UC Irvine (8-3, 1-1 Big West)
at UC Riverside (2-5, 0-1 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 23
Time: 10:00 a.m. (PST)
Location: SRC Tennis Courts - Riverside, Calif.

The UC Irvine women's tennis team will be heading out to the Inland Empire this weekend as they face UC Riverside in a Big West Conference matchup. The 'Eaters will square off with the Highlanders at 10:00 AM at the SRC Tennis Courts.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine played nine dual matches in the fall, finishing with an overall record of 7-2
• UCI defeated UC Davis for the first time since 2016 with a 4-3 win
• Arianna Tilbury clinched the match against the Aggies with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 6 
• Tilbury finished the weekend 4-0, winning both singles and doubles matches against Hawaii and UC Davis. She was the only Anteater to win a singles match agaisnt UH
• As a team, the Anteaters were over .800 in singles (41-10) and doubles (21-5) in the month of October.
• Last year, the 'Eaters recorded a 3.25 cumulative GPA to earn ITA All-Academic Team honors.
• Five players were also named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
• The 'Eaters have reloaded with six incoming freshmen, including Tsukiji and Fossorier, who are four-star recruits.
• Tsukiji played in numerous ITA Summer Circuit tournaments, winning the Flight 1 singles at Sonoma State.
• Fossorier was ranked the second-best junior player in the state of Hawaii in 2018.
 
FALL RECAP
UC Irvine had a strong showing during the fall season where it took two trips to the East Coast and finished with a 7-2 dual-match record. The 'Eaters swept three of their opponents, starting with a 9-0 victory over Drew, where they did not drop a point in singles or doubles. Freshmen Megan Mansonhing and Dasee Carter started off with a 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles before Dana Mackensen and Alyssia Fossorier clinched the point with a 6-0 triumph at No. 1. Arianna Tilbury and Shreya Pavani also grabbed a 6-0 win at the No. 2 spot. UCI then cruised through singles coming away with 6-0, 6-0 victories on all six courts.
 
The following day, UC Irvine started out hot on its way to a 7-0 sweep of Sacred Heart. The tandems of Stephanie Hazell/Jessica Tsukiji and Flora Amiri/Arianna Tilbury both won their doubles matches by a 6-2 score, while the freshmen pairing of Dana Mackensen/Alyssia Fossorier also won 6-4. The Anteaters' third sweep came at the end of their East Coat trip as they dominated New Haven, 7-0.  
 
THE OPPONENTS
UC Riverside is on a three match losing streak as they return home from a weekend in Las Vegas. The Highlanders are 2-5 on the season with both of their wins being at home.
 
OCTOBER SUCCESS
In their nine fall dual matches, the Anteaters combined to go 41-10 in singles and 21-5 in doubles. Flora Amiri, Danielle Garridoand Gillian Parker tied for the team lead with five singles wins each. Arianna Tilbury saw the most success in doubles with six victories, playing at the top two spots.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
UC Irvine returns seven players and welcomes six newcomers who are all freshmen. Freshman Alyssia Fossorier won the singles state title in Hawai'i and was the Punahou School Athlete of the Year.
 
Freshmen Shreya Pavani (Irvine HS), Megan Mansonhing (Northwood HS) and Dana Mackensen (Dana Hills HS) are all local tennis stars. Dasee Carter and Jessica Tsukiji are both highly notable incoming freshmen who hail from Northern California.
 
Twelve of the 13 Anteaters on the roster are California products, while Fossorier is a native of Hawai'i.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
After being on the road for the entirety of the fall campaign, UC Irvine returns home to start the spring season. The 'Eaters, who have 10 home matches on their schedule, will be at Anteater Tennis Stadium for eight of their first nine matches in 2019.

UP NEXT
UCI hosts Villanova Friday, March 1 at 2:30 p.m.