Sports in Brief

Track and Field

Men’s Track and Field

UC Irvine men’s track and field came out victorious in five events Saturday at the Mondo Team Challenge at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.

One of those wins came from senior Lloyd Sicard who picked up his third consecutive victory in the 110-meter hurdles with a season-best 13.87. Sicard remains undefeated in the event.

Sicard also joined senior Brandon Howard and freshmen Jordan Gibson and Evan Singletary in the 4×100 relay where they finished with the top mark at 41.52—a new season best.

Sophomore Isaiah Jewett snagged first in the 400 meters with a new personal-best at 46.82—enough to move him up from the tenth spot to the sixth in the program’s history. The time also places Jewett atop all other competitors in the Big West Conference for the respective category this season.

Freshman Hector Garcia picked up his first collegiate victory with a 3:56.37 finish in the 1500 meters. Fellow ‘Eater Ashton Garcia came in second at 3:58.23.

Senior Matt Seawright won the hammer throw with a 191-09 mark and placed fourth in the discus with a 164-06 mark. Both throws turned out to be season bests for the Long Beach native.

Women’s Track and Field

Following a strong outing at the UC Riverside Invitational, the UC Irvine women’s track and field team had another notable showing at the Mondo Team Challenge.

Junior Persis William-Mensah eclipsed her own personal best as an Anteater to win the 100-meter event with an 11.57 finish. The victory marks her second in the respective event on the season. William-Mensah also came in at 24.33 in the 200 meters, which was enough to snag second place behind UC Davis’ Jazmen Bunch.

Senior Megan George ran a season-best 13.54 to take her second consecutive victory in the 110-meter hurdles. George also picked up a fourth place finish in the 200 meters by clocking in with a personal-best at 24.47. She is now ninth in the ‘Eater record books in the event.

Junior Tyra Jones came in second in both the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. Jones trailed George with a 13.90 finish—enough to place George fifth in school history—in the 100-meter hurdles and finished with a 1:01.87 behind Sacramento State’s Carly Schultz in the 400-meter hurdles.  

Sophomore Barbara Coward, who won her commanding fourth-straight victory in the discus at the UC Riverside Invitational on March 25th, took second in the discus with a 175-07 toss.

Tennis

Men’s Tennis

In their final match of the nonconference slate, men’s tennis dropped 7-0 to No. 10 UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts, against a lineup riddled with ranked players and tandems.

Junior Luca Marquard and sophomore Mason Hansen took an early lead in doubles play against the 16th-ranked duo of UCLA junior Martin Redlicki and freshman Evan Zhu, but eventually fell 6-4.  The ‘Eaters dropped flight two by a 6-4 score as well, ceding the doubles point to the Bruins.

UCLA jumped out to a 3-0 match lead after victories at number six and number five singles in straight sets, and clinched the match as No. 39 Redlicki was too much for Marquard, taking flight two 6-2, 6-3.

Hansen pushed junior Logan Stagg to a first set tiebreaker before dropping flight four 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, and ‘Eater sophomore Luis Lopez dropped a hard-fought battle at number three to Zhu 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.  Junior Sebastian Heim kept pace with No. 11 singles player Gage Brymer, threatening to upset before Brymer escaped with a 7-5, 7-5 victory to complete the sweep.

Women’s Tennis

Following a 6-1 home loss to Brown last Tuesday, women’s tennis could not hold on to a 2-1 lead over UC Davis, eventually falling to the Aggies 4-2 on Sunday at Anteater Stadium.

UCI dropped the doubles point after failing to record wins in flights one and two, but the team of juniors Vivien Dvali and Hali Dickson were able to capture a 6-3 win in flight three.

The ‘Eaters stormed back to take a 2-1 lead after a pair of singles victories, with Dvali taking number two singles in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 and sophomore Stephanie Hazell handling flight five by a score of 6-3, 7-5.

Freshman Stephanie Nguyen was defeated at number three singles 6-2, 6-4, as the momentum shifted back over to the Aggies.  Junior Ashlynn Hall could not complete her comeback bid at flight six, dropping a three-set bout 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and UC Davis clinched after senior Cassidy Branstine was edged in flight four following a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) battle.

Freshman Constance Branstine was ahead 4-1 in the third set of her number one singles match, but it was left unfinished after the Aggies had earned the 4-2 victory.

Women’s Water Polo

Saturday

The No. 6 ‘Eaters handled the No. 23 CSUN Matadors by a 15-5 score at the Matador Pool on Saturday, building on their undefeated month of March by continuing their success into April.

Four different UCI players scored in a 6-0 first quarter, and built the lead to 9-0 midway through the second before the Matadors got on the board.

Junior Mary Brooks led a slew of nine ‘Eaters in scoring with four goals, while senior Cambria Shockley followed her up with three.  Senior Kelsey Thornton contributed a pair, and six other ‘Eaters added a goal apiece.

UCI led 11-1 in the second and took an 11-2 lead into halftime as CSUN scored to end the quarter.  The Matadors shut out the ‘Eaters in the third period, narrowing the lead to 11-5, but UCI closed the match strong with a 4-0 fourth to secure the 15-5 victory.

Senior Annika Nelson made her first appearance of the season in goal and saved five shots.

Sunday

UCI knocked off another ranked opponent with a 6-3 win over No. 18 UCSD on Sunday at the Canyonview Aquatic Center and extended their winning streak to eight games, improving to 17-6 on the season.

The ‘Eaters shut the Tritons out through three quarters, thanks to stellar defense and a season-high 12 saves from Nelson.

Brooks led the squad in scoring again with two goals, while juniors Keana Eldridge and Allie Loomis, senior Mackenzie Milham, and Thornton each chipped in one goal.

UCI opened up a 1-0 lead through the first quarter on a Brooks score, and took a 3-0 advantage into the half.  Two more scores put the ‘Eaters up 5-0 heading into the fourth, before the Tritons were finally able to break through.  Loomis’ goal extended the lead to five again, as UCSD added two more goals just before the end of the match to complete the 6-3 final.

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