2015 SEASON

Record:                                                      20-13
Home:                                                         14-3
Away / Neutral:                                              6-10
Big West / Finish:                                   4-1 / T1st
Big West Tournament:      Lost in final vs. UCSB (4-3)
Ranking (Highest):                                 67th (60th) 

The Anteaters finished the 2015 season runners-up in the Big West Tournament dropping the final, 4-3, to UC Santa Barbara. It was the first appearance in the final since 2011, eighth overall, and fifth time UC Irvine has ended up the runner-up.

UC Irvine went 20-13 tying for first in the standings after going 4-1 in conference matches. Since the format change in 2006, the 'Eaters are now 24-15 in Big West play. The 33 matches are the most in a season since 1989, and the 11th-highest total in a season.

Overall, the Anteaters are approximately 867-484 all-time in this the 50th season of Anteater men's tennis.

The 2015 season was the 39th winning season for the program and the first for coach Kronemann since 2011. His 20 wins are the most in his tenure surpassing the 19 wins from the 2011 squad.

Kronemann completed his ninth season at the helm for UC Irvine where he has accumulated 117 wins. Win No. 100 came to open Big West play with a spirited 4-3 victory over UCSB at Newport Beach Tennis Club in front of numerous alums from each program. Overall, he has a 181-191 record in 14 seasons between UC Irvine and Cal Poly.

The 'Eaters were 3-9 against ranked opponents in 2015 defeating No. 45 Boise State, No. 53 UC Davis, and No. 54 Cal Poly. In addition, UCI took down No. 52 UC Santa Barbara and No. 66 Fresno State who were unranked at the time of the meeting.

UCI was ranked for eight of the 15 weeks this season finishing at No. 67. The team spent three consecutive weeks in the rankings on two occasions reaching as high as No. 60 during the year.

On the season, the 'Eaters won the doubles point 15 times ultimately winning the match 11 times. UCI also won four of the eight matches in which it lost the doubles point. UC Irvine also dropped 16 singles matches in which it won the opening set, but also came back to win 16 singles matches that failed to win the opener.

ANTEATER ACCOLADES

Seven Anteaters made their way onto the All-Big West squad in 2015, a record for the program, including the first-ever Big West player to earn Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors in Sebastian Heim.

Heim's player of the year honor is the ninth in program history, first since 2011, but just the second in the last 23 seasons.

Heim is the fourth Anteater named the top freshman, third in the last five years joining Jacob Jung, Ryan Cheung, and Victor Lamm.

Heim also flashed on the All-Big West singles first team along with fellow first-timers Nico Mertens and Shuhei Shibahara. It was Shibahara's second honor, first since his freshman season.

On the doubles end, a pair of pairs were represented. Juniors Justin Agbayani and Jonathan Poon scored their first All-Big West honors on the first team, while Jonathan Hammel and Tyler Pham were named to the second team, the second honor as a duo.

SENIOR SENTIMENTS

Two seniors move on from the program this season in Shuhei Shibahara and Rafael Davidian.

Shibahara has spent all four seasons with the program being named All-Big West twice. In singles play, he concludes with a record of 42-48 after a 16-win senior season that featured 10 wins at No. 3, five at No. 2, and his first No. 2 singles win. Shibahara saw this doubles workload diminish winning three of his 10 matches, but would finish with 29 career doubles wins.

Davidian made a mark in two years with the 'Eaters following a transfer from the University of Utah. As an Anteater, he's toppled a pair of ranked opponents in No. 103 David Sofaer of Pepperdine in his junior season and No. 117 Alex Sendegeya of Texas Tech in 2015. In addition, he upset No. 38 Yannick Hanfmann of USC in fall play, and broke into the rankings at No. 124 while with Utah.

He posted a 12-7 record in 21 matches this season, spreading the wins evenly through positions 4 through 6, for a 25-18 singles record at UCI and 46-30 overall in his collegiate career. He finished his doubles career with a 4-3 record, all with partner Jonathan Poon.

THE NEXT WAVE

The future of Anteater tennis could be special in 2016 with a core of six players in the senior class. Three juniors played nearly every one of the 33 matches in 2015, and all putting up at least 17 singles wins.

Tyler Pham's streaky 2015 campaign finished at 17-12 with four and seven-match losing stretches spelled by a 14-match win streak. He did most of his damage as the No. 2 winning nine of his 14 matches. His doubles record stood at 13-6 collecting 10 wins with fellow junior, Jonathan Hammel, including four wins as the team's No. 1.

Hammel bounced around the singles circuit posting an 18-13 record which saw 11 wins as the No. 5 while also getting at win as the No. 3. Hammel picked it up down the stretch winning 15 of his last 19 matches which featured a seven-match winning streak.

Newcomer Nico Mertens found his stride late in the season after a rough beginning with his new team losing six of eight as the No. 1. He would go on to win 10 in a row as part of a 13-1 run to finish the season. He captured five wins in 12 matches as No. 2 and went a perfect 8-0 at the No. 3 slot. He and Heim teamed up on eight occasions in doubles going 8-2, seven wins at No. 3.

More promise can be seen in leaders Justin Agbayani, Jonathan Poon, and Caryl Hernandez who rose off the court as much as they did on it coming through when called upon for a 13-8 combined singles record. Agbayani and Poon solidified into a fortified doubles combo going 8-5 with five wins at No. 1 doubles. Hernandez collected six wins in eight matches with three different doubles partners.

Redshirt freshman Andrew Gong was also called upon in 2015 winning two of the three singles contests he appeared in. As a doubles partner, he went 1-1 in alongside Shibahara helping the Anteaters win all four matches he appeared in.

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