Utah State (2-0) at
UC Irvine (0-0)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 20
Time: 11 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

UC Irvine Match Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team opens the 2019 dual-match season at home this weekend as it welcomes Utah State to Anteater Tennis Stadium for an 11 a.m. showdown on Sunday, Jan. 20.

STORYLINES
• UC Irvine welcomes back seven letterwinners from a 2017-18 squad that finished with a 16-12 record.
• The 'Eaters made their fourth-straight appearance in the Big West semifinals last year.
• Senior Luis Lopez earned first-team All-Big West accolades in singles play with a 15-8 record.
• Thirteen of his 15 dual-match wins came at the No. 1 position.
• Lopez played most of the doubles season alongside junior Daniel Gealer.
• The duo received an All-Big West Honorable Mention nod after going 10-5 in dual matches.
• Gealer, a junior transfer from UCLA, tied Lopez for the team lead with 15 wins in singles play.
• Senior Sasha Krasnov garnered 2018 All-Big West Honorable Mention recognition in singles.
• Krasnov went 11-10, and put together a six-match winning streak in the month of March.
• Senior Vatsal Bajpai and junior Bruce Man-Son-Hing look to continue their strong performance in doubles action.
• The pair took home first-team All-Big West honors with a 9-4 record at No. 2 last year.
• Graduate student Mason Hansen earned his second-straight All-Big West Second Team award in doubles.
• Hansen compiled nine wins at the No. 1 spot with recent graduate Luca Marquard.
• UCI was a 2017-18 ITA All-Academic Team with six players earning individual Scholar-Athlete honors.
• Head coach Mike Saunders is in his fourth year at the helm and boasts a 42-36 career record at UCI.
 
AZTEC FALL INVITATIONAL
UC Irvine was the only school that was represented in all four championship flights at the SDSU Fall Invitational. Daniel Gealer took second place in the Warrior Flight Singles, while Luis Lopez made it to the Aztec Flight Singles final, losing a close match to Lorenzo Fucile of Grand Canyon (6-4, 6-4).
 
Lopez also teamed up with sophomore Mateusz Smolicki to win the Red Flight Doubles championship over the GCU tandem of Fucile and Mathieu Rajaonah. Gealer and Bruce Man-Son-Hing came up just short in the Black Flight Doubles championship against Jonathan Morales and Juan Erro of Southern Utah.
 
MORE FALL HIGHLIGHTS
Nine players competed at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Malibu, Calif., with eight recording victories in singles play. Sasha Krasnov was the lone 'Eater in action on the final day, falling to eventual champion Jan Kirchoff of San Diego State (6-1, 7-5) in the consolation semifinals.
 
The team had seven players in qualifying singles matches at the So Cal Intercollegiate Championships in Los Angeles. Sophomore Antoine Barthe advanced to the consolation singles final before dropping a 6-3, 6-3 decision to Alexander Slater of Cal Poly. Barthe and Krasnov also made it to the quarterfinals in doubles action.
 
GET TO KNOW THE NEWCOMERS
UC Irvine welcomes two freshmen and one transfer in 2018-19. Sophomore Mateusz Smolicki (Warsaw, Poland) played at USC in 2017-18 when the Trojans went 20-9 overall and finished the campaign ranked 11th in the nation. Smolicki adds to the Anteaters' current international talent of Antoine Barthe (France) and Sasha Krasnov (Ukraine).
 
Freshman Aaron Bailey joins the 'Eaters from Las Vegas, Nev., where he helped Faith Luthern High School to a state title. Fellow freshman Mike Mkrtchian made the trip down the 5 Freeway from Reseda, Calif. Mkrtchian was ranked among the top-five in the Southern California sectional rankings and was among the top-75 in the national rankings.
 
VERSUS THE OPPONENTS
Utah State (2-0) opened the 2019 campaign with wins over Weber State and Idaho, and will play at San Diego before making its way to Irvine. The Aggies returns three letterwinners from a 2017-18 squad that went 19-9 overall, won the Mountain West Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Leading the way is All-MWC singles selection Sergiu Bucur, who went 14-7 in dual matches last year.
 
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Utah State, 2-1. Last year, the Aggies defeated the 'Eaters, 5-1, in Logan, Utah. UCI's win came back in 2003, when it topped USU, 5-0, in a Big West quarterfinal match.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
UC Irvine will continue its season-opening four-match homestand in two weeks when it entertains Saint Mary's (Feb. 1) and UC San Diego (Feb. 2).