UC Irvine (1-6) at
San Diego (4-2)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
Time: 10 a.m. (PST)
Location: Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center - San Diego, Calif.
Fresno State (3-4) at
UC Irvine (1-6)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 26
Time: 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
UC Irvine Match Notes
The UC Irvine men's tennis team continues its non-conference slate this weekend as it travels south for a 10 a.m. clash with the University of San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 25. The 'Eaters then make their way back to Anteater Tennis Stadium to face Fresno State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26.
QUICK HITS
• UC Irvine has already claimed two Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week awards this year.
• Luca Marquard earned the honor on Feb. 8, following straight-set wins at No. 2 singles vs. GCU and UCSD.
• Marquard is 3-4 on the season and 19-11 in his UCI dual-match career.
• Sebastian Heim was also recognized following a signature win over No. 28 Logan Smith of USC (Jan. 21).
• It was his sixth career weekly honor, which ties him with Fabian Matthews for the most in program history.
• Heim was 99th in the latest Oracle/ITA National Singles Rankings released on Feb. 21.
• UC Irvine men's tennis alum Mike Saunders was named the 'Eaters head coach on July 28, 2016.
• Saunders served as the Anteaters' interim head coach for the 2015-16 season.
IN THE RANKINGS: Junior Sebastian Heim remained in the top-100 in the latest Oracle/ITA National Men's Singles Rankings released on Feb. 21. Heim, who came in at No. 99, is 3-2 on the season. His biggest win so far this year came on Jan. 21, when Heim, who was unranked at the time, upset No. 28 Logan Smith of USC. The Speyer, Germany, native was also 79th in the preseason rankings during the fall, but after a strong showing at the ITA All-American Championships where he beat Stanford's Sameer Kumar (No. 118), he came down with an illness that sidelined him for the rest of the tournament season. A two-time first-team All-Big West selection, Heim was ranked as high as No. 55 last year.
A GLANCE AT SAN DIEGO: San Diego (4-2), which saw two of its three matches canceled last weekend due to inclement weather, is coming off a 7-0 win over Hawai'i. No. 79 Filip Vittek leads the Toreros with a 10-4 overall singles record, including a 3-2 mark in dual matches (all at No. 1).
LAST MEETING VS. USD: The 22nd-ranked Toreros defeated No. 68 UC Irvine, 4-1, in the most recent meeting between the two teams in San Diego on Jan. 16, 2016. USD won the doubles point and after Sebastian Heim took down No. 35 Uros Petronijevic at the No. 1 position to tie the dual, the home team came back with three unanswered to clinch the victory. Heim was unbeaten on the day as he also teamed up with Nico Mertens to top Alex Araouzos/Romain Kalaydjian, 6-2, at No. 3 doubles.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Fresno State (3-4) went 1-2 last week, as it fell to Oregon and UC Santa Barbara, while earning a 7-0 win over Nebraska. The Bulldogs will head to Los Angeles to face Loyola Marymount and Arizona before making their way to Irvine.
LAST MEETING VS. FRESNO: UC Irvine edged Fresno State, 4-3, on the road last year (April 21, 2016). The Anteaters dropped the doubles point and fell behind 2-0 in singles before Justin Agbayani and Vatsal Bajpai won their matches to tie it up at 2-2. The 'Eaters then took their first lead of the dual with a three-set triumph at No. 1, but the Bulldogs weren't done as they responded on court two. The final point came down to the sixth spot where Justin Poon outlasted Jeremy Moser 7-6 (2), 6-7 (3), 6-3 to clinch the victory for UCI.
MARQUARD NABS WEEKLY HONOR: On Feb. 8, junior Luca Marquard was named the Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week for the second time in his career. Marquard, who did not drop a set at No. 2 singles in a Saturday doubleheader, opened with a dominating 6-2, 6-0 victory over Adrian Legarreta of Grand Canyon. He then came back a couple hours later to set the tone in a 4-0 sweep of UC San Diego as he gave UCI an early advantage with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph vs. Alexandre Miaule.
RECORD WATCH: Sebastian Heim earned his program-record tying sixth Big West Athlete of the Week award following a statement win over No. 28 Logan Smith of USC (Jan. 21). On the road and at the No. 1 spot, Heim came from behind to topple Smith, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-4), ending the 10th-ranked Trojans' bid for the sweep. Heim is tied with Fabian Matthews for the most conference weekly honors in program history. Heim also enters this weekend with the top dual-match singles win percentage in school history as he is 35-12 (.745) in his two-plus years at UC Irvine.
GETTING HEALTHY: It hasn't been an easy road for Heim over the last 12 months. As a sophomore, he missed 10 matches with a hip injury that also kept him from training over the summer. Heim 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. 118 Sameer Kumar of Stanford in his first match in six months. He 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 healthy and working his way back into top form.
TRANSFER SUCCESS: Sophomore transfer Luis Lopez is off to a strong start at UC Irvine as he is 3-1 in dual-match singles and is tops on the squad with a 7-3 overall record. Lopez opened the 2017 season at No. 4 where he picked up a 7-6 (4), 1-6, 10-7 win over Jonas Maier of his former school, Utah State. The Chula Vista, Calif., native added two more victories at the No. 3 position at San Diego State (Feb. 11) and vs. Northern Arizona (Feb. 12). Lopez also went 4-2 during the fall and advanced to the Round of 32 at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships.
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will head to La Jolla, Calif., next weekend for the Pac Coast Doubles Tournament, March 3-5. The 'Eaters then return home to host Villanova (March 6), Georgetown (March 7) and Boston College (March 7).
