UC San Diego Tritons (DII - No. 30) at No. 72 UC Irvine Anteaters
Sat. Jan. 17, 2015 / 11:00 AM
Anteater Tennis Stadium
FALL FINDINGS
Lots to look forward to coming out of the fall slate. With a good mix of veterans and newcomers, the 'Eaters went 53-44 in singles matches led by Sarah Gong. Her 8-1 mark included winning the SDSU Invite Red Flight, consolation title at the ITA West Regionals, and an upset of No. 13 Michaela Cappanolo from Pepperdine.
Andrea Duva also put up eight singles wins while newcomers Cassidy Branstine and Alex Harrigan impressed with six each.
Doubles play showed mixed results from a wide selection of pairings. Three duos won two of three matches in their selected tournament while Vivien Dvali won four times between three tandems.
REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
UC Irvine returns to action as the No. 72-ranked squad in the nation after finishing 2014 at No. 71. The 'Eaters went 17-7 overall with 10 wins coming at home.
Anteater singles won nine times after dropping the opening set. In doubles, UCI scored the victory in 15 out of 16 times it secured the doubles point, and twice when it lost the doubles point.
Three contributors to the 2014 campaign return with the likely-No. 1 in Sarah Gong. She went 7-13 overall, but did most of her damage as the No. 1 where she won four times.
Ali Facey and Kat Facey return as well. The senior sisters teamed up to win 26 singles matches in 2014. Ali Facey reached as high as No. 3 and posted nine wins as the No. 4. Kat Facey led all players at a single position with 13 wins as the No. 5
All three will be looking for new doubles partners especially Ali Facey who went 12-8 as the No. 1 alongside Franziska Goettsching.
Included with the returners are Andrea Duva and Mazy Watrous. Duva put up one match in 2014 as a sophomore transfer from Akron. Watrous utilized her redshirt season after transferring as a sophomore from Colorado. Both look to fit into the rotation.
SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN
UC Irvine will look a lot different with six new faces joining the ranks. The vet of the bunch is sophomore Cassidy Branstine. A local product, she returns home after one season at Utah State where she won 14 matches including nine in dual match play. She went 6-5 in fall action including 3-1 showings at the CSUN and Beach tennis tournaments.
Her cohorts are five freshmen. Three remain local in Riverside's Jennifer Andra, Valley Village's Vivien Dvali, and Rancho Palos Verdes' Gala Strong.
Two freshmen travelled a little farther. Alex Harrigan treks from Burlingame in Northern California. She put up an 8-3 mark in fall play, and teamed up with Branstine on two occasions in doubles.
Lastly, the international flavor is brought by Vancouver-resident, Arisha Ladhani. The Canadian held her own going 5-5 in fall play and found a rhythm with Gong going 2-1 in doubles action.
After a 2014 season with no freshmen, the newcomers should be a welcomed sight. The 2013 Anteaters scored a combined 33-9 record from freshmen.
SERVING UP THE SCHEDULE
The Anteaters have a home-heavy schedule ahead of them in 2015 with 14 of their 21 matches coming at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
Their only non-conference road trip takes place at UCLA in the ITA Kick-off Classic beginning with No. 64 Kansas State and finishing with UCLA or Marshall.
The slate is devoid of the usual firepower with No. 65 Denver and No. 70 Fresno State among the only other ranked opponents featured. The highest-ranked foe comes in the form of Big West rival, Long Beach State, who stands at No. 41 in the country.
Three ranked individuals make their way to Irvine in No. 47 Sophie Watts of Fresno State, No. 49 Andrea Ka of San Francisco, and No. 51 Alina Soltanici of Sacramento State
SATURDAY SPECIALTIES
UC Irvine starts 2015 with a soft opening taking on UC San Diego, Sat. Jan. 17 at 11:00 a.m. The Tritons are ranked No. 30 in Division II after finishing at No. 28 in 2014.
Junior No. 1 Kyra Scott returns after an 11-14 season last year. Sophomore Nava Nowamooz also returns after putting up the same mark primarily as the No. 3. Her sister, Nousha joins the squad as well.
Before the match, the Anteaters will host Campus Kids' Day which, in association with the United States Tennis Association, will provide a free tennis clinic open to all ages and levels prior to the match from 10-11 a.m. Children can meet and hit with players and coaches along with prizes and free lunch to go with the season opener of the 2015 season that begins at 11:30 a.m. at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
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