'Eaters Continue Homestand Against Mesa College

Friday, March 8

Irvine, CA

9:00 AM

UC Irvine

Mesa College (Ariz.)

'Eaters Continue Homestand Against Mesa College

March 07, 2019 | Women's Tennis

Mesa Community College (5-2) at
UC Irvine (11-3)
Date: Friday, March 8
Time: 9 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's tennis team will remain at home this week as they will be taking on Mesa College (Ariz.). The 'Eaters will square off with the Thunderbirds at 2:00 PM on Friday, March 8. This will be their fourth of a six-match home stretch in the month of March.

STORYLINES
• UC Irvine has an overall record of 11-3 with a conference record of 2-1.
• The Anteaters are riding a four-match win streak into tomorrow's contest.
• With 10 matches left in the regular season, UCI has already bettered its win total from the last three years.
• As a team, the Anteaters have registered a win percentage of over .650 in both singles (56-25) and doubles (29-12).
• Freshman Jessica Tsukiji leads the team in singles with an 8-1 record.
• Sophomore Flora Amiri, senior Danielle Garrido and junior Arianna Tilbury are tied for second with seven wins.
• Amiri and Stephanie Hazell are a combined 4-0 when playing at No. 1 singles.
• They have also recently teamed up in doubles, going 2-2 at the top of the lineup.
• Garrido and Tsukiji are on a two-match win streak at No. 2 doubles.
• Alyssia Fossorier and Tilbury are 4-1 at the third spot during the spring season.
• The 'Eaters have a .750 singles win percentage at No. 3 and No. 4 where they are 21-7.
• 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.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was able to come out with a win against Louisiana Lafayette in a hard fought battle at Anteater Tennis Stadium on Tuesday. The match-up began with singles where the two teams ended in a 3-3 deadlock. Stephanie Nguyen (No. 1), Jessica Tsukiji (No. 3) and Jacqueline Tsodikova (No. 6) won their respective matches. The 'Eaters then secured the victory with a dominant performance in doubles. Stephanie Hazell and Flora Amiri dispatched Habib/Fabre, 6-2, at the top of the lineup, while Danielle Garrido and Tsukiji battled until the end, emerging with the 7-6 triumph at the second spot. UC Irvine improved to 11-3, and extended its win streak to four.

"Rain delays, starting with singles, coming from behind in many matches, and still having the belief we could win was a huge turning point for this team," head coach Elizabeth Ferris said. "We showed that we can handle anything thrown at us and this was a great confidence booster."

THE OPPONENTS
Mesa College is on a three-match winning streak and has an overall record of 5-2. The Thunderbirds are 1-1 on the road as they head West to take on UC Irvine and Concordia.

HOME SWEET HOME
After being on the road for the entirety of the fall campaign, UC Irvine hosts 10 matches in the spring. The 'Eaters will be at Anteater Tennis Stadium for eight of their first nine contests in 2019.

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.

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 Garrido and 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.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine continues its homestand next Thursday, March 14, when it welcomes Illinois State to Anteater Tennis Stadium for a 2 p.m. non-conference showdown.