BACK IN THE SWING

The Anteaters opened with a 7-0 sweep of Division II foe UC San Diego. The lineup laid out with a mix of veterans and newcomers.

Junior Sarah Gong didn't have an easy go of it needing three sets to pull out the win at No. 1 while falling in No. 2 doubles alongside freshman Arisha Ladhani.

Ladhani made her way through singles as the No. 2 disposing of her opponent, 6-0, 6-4.

Ali Facey and Kat Facey clinched the doubles point as the No. 1 duo. In singles, Ali Facey made quick work at No. 5 while Kat Facey needed three sets to vanquish her No. 3 opponent.

Mazy Watrous represented the sophomores in her debut match at No. 4. providing the match-clinching point with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Freshman Vivien Dvali rounded out the crew with a straight-set sweep at No. 6.

A little tweak to the action in 2015 is doubles going away from the pro-set and will now play to six for the match.

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.

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.

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. 72 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. 39 in the country while fellow conference counterpart, Hawai'i, clocked in at No. 54 this week following an upset victory over No. 29 Kentucky.

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.

LET'S KICK IT

UC Irvine's season is one match deep, but it really gets going at this weekend's ITA Kick-Off Classic in Los Angeles.

UCI starts with a tough test against No. 64 Kansas State. The Wildcats introduced new coach Danielle Steinberg with a 6-1 win over Northern Iowa to open the season. The Wildcats were 10-13 in 2014.

Italian-transfer Sara Castellano has taken the lead as the No. 1. Their usual lineup follows with fellows sophomores Palma Juhasz, Maria Panaite, and Livia Cirnu as Nos. 2-3-4.

UCI will play a second match Sunday against No. 1 UCLA or Marshall depending on the outcomes of the Saturday matches.

UCLA is the defending national champion and swept UCI, 7-0, in 2014. Marshall is coming off a 14-8 season, and was victorious in its opener this season downing College of Charleston, 6-1, at home.