UC Irvine (0-1) at
No. 10 USC (1-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 21
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Marks Stadium - Los Angeles, Calif.
UC Irvine Match Notes
The UC Irvine men's tennis team continues its tough non-conference slate with a road match at No. 10 USC on Saturday, Jan. 21. The match is set to get underway at 2 p.m.
QUICK HITS
• UC Irvine suffered a 6-1 setback to Utah State in its season opener on Saturday, Jan. 14.
• Sophomore transfer Luis Lopez accounted for UCI's point with a win at No. 4 singles against his former team.
• The 'Eaters welcome back five letterwinners from a 2016 squad that finished with a 17-9 record.
• They also made their second consecutive appearance in the Big West semifinals last year.
• The Anteaters were ranked as high as No. 57 by the ITA during the 2016 season.
• Junior Sebastian Heim played the majority of his sophomore campaign at the No. 1 spot where he went 10-3.
• Junior Luca Marquard had a team-best 24 singles victories last year with a 16-7 dual-match record.
• Sophomore Vatsal Bajpai was a 20-match winner in 2015-16 as he went 20-11 overall (14-7 dual matches).
• UC Irvine men's tennis alum Mike Saunders was named the 'Eaters head coach on July 28, 2016.
• Saunders served as UCI's interim head coach for the 2015-16 season.
LAST TIME OUT: UC Irvine came up short in its season opener, falling to Utah State, 6-1, last weekend at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
"Tough opener against Utah State, they played well and earned the win," head coach Mike Saunders said. "We started off strong; we were up a break in all three doubles but didn't execute well enough to get the point."
The 'Eaters began the day with sophomore Vatsal Bajpai and freshman Bruce Man-Son-Hing teaming up to defeat Jaime Barajas/Sergiu Bucur, 6-3, at No. 3. Utah State then rallied for wins at No. 1 and 2 to claim the doubles point.
Utah State (1-0) opened singles action with victories at No. 3, 6 and 5 to clinch the match. Sophomore Luis Lopez then got the Anteaters on the board with a win at the fourth position where he edged Jonas Maier, 7-6, 1-6, 10-7.
"Luis won a tough match at No. 4," Saunders said. "He played with courage on the big points and raised his level in those must-have points."
Junior Sebastian Heim went the distance at No. 1 against Kai Wehnelt, but came out on the wrong end of a 7-6, 1-6, 10-7 score. Wehnelt was ranked second in the Mountain Region. Also falling in the season opener was junior Luca Marquard at No. 2 (6-2, 6-4), sophomore Vatsal Bajpai at No. 3 (6-1, 6-1), freshman Bruce Man-Son-Hing at No. 5 (6-3, 6-0) and sophomore Mason Hansen at No. 6 (6-1, 6-1).
A GLANCE AT USC: No. 10 USC kicked off the 2017 campaign with a 6-1 victory over UC Santa Cruz on Monday, Jan. 16. The Trojans have a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday as they will host UC Riverside at 10 a.m. prior to facing the 'Eaters at 2 p.m. USC has four players featured in the Oracle/ITA national singles rankings, led by freshman Brandon Holt, who came in at No. 20 after posting a 17-3 record during the fall season.
LAST MEETING: The Anteaters' most recent meeting with USC came on Feb. 7, 2015. At the time, the Trojans were ranked first in the nation and swept UCI at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles.
GETTING HEALTHY: Junior Sebastian Heim is UC Irvine's No. 1 singles player but has not had an easy road over the last year. In 2016, Heim missed 10 matches in March and April with a hip injury that also kept him from training over the summer. He made his return to the court in the fall and opened the campaign with a strong showing at the ITA All-American Championships where he defeated No. 128 Sameer Kumar of Stanford in his first match in six months. Heim then came down with an illness that kept him out of competition and practice for the remainder of the season. The two-time first-team All-Big West selection is now finally healthy and working his way back into top form.
FAMILIAR FACE: Sophomore Luis Lopez transferred to UCI from Utah State prior to the 2016-17 season. His former teammates joined him in Irvine last weekend as the 'Eaters hosted the Aggies in both teams' season opener on Saturday, Jan. 14. Although the Anteaters fell to USU, Lopez came out on top in his singles match, defeating Jonas Maier, 7-6, 1-6, 10-7, at No. 4.
GERMAN CONNECTION: UCI's top two returnees both hail from Germany. Junior Sebastian Heim (Speyer, Germany) played in 13 dual matches last year, all at No. 1 singles where he went 10-3. His efforts garnered him first-team All-Big West honors. In 2015, Heim was tabbed the Big West Player of the Year and the Big West Freshman of the Year, making him the first individual to claim both awards in the same season. Junior Luca Marquard (Bensheim, Germany) led the 'Eaters with a 24-12 overall record in 2015-16. He was 16-7 in dual matches, and earned All-Big West honorable mention recognition in singles.
PRESEASON RANK: During the fall, Sebastian Heim held a preseason ranking of No. 79. He moved on to the second round of qualifying singles at the prestigious ITA All-American Championships. The rest of his fall season was cut short due to an illness.
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will have a week off from competition as it returns to action in February when it hosts UC San Diego (Feb. 3) and Grand Canyon (Feb. 4) at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
