UC Irvine junior McKenna Mitchell (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) earned Big West Women's Water Polo Player of the Week honors after leading the team in scoring and to a second place finish at the prestigious Triton Invitational.

The Anteaters recorded wins over ranked opponents in host No. 12 UC San Diego (10-7) and No. 5 Arizona State (10-9 in OT) to reach the tournament final against third-ranked USC.  Mitchell was instrumental in helping them get there.  She began the tournament with two goals in a 15-6 win versus Santa Clara, then registered a hat trick against UCSD.

Her biggest impact was felt in the Arizona State match, where she had four goals, including two in the fourth period to force overtime and another in the second overtime to erase a one-goal deficit.  Mitchell added a goal in UCI's 10-5 loss to the Trojans in the championship match.

Others nominated: Marisa Young (CSUN); Justine Morgan (Long Beach State); Allyson Hansen (UC Davis); Sophie Trabucco (UC Santa Barbara)