UPCOMING MATCHES

No. 38 UC Irvine Anteaters at No. 5 UCLA Bruins

Date / Time: Thurs. Jan. 30, 2014 - 1:30 PM
Site: Los Angeles, Calif. - Los Angeles Tennis Center

No. 48 Pepperdine Waves at No. 38 UC Irvine Anteaters

Date / Time: Sat. Jan. 1, 2014 - 12:00 PM
Site: Irvine, Calif. - Anteater Tennis Stadium

NET SERVES

Franziska Goettsching is still looking for her first win this season at No. 2. She currently stands third all-time at No. 3 with 19 and fourth all-time at No. 4 with 16.

Goettsching also passed Kristina Smith for fourth all-time with her 20th win as a No. 1 doubles.

Her 36th career singles win ties her with Liz Yim, Haruko Shigekawa, and Brooke Bartlett for 22nd all-time. She also has 41 doubles wins tying her for 15th with Dina Trenwith.

DROP SHOTS

The 'Eaters' schedule consists of eight schools ranked in the ITA preseason rankings. UCI is currently 1-1 with a win over No. 61 USD.

UC Irvine will face seven schools that reached the 2013 NCAA Tournament including Final Four participant UCLA.

Amongst UCI's opponents are 16 ranked singles players; 14 in the top-100, eight in the top-50, and two in the top-10.

The 'Eaters play 13 of their 22 matches at home including a stretch of 10 consecutive matches that span from February through the entirety of March.

DEUCES

UC Irvine finished 2013 ranked 32nd in the nation, besting its No. 35 ranking from 2007.

The 'Eaters were ranked 23rd earlier in the season, its highest ranking in Division I and first time in the top 30 since 2007.

Kristina Smith took home the Southwest region ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award for the 'Eaters for the second year in a row following Stephanie Hammel's accolade in 2012.

UCI was well-represented in the All-Big West awards most notable with Kristina Smith earning player of the year and Coach Mike Edles earning co-coach of the year. Included on the all-conference squads in singles were Franziska Goettsching and Marivick Mamiit. The trio each scored doubles honors along with Sarah Stadfelt, Ali Facey, and Brooke Schweyer

NCAA NOTORIETY

UC Irvine women's tennis was very prevalent in the NCAA postseason earning spots in the team and individual brackets. The team notched its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a hard-fought, 4-2 victory over San Jose State. The 'Eaters followed with a sweep at the hands of USC to end its postseason run.

UCI took home a Big West regular season title in 2013 going 9-0 in Big West matches, 36-6 in singles sets, and 24-0 in doubles sets.

UCI's NCAA Tournament win was Head Coach Mike Edles' 250th as an Anteater.

BREAK POINTS

The 'Eaters return a pair of sophomores that shone as freshmen. Sarah Gong and Sarah Stadfelt had 39 wins between the two, 29 in dual matches, and a sparkling 13-0 record in Big West matches. Gong, the team's No. 4, never lost consecutive matches on the year. Stadfelt had win streaks of six and 10 during the season. Each scored a singles win over their UCLA opponent. Stadfelt had the only significant doubles result of the two going 11-8 while teamed up with Mamiit.

The 'Eaters as a club won all 14 home matches and ran a 20-match win streak in 2013, both program records.

COASTAL COUNTERPARTS

UCI has plays on the road and at home this week with a pair of ranked schools, No. 5 UCLA and No. 48 Pepperdine.

The Bruins are 3-0 thus far with wins over UCI's Kickoff Classic opponents, San Diego and TCU, in addition to a 7-0 sweep over UCSB. UCLA will also host LMU before welcoming the Anteaters.

UCLA reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 before falling to Texas A&M, 4-3, and finished the year 20-6.

The Bruins have ranked players Robin Anderson (1), Chanelle Van Nguyen (9), Jennifer Brady (24), and Kyle McPhillips (36) who have gathered a 7-0 record so far in finished matches. UCLA's only slip came in the No. 6 slot against TCU.

Pepperdine has yet to play this season. It will begin its campaign Thursday, Jan. 30, at USC before travelling to UCI.

Pepperdine comes in ranked 48th in the nation, yet it sports five ranked singles players: No. 19 Lorraine Guillermo, No. 79 Matea Cutura, No. 93 Ale Granillo, No. 112 Michaela Capannolo, and No. 117 Yuki Chiang. Granillo and Guillermo come in as the only upperclassmen on a team with seven sophomores and freshmen.

The Waves went 7-1 in WCC play earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 2013 despite a 12-12 overall record. Pepperdine bowed out in the first round to Rice, 4-3, in tourney play. Their season saw a stretch of nine straight losses to open the season including a 4-3 loss to UCI. They would turn it around and finish with a pair of five-match win streaks down the stretch.

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