UPCOMING MATCHES
No. 38 UC Irvine Anteaters at No. 48 San Diego State Aztecs
Record (2013): 3-1 (22-6)
Date / Time: Thurs. Feb. 6, 2014 - 2:00 PM
Site: San Diego, Calif. - Aztec Tennis Complex
NET SERVES
Franziska Goettsching currently stands third all-time at No. 3 with 19 wins and fourth all-time at No. 4 with 16. Goettsching has passed Kristina Smith for fourth all-time with her 20th and 21st wins 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 42 doubles wins good for 15th all-time.
Sarah Stadfelt earned a tie for fourth all-time with her 14th win at the No. 6 position.
DROP SHOTS
The 'Eaters' schedule consists of eight schools ranked in the ITA preseason rankings. UCI is currently 1-3 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.
UCI faced nine of those ranked singles over the past week.
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. UCI is currently ranked 38th.
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.
ATTACKING THE AZTECS
San Diego State comes into the match ranked 48th in the nation with a 3-1 record. SDSU went 22-6 in 2013, but fell in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to Baylor.
UCI will be SDSU's fifth straight Big West opponent to open the season. It has home wins over UC Riverside, CSUF, and UC Davis. Its lone loss was its lone road match at No. 45 Long Beach State.
Laura Antonana Iriarte and Kristin Buth lead the Aztecs as the Nos. 1 and 2. They come together as the squad's No. 2 doubles while Dora Somoracz and Hailey Johnson play as the No. 1.
FALL 'EATERS
Ali Facey impressed in fall play going 9-2 including winning the consolation bracket of the ITA West Regionals. She also went a combined 6-4 in doubles play.
Sarah Gong posted a 5-2 mark in singles and reached the ITA West Regionals consolation semifinal and won a pair of matches in the Hawaii Fall Tournament. In doubles, she and Marivick Mamiit reached the quarterfinals of the ITA West Regional.
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