RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's tennis team won its second-straight Big West Conference match with a 5-2 decision over UC Riverside, Saturday morning.

The win moves UCI to 9-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. UCR drops to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big West.

INSIDE THE MATCH
Doubles
> UCI dropped the doubles point after losses on courts two and three
> Stephanie Hazell and Flora Amiri earned a win at No. 1 over UCR's Tia Elpsuan and Sara Khattab, 6-4

Singles
> UCI rallied back from dropping the doubles point to win at Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6
> Danielle Garrido retired at No. 3
> Alyssia Fossorier earned the first win at No. 5, 6-4, 6-4, over Hanh Pham
> Stephanie Nguyen grabbed a 6-4, 6-3 win at the top spot before Arianna Tilbury won at No. 6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
> Amiri clinched the match after defeating Elpsuan at No. 2, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
> Jessica Tsukiji finished thing off on court four winning 6-4, 7-5

QUOTES
Head Coach Elizabeth Ferris
"Solid win today! We've handled three tough conference matches in a row now. It was especially nice to get this win after we lost to them in the conference tournament last season. Number 1 doubles had a huge win against one of the best teams in the conference, and a team that beat us last season. We got a little out-played at three doubles, and two doubles just made a couple errors, but competed hard. Overall, the doubles point was exciting, and starting down 0-1 didn't seem to phase us. Nguyen beat a very talented freshman. She had to step up and really win the match as that player didn't give anything away. Alyssia had the right game plan from the start and didn't waste too much time taking care of business. Arianna found herself down but finished out the match in a tie-breaker. She was starting to get a little frustrated but snapped out of it and played with a lot of clarity, discipline and toughness. Flora's opponent hits as big of a ball you'll see in college tennis. Flora had to weather the storm and not get too frustrated. Big win for Flora, we've had some tough matches against her last season. Jessica rounded out our singles win by playing solid and disciplined tennis. She was able to turn it up when she needed to. We are very fortunate to have fans travel to away matches. It feels good to play in front of a crowd cheering loud for us. I'm glad parents and friends were able to share the in the excitement. They have a big hand in our success as well. It'll be nice to have several matches coming up at home. Should be fun! I also want to give a shout-out to Shreya, Dasee, Megan and Dana for representing our team at the Women's and Girl's in Sports clinic."

Quote from Stephanie Hazell
"Today's match was very exciting. It started off strong with No. 1 doubles pulling out a tough win. Moved on to some great singles matches taking the win 5-2 overall. After being defeated by Riverside last time, it was great to come out today and take back the win."

Quote from Flora Amiri
"I'm glad I was able to come out on top after losing the first set. I refocused and was able to play my game. I'm excited to see how we perform in the upcoming matches. Hazell and I had really good chemistry and teamwork. We have really good communication and were on the same page the whole time. I thought we played smart tennis and I'm glad we were able to execute."

Quote from Stephanie Nguyen
"This win was a great team effort. Everyone put in their 100% and really applied what they worked on from practice into match situations. The energy was great and nothing but positive attitudes on every court. Overall it was a great day to be an Anteater."

Doubles
1. Stephanie Hazell/Flora Amiri (UCI) def. Tia Elpusan/Sara Khattab (UCR), 6-4
2. Mahli Silpachai/Tracy Van (UCR) def. Jessica Tsukiji/Danielle Garrido (UCI), 7-5
3. Lindsey Gelinas/Laura Wolfe (UCR) def. Arianna Tilbury/Alyssia Fossorier (UCI), 6-2
Order: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. Stephanie Nguyen (UCI) def. Gelinas (UCR), 6-4, 6-3
2. Flora Amiri (UCI) def. Elpusan (UCR), 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
3. Silpachai (UCR) def. Garrido (UCI), 2-6, 1-2, retire
4. Tsukiji (UCI) def. Natalie Shamma (UCR), 6-4, 7-5
5. Fossorier (UCI) def. Hanh Pham (UCR), 6-4, 6-4
6. Tilbury (UCI) def. Khattab (UCR), 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Order: 3,5,1,6,2,4