Anteaters men's soccer

UCI soccer plays its home games at Anteater Stadium. The men's team has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation and has made six Division I NCAA tournament appearances with berths in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2018. In addition, since the introduction of the Big West Conference Tournament for soccer in 2008 the Anteaters have won the tournament championship four times. The women's team has made two Division I NCAA tournament appearances with berths in 2010 and 2011.

Notable Anteater soccer alumni include United States men's national team member Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC) and Rouzy (LA Galaxy).

The UC Irvine Anteaters men's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 6–6 through six appearances.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2008	Second Round Third Round	Cal Poly St. John's	W 3–0 L 2–3
2009	Second Round	Stanford	L 0–1
2011	Second Round	Saint Mary's	L 1–2
2013	Second Round Third Round	North Carolina Maryland	W 1–0 L 0–1
2014	First Round Second Round Third Round	UNLV Stanford Providence	W 3–0 W 1–0 L 0–1
2018	First Round Second Round	Grand Canyon Stanford	W 2–1 L 0–2
2023	First Round	Loyola Marmount	L 2-4

The UC Irvine Anteaters women's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 6–5–1 through five appearances.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2010	First Round Second Round Third Round	Arizona State Wake Forest Washington	W 2–1 W 2–0 L 0–1
2011	First Round	San Diego	D 2–2 (PK 3-5)
2021	First Round Second Round	UCLA Wisconsin	W 1-0 L 0-3
2022	First Round Second Round Third Round	USC Brown No. 1 Alabama	W 2-0 D 1-1 (PK 4-2) L 1-3
2023	First Round Second Round Third Round	No. 2 UCLA Gonzaga Nebraska	W 1-0 W 2-1 L 0-4

Men's Volleyball

UC Irvine men's volleyball have made the NCAA Tournament a total of eight times, winning four National Championships (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013). As of 2024, the Anteaters hold a record of 9–4 (.692) in those eight NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Anteaters made their first final four appearance in 2006, losing in the NCAA semi-finals to Penn State. They won their first national championship in 2007 by defeating IPFW 3–1 in the NCAA final. UCI won its second national championship in 2009 after defeating USC 3-2 in a five-set comeback victory in the NCAA final. The Anteaters won their third NCAA men's volleyball title in 2012 after defeating USC again in the NCAA final, this time in a 3-0 sweep at the Galen Center. UCI's longtime head coach John Speraw had guided the Anteaters to three national championships in six years but immediately after winning the 2012 national title he left UCI after accepting the head coaching position at UCLA.

UC Irvine alum and former assistant coach David Kniffin took over the Anteater program in 2013 and became just the second head coach in NCAA men's volleyball history to win a national championship in his first season. In the 2013 NCAA final the Anteaters defeated BYU in a 3-0 sweep to win back-to-back national championships.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2006	Semifinal	Penn State	L 2–3
2007	Semifinal Championship	Penn State IPFW	W 3–1 W 3–1
2009	Semifinal Championship	Ohio State USC	W 3–0 W 3–2
2012	Semifinal Championship	Penn State USC	W 3–1 W 3–0
2013	Semifinal Championship	Loyola (Chicago) BYU	W 3–0 W 3–0
2015	Semifinal	Loyola (Chicago)	L 0–3
2018	Quarterfinal	Ohio State	L 0–3
2024	Quarterfinal Semifinal	Penn State UCLA	W 3–0 L 2–3

Women's Volleyball

The UC Irvine Anteaters women's volleyball team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–3 through three appearances.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1988	First Round	Long Beach State	L 2–3
2003	First Round Second Round	Missouri UCLA	W 3–2 L 0–3
2004	First Round	Arizona	L 0–3

Water polo

UC Irvine's men's water polo team won three NCAA Division I national championships in 1970, 1982, and 1989.

UCI's head men's water polo coach for many years was Ted Newland. As the Anteaters' head coach from 1966-2005, Newland had a lifetime record of 714–345–5. In his 39 years at the helm the Anteaters won three national championships, and the team was consistently rated among the nation's top 5 programs. Many world-class water polo players have been affiliated with UCI, with more than 70 NCAA All-Americans and 13 Olympians being produced by the program. Four Anteaters were a part of the United States team that won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The UC Irvine Anteaters men's water polo team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 29–18 through twenty-one appearances.

In 2023, the UC Irvine Anteaters men's water polo team won the inaugural Big West Men's Water Polo Tournament. With Cal State Fullerton’s addition of a men’s water polo program, the Big West met the criteria to create a men’s water polo conference with its six participating institutions and will now have the ability to have its own championship. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship.

The UC Irvine women's water polo team is coached by 2004 Olympian Dan Klatt since 2005 and has led the team to 8 NCAA Tournament Appearances in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, and 2023, finishing as high as 4th place in 2012. In addition, the team has won 9 Big West Titles and 9 Big West Tournament Titles under Klatt.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1969	First Round	California	L 4–5
1970	First Round Semifinals National Championship	USC Long Beach State UCLA	W 7–4 W 9–6 W 7–6
1971	First Round	CSU Fullerton	L 4–5
1972	First Round Semifinals	UC Santa Barbara UCLA	W 16–12 L 10–15
1973	First Round Semifinals National Championship	Long Beach State USC California	W 7–5 W 9–5 L 4–8
1974	First Round Semifinals National Championship	UC Santa Barbara UCLA California	W 10–6 W 5–3 L 6–7
1975	First Round Semifinals National Championship	UC Davis Stanford California	W 19–4 W 9–8 L 8–9
1976	First Round Semifinals	Pittsburgh UCLA	W 18–4 L 9–14
1977	First Round Semifinals National Championship	Arizona Stanford California	W 14–7 W 9–7 L 6–8
1978	First Round Semifinals	Loyola (IL) California	W 14–5 L 5–7
1980	First Round Semifinals	Bucknell California	W 13–4 L 7–9
1981	First Round Semifinals	UC Santa Barbara Stanford	W 9–8 L 6–13
1982	First Round Semifinals National Championship	Brown California Stanford	W 13–2 W 8–5 W 7–4
1983	First Round Semifinals	Loyola (IL) USC	W 12–8 L 8–9
1985	First Round Semifinals National Championship	Brown UCLA Stanford	W 15–8 W 7–6 L 11–12
1987	First Round Semifinals	Stanford California	W 8–6 L 3–7
1988	First Round	USC	L 11–13
1989	First Round Semifinals National Championship	UALR Stanford California	W 13–6 W 8–7 W 9–8
1991	First Round Semifinals	Long Beach State California	W 11–8 L 10–13
1992	First Round Semifinals	Pepperdine California	W 11–8 L 5–8
1993	First Round Semifinals	Pacific Stanford	W 12–10 L 8–10
2023	First Round	Princeton	L 7-12

Championships

Appearances

The UC Irvine Anteaters competed in the NCAA Tournament across 18 active sports (10 men's and 8 women's) 110 times at the Division I level.

Baseball (10): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2021, 2024
Men's basketball (2): 2015, 2019
Women's basketball (2): 1995, 2024
Men's cross country (3): 1977, 1986, 1987
Women's cross country (4): 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990
Men's golf (3): 1992, 2001, 2008
Women's golf (3): 2005, 2007, 2009
Men's soccer (7): 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2023
Women's soccer (5): 2010, 2011, 2021, 2022, 2023
Men's tennis (13): 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2022, 2024
Women's tennis (3): 2007, 2010, 2013
Men's indoor track and field (1): 1977
Men's outdoor track and field (8): 1968, 1969, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2011, 2012
Women's outdoor track and field (5): 1982, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992
Men's volleyball (8): 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2024
Women's volleyball (3): 1988, 2003, 2004
Men's water polo (22): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2023
Women's water polo (8): 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023

Team

The Anteaters of UC Irvine earned 7 NCAA championships at the Division I level.

Men's (7)
- Volleyball (4): 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013
- Water polo (3): 1970, 1982, 1989

Results

School year	Sport	Opponent	Score
1970–71	Men's water polo	UCLA	7–6
1982–83	Men's water polo	Stanford	7–4
1989–90	Men's water polo	California	9–8
2006–07	Men's volleyball	Purdue Fort Wayne	3–1
2008–09	Men's volleyball	USC	3–2
2011–12	Men's volleyball	USC	3–0
2012–13	Men's volleyball	BYU	3–0

UC Irvine won 15 national championships at the NCAA Division II level.

Baseball: 1973, 1974
Men's cross country: 1975, 1976
Men's golf: 1975
Men's outdoor track and field: 1976
Men's swimming and diving: 1969, 1970, 1971
Men's tennis: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977

Below are sixteen national club team championships:

Co-ed archery (1): 2016 (USIAC)
Men's archery (1): 2016 (USIAC)
Women's archery (1): 2016 (USIAC)
Co-ed badminton (3): 2004, 2007, 2008 (ABA)
Men's badminton (2): 2007, 2008 (ABA)
Co-ed paintball – Division IAA (1): 2006 (NCPA)
Co-ed sailing (7): 1972, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006 (ICSA)

Note: Those with no denoted division is assumed that the institution earned a national championship at the highest level.

Individual

UC Irvine had 3 Anteaters win NCAA individual championships at the Division I level.

NCAA individual championships
Order	School year	Athlete(s)	Sport	Source
1	1977–78	Mauricio Bardales	Men's outdoor track and field
2	1977–78	Steven Scott	Men's outdoor track and field
3	2011–12	Charles Jock	Men's outdoor track and field

At the NCAA Division II level, UC Irvine garnered 61 individual championships.

Facilities

The UCI basketball and volleyball teams compete at the Bren Events Center as the main venue. They train and compete at the nearby Crawford Hall as the secondary location. The baseball team plays in Anteater Ballpark, which is located behind the Mesa Parking Structure. Anteater Stadium itself is part of UCI's Crawford Athletics Complex, which houses the track and swimming facilities.

Rivalries

Since 2006, the UC Irvine Anteaters have participated in the annual "Black and Blue Rivalry Series" with Long Beach State. In this challenge, each school earns points for its collective conference championships and head-to-head victories against each other (across all NCAA sports in which both schools participate). The totals are added up at the end of the season and a winner is declared.

References

UCI Art Sheet (PDF). May 1, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
"Division I Men's Cross Country Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
"Division I Women's Cross Country Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
"Division I Men's Soccer Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
"Division I Women's Soccer Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
"Division I Women's Volleyball Championship Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
"UC Irvine". Mwater.uci.edu. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
"National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
"2023 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship - The Big West". bigwest.org. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
"WWP Record Book" (PDF). Big West Conference. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
"NCAA Championships Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
^ "Championships Summary" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
^ "Division I Men's Outdoor Track Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
"Bren Events Center". UCI Athletics.
"Crawford Court". UCI Athletics.
"The Black and Blue Rivalry Series". longbeachstate.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.

External links

Official website

v t e University of California, Irvine
Overview	Academics Athletics Campus People
Schools	Arts Biological Sciences Business Education Engineering Humanities Information and Computer Sciences Law Medicine Physical Sciences Social Ecology Social Sciences
Research	Beckman Laser Institute Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve Calit2 Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Institute of Transportation Studies Steele Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center Thesaurus Linguae Graecae UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling UC Humanities Research Institute
Student life	Activities and traditions KUCI Muslim Student Union
History	Timeline Irvine 11 controversy pro-Palestinian campus occupation
Athletics	Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's soccer Men's volleyball
Campus	Anteater Ballpark Anteater Recreation Center Anteater Stadium Arboretum Barclay Theatre Bren Events Center Crawford Hall UCI Medical Center Irvine–Newport under construction UCI Medical Center off campus New Swan Theater seasonal Student housing Middle Earth University Hills

Links to related articles

v t e Big West Conference
Full members	Bakersfield Roadrunners Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Northridge Matadors Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine (leaving in 2026) Long Beach State Beach UC Davis Aggies (leaving in 2026) UC Irvine Anteaters UC Riverside Highlanders UC San Diego Tritons UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Associate members	Idaho Vandals (men's golf) Sacramento State Hornets (beach volleyball, men's soccer, men's golf)

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation

Beach volleyball members

California Golden Bears
Grand Canyon Antelopes (leaving in 2025)
Oregon Ducks
Stanford Cardinal
UCLA Bruins
USC Trojans
Washington Huskies

Fencing members

Gymnastics members

Men	Air Force Falcons California Golden Bears Oklahoma Sooners Stanford Cardinal
Women	Alaska Anchorage Seawolves Sacramento State Hornets Southern Utah Thunderbirds UC Davis Aggies

Swimming & diving members

Men	Incarnate Word Cardinals Pacific Tigers
Women	Incarnate Word Cardinals Pacific Tigers Pepperdine Waves San Diego Toreros
Artistic	Incarnate Word Cardinals Stanford Cardinal Texas Woman's Pioneers Wheaton Lyons

Indoor track & field members

Men	Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Northridge Matadors Long Beach State Beach Portland Pilots UC Riverside Highlanders
Women	Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Northridge Matadors Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Long Beach State Beach Pepperdine Waves Portland Pilots Saint Mary's Gaels San Francisco Dons UC Davis Aggies UC Irvine Anteaters UC Riverside Highlanders

Men's volleyball members

Water polo members

Men	Augustana Vikings Austin Kangaroos California Golden Bears Penn State Behrend Lions Stanford Cardinal UCLA Bruins USC Trojans
Women	Arizona State Sun Devils California Golden Bears Indiana Hoosiers San Jose State Spartans Stanford Cardinal UCLA Bruins USC Trojans

v t e Sports in Orange County, California
Baseball	MLB Los Angeles Angels
Ice hockey	NHL Anaheim Ducks
Soccer	USLC Orange County SC NISA Capo FC Irvine Zeta FC USL2 AMSG FC Capo FC UPSL La Máquina FC Orange County FC 2 Santa Ana Winds FC
Tennis	WTT Orange County Breakers
Roller derby	RDCL Orange County Roller Derby
College athletics	NCAA Division I Cal State Fullerton UC Irvine
Defunct/Relocated	NFL Los Angeles Rams ABA Anaheim Amigos NBA Los Angeles Clippers NBA D-League Anaheim Arsenal NASL California Surf APSL Los Angeles Salsa AFL Anaheim Piranhas NLL Anaheim Storm RHI Anaheim Bullfrogs WFL Southern California Sun CISL Anaheim Splash
Venues	Anaheim Convention Center Angel Stadium Anteater Ballpark Anteater Recreation Center Anteater Stadium Breakers Stadium at the Newport Beach Tennis Club Bren Events Center Championship Stadium Costa Mesa Speedway Crawford Hall Fairgrounds Grandstand Arena Goodwin Field Heritage Park Aquatic Center Honda Center LeBard Stadium Los Alamitos Race Course Santa Ana Stadium Titan Gym Titan Stadium
Only played occasional games in Orange County

Category:

UC Irvine Anteaters