UC Irvine (3-13, 0-3 Big West) at
Cal Poly (2-11, 0-3 Big West)
Date: Saturday, April 8
Time: 11 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Mustang Tennis Complex - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

UC Irvine (3-13, 0-3 Big West) at
UC Santa Barbara (9-9, 2-1 Big West)
Date: Sunday, April 9
Time: 11 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.

UC Irvine Match Notes

The UC Irvine women's tennis team hits the road for the first time in over a month as it travels to the Central Coast for a pair of Big West matches. The 'Eaters will face Cal Poly on Saturday, April 8, and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, April 9. Both matches are set for an 11 a.m. start.

QUICK HITS
• Seven of the Anteaters' duals have been decided by one point and they are 2-5 in those contests.
• The 'Eaters have a young team with five freshmen and only one senior.
• Freshman Stephanie Nguyen owns a team-best seven singles victories, playing at Nos. 2-4.
• Freshman Constance Branstine has played in 14 matches, all at the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles.
• Junior Vivien Dvali is UCI's active career leader with 27 overall singles wins.
• 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 UC Irvine head coach Mike Edles.

LAST TIME OUT: UC Irvine dropped a tough 4-2 decision to UC Davis in a Big West showdown at Anteater Tennis Stadium on Sunday, April 2. The 'Eaters put up a fight with three of their singles matches going to a third set.

UCI trailed 1-0 after losing the doubles point, but junior Vivien Dvali quickly got the home team on the board with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lani-Rae Green at No. 2 singles. It was Dvali's first appearance in the lineup since March 4 as an injury forced her to miss five contests. UC Irvine then took a 2-1 lead when sophomore Stephanie Hazell dispatched Samantha Martino, 6-3, 7-5, at the No. 5 spot. The Aggies responded by evening the score with a win on court three. At No. 6, junior Ashlynn Hall came back from a first-set loss and a 4-1 deficit in the third, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 defeat to Kelsie Bryant. The match was then decided at the fourth position where senior Cassidy Branstine was locked in a seesaw battle with Nikita Pradeep. Branstine looked like she was on her way to a straight-set win as she cruised to a 6-1 triumph in the opener and led 4-1 in the second, but Pradeep turned the tables as she came from behind for the 7-5 victory. The back-and-forth affair continued in the third with Pradeep eventually pulling out the clincher at 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).

At the top of the lineup, freshman Constance Branstine was leading in her match with Kristy Jorgensen when the Aggies secured the team win. Branstine had climbed out of a 6-2 hole in the second-set tiebreaker, reeling off six consecutive points for the 8-6 victory. The Orange, Calif., native carried that momentum into the third frame as she was up, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 4-1.

In doubles, UC Davis claimed the early point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. On court three, Dvali and junior Hali Dickson defeated Martino/Pradeep, 6-3.

A GLANCE AT CAL POLY: Cal Poly (2-11, 0-3 Big West) has won two of its last three matches but is still searching for its first conference victory. The Mustangs most recently edged Sacramento State, 4-3, on Thursday, April 30. Freshman Susanne Boyden has paced CP with an 8-4 singles record at Nos. 1 and 2. She has one win over a ranked opponent, defeating then No. 124 Claudia Herrero Garcia of Nevada, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, on March 17.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara (9-9, 2-1 Big West) brings a modest two-match win streak into this weekend's action where it will host Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine. Senior Jaimee Gilbertson was 117th in the latest Oracle/ITA Singles Rankings. She owns a 9-5 record, playing at the second and third positions. Gilbertson's biggest win of the year came against No. 17 Pepperdine where she upended 32nd-ranked Mayar Sherif Ahmed, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 11-9.

UNFAMILIAR ROAD: The 'Eaters are hitting the road for the first time in over a month as their last away match was on Feb. 20, when they topped Portland State, 4-3. UCI played its first four contests of the 2017 campaign in Irvine and recently wrapped up a season-long eight-match homestand. Overall, UC Irvine is slated to play 13 of its 21 regular-season dual matches at Anteater Tennis Stadium and Palisades Tennis Club (Newport Beach).

CALIFORNIA GIRLS: Every member of the UC Irvine women's tennis team hails from the state of California. In addition, five grew up locally in the Orange County area.

BACK FOR MORE: Junior Vivien Dvali made a statement in her return to the lineup after missing five matches due to an injury. In her first appearance since March 4, Dvali teamed up with classmate Hali Dickson to defeat UC Davis' Sam Martino/Nikita Pradeep. She then got the 'Eaters on the board against the Aggies in singles, making quick work of Lani-Rae Green at No. 2 (6-3, 6-2). The Valley Village, Calif., native is the Anteaters' active career leader with 27 singles victories, including 20 in dual-match play. Last year, she was named to the All-Big West Team, earning second-team recognition in singles.

NGUYEN WINS: Freshman Stephanie Nguyen owns a team-best seven singles victories. In her first two conference matches, she came from behind to upend Karla Portalatin of then undefeated Cal State Fullerton, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 10-5, and Maren Helgo of defending Big West regular season champion Long Beach State, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 3 spot. At No. 4, the San Jose, Calif., native outlasted SDSU's Olivia Larsson in three, while she also dispatched Joselyn Treyes-Albarracin of USF and Anna Romeka of LMU in straight sets. Her biggest victory so far this year came at Portland State where she clinched the Anteaters' first team win with a 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-4 triumph at No. 2.

BLUE CHIP RECRUIT: Freshman Constance Branstine is a five-star blue chip recruit out of Villa Park High School. In her first year at UCI, she has been at No. 1 singles and doubles in all 14 duals in which she has played. Branstine recently capped a season-long three-match win streak by downing Maayan Sela of Pacific in straight sets. Prior to that, she earned a dual-clinching 6-2, 6-7 (5), 10-8 triumph vs. Sacramento State. Branstine also recorded an impressive win over two-time Big West Player of the Year Maeva Razakasoa (LBSU) where she climbed out of a 4-0 hole in the third set to prevail, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the fall, the Orange, Calif., native paced the 'Eaters with a team-high five singles victories, and an appearance in the semifinals at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Invitational.

UP NEXT: UC Irvine will return to Anteater Tennis Stadium next week for its final regular-season home match against Hawai'i on Tuesday, April 11.