UC Irvine (0-0) at
SDSU Invitational
Date: Friday, Oct. 5 – Sunday, Oct. 7
Location: Aztec Tennis Center – San Diego, Calif.
 
The UC Irvine men's tennis team kicks off the 2018-19 season this weekend with their first of three preseason tournaments.  The 'Eaters head to San Diego to compete in the SDSU Invitational. 
 
TOP NEWS AND NOTES
- UC Irvine welcomes back six of seven players who received all-conference honors last year.  
- The 'Eaters made their fourth straight appearance in the Big West semifinals last year.
- Senior Luis Lopez earned first-team All-Conference honors in singles last year, and looks to have a repeat this season.  
- Sasha Krasnov returns for his second season with the Anteaters after finishing last season with 11 singles wins at the No. 2 spot and earning All-Conference honorable mention recognition. 
- Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Vatsal Bajpai look to continue dominating at the No. 1 doubles spot.  The pair won 12 matches at Nos. 1 and 2 last season and were named All-Big West first team in doubles. 
- Luis Lopez and Sasha Krasnov both earned Big West Player of the Week honors last year. 
- Head coach Mike Saunders is in his fourth year at the helm and boasts a 42-36 career record at UCI.
- UCI returns seven players from last year, adding two incoming freshmen and one transfer from USC. 
- UCI was named a 2017-18 ITA All-Academic team with a 3.49 team GPA.  Six players notched individual honors, four of which are returning. 
- This is the fourth year in a row that the 'Eaters will compete in the SDSU Invitational.   
 
GET TO KNOW THE 'EATERS
UC Irvine returns seven players and welcomes three newcomers, composed of two incoming freshmen and one transfer.  Mateusz Smolicki comes to UCI after a year with USC, while Mike Mkrtchina-Rovner and Aaron Bailey look to kick off their collegiate careers. 

Six of the ten Anteaters on the roster are California natives, while three of the remaining four players are international products.  Antoine Barthe from France and Sasha Krasnov of the Ukraine are joined by Smolicki, a Poland native.  Aaron Bailey comes to UCI from Las Vegas, Nev. 
 
LAST YEAR
Bruce Man-Son-Hing was the lone Anteater playing on Sunday at last year's Aztec Fall Invitational, making it to the Flight 2 singles consolation draw final before falling to Liberty's Alex Poynter. 

Mason Hansen and Sasha Krasnov also did well in Flight 2 doubles, where they reached the consolation final before falling to USD's Keerasuntonpong/Kurtz. 
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine competes in two more preseason tournaments, first at the ITA Southwest Regional in Malibu, Calif., from Oct. 17-22.  The Anteaters then head to Los Angeles, Calif., for the So Cal Intercollegiate Championships on Oct. 26-28.