Grand Canyon (0-0) at
UC Irvine (0-1)
Date: Friday, Jan. 20
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Nevada (0-0) at
UC Irvine (0-1)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 22
Time: 10 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
UC Irvine Match Notes
The UC Irvine women's tennis team will play a pair of home matches this weekend starting on Friday, Jan. 20, when the 'Eaters entertain Grand Canyon at 1:30 p.m. UCI then returns to the courts on Sunday, Jan. 22 for a 10 a.m. showdown with Nevada. Both contests will be played at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
QUICK HITS
• UC Irvine returns five letterwinners, while it also brings in six newcomers for the 2017 campaign.
• UCI suffered a 7-0 setback to Ole Miss, which was receiving votes in the Oracle/ITA rankings, in its season opener.
• Interim head coach Elizabeth Ferris is in her first year at the helm of the program.
• Ferris spent the last three seasons as an assistant under long-time UCI head coach Mike Edles.
• Junior Vivien Dvali is the Anteaters' top returnee after picking up eight wins at No. 2 last year.
• Senior Cassidy Branstine also had eight victories at the fifth and sixth spots in 2016.
• Freshman Constance Branstine, younger sister of Cassidy, led the 'Eaters during the fall with five singles wins.
LAST TIME OUT: UC Irvine fell to SEC member Ole Miss, 7-0, in its season opener last Saturday at Anteater Tennis Stadium. The Rebels, who were receiving votes in the Oracle/ITA Rankings, were one of the toughest opponents the 'Eaters will face this year.
UCI put up a fight at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to start the day. At the top spot, freshmen Constance Branstine and Stephanie Nguyen held an early 3-2 lead but ultimately fell to Arianne Hartono/Anna Vrbenska, 6-4. Juniors Vivien Dvali and Hali Dickson also got off to a strong start with a 3-0 advantage before Alexa Bortles and Natalie Suk won the next four games. It then went back-and-forth with Ole Miss pulling out the 7-6 (4) victory.
In singles play, freshman Jacqueline Tsodikova fell to Tea Jandric at No. 5, while Dickson also dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to Bortles at No. 6. Mississippi then clinched the match on court one as 31st-ranked Hartono defeated Constance Branstine, 6-3, 6-0. At No. 2, Dvali, who trailed 5-2 in the second set, continued to battle but was unable to complete the comeback in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Suk. Nguyen and Cassidy Branstine also suffered setbacks at No. 3 and 4, respectively.
SCOUTING THE LOPES: Grand Canyon (0-0) is set for its season opener at UC Irvine on Friday. The Lopes return six letterwinners from a 2016 squad that went 9-8 overall. GCU brings back the top half of its singles lineup in seniors Tatum Prudhomme, Alexandra Petrzalkova and Susan Baklini.
LAST MEETING: UC Irvine defeated Grand Canyon, 4-3, in both teams' season opener at Anteater Tennis Stadium last year. The 'Eaters claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3, but the Lopes came storming back as they took the first three singles matches. UCI responded with victories at No. 1 and No. 5, before clinching the match with a three-set thriller on court 6.
A GLANCE AT NEVADA: Nevada is set to play back-to-back matches this weekend as it opens its season at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday before making its way to UC Irvine on Sunday. Senior Claudia Herrero (8-3) and senior Sheila Morales (7-4) led the Wolf Pack during the fall campaign.
LAST MEETING: UCI edged Nevada, 4-3, in the most recent meeting between the two teams on Feb. 12, 2011. With the match tied at 3-3, Courtney Byron pulled out a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 win at the top spot to clinch the victory for the 'Eaters on their home court.
HOME SWEET HOME: UC Irvine opens the 2017 campaign on a season-long six-match homestand. Overall, the 'Eaters are slated to play 15 of their 23 matches at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
CALIFORNIA GIRLS: Every member of the UC Irvine's women's tennis team hails from the state of California. In addition, five of them grew up locally in the Orange County area.
BLUE CHIP RECRUIT: Freshman Constance Branstine is a five-star blue chip recruit out of Villa Park High School. She paced the 'Eaters during the fall season with a team-high five singles victories. The Orange, Calif., native had her best showing at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Invitational where she advanced to the semifinals.
BACK FOR MORE: Junior Vivien Dvali was one of three 'Eaters named to the All-Big West Team last year as she earned second-team recognition in singles. The Valley Village, Calif., native won eight matches at the No. 2 spot and went 5-2 in conference play. She had a strong finish to the season, coming out on top in seven of her final 10 outings. Dvali is the Anteaters' active leader with 23 career singles victories (16 in dual-match play).
FAMILY AFFAIR: UC Irvine's roster will feature a pair of sisters for the second time in three years as freshman Constance Branstine joins senior Cassidy Branstine in 2017. Twins Kat and Ali Facey were the last sister duo to play for the 'Eaters (2012-15).
Constance got off to a good start in the fall as she went 5-5 in singles and 2-2 in doubles. Cassidy enters her senior campaign with 15 career singles victories at UCI after transferring from Utah State in 2014. The Branstines aren't the only athletes in their family as their cousin, Freddie Freeman, is a professional baseball player for the Atlanta Braves.
UP NEXT: UC Irvine continues its homestand next Sunday, Jan. 29, when it welcomes San Diego State to Anteater Tennis Stadium for a 12 p.m. non-conference showdown.
