INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The eighth-seeded UC Irvine women's tennis team fell to ninth-seeded UC Riverside, 4-3, in a Big West Tournament First Round match Thursday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

UCI dropped the doubles point but came back to knot the match, 3-3. It came down to the No. 5 singles match between UCI's freshman Alyssia Fossorier and UCR's Sara Khattab. The match went into three sets but ultimately Khattab earned the win, giving UCR the single-point victory.

The Anteaters end their season with a 14-11 overall record.

INSIDE THE MATCH
> UCI got behind early after dropping the doubles point. The Highlanders earned wins at Nos. 1-2 while UCI's Stephanie Nguyen and Alyssia Fossorier earned a 6-1 victory at No.3
> The 'Eaters quickly tied things up after Nguyen dispatched Tia Elpusan at the top spot, 6-4, 6-1, making the match 1-1
> UCR's Natalie Shamma defeated Flora Amiri at No. 3 but Arianna Tilbury earned a 6-3, 6-2 win over Lauren Wolfe to knot the match, 2-2
> UCI fell at No. 2 to give UCR a 3-2 lead
> Jessica Tsukiji battled it out with Hanh Pham, coming out on top with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 victory to keep the 'Eaters alive
> The Highlanders were able to win the match with a victory at No. 5

QUOTES
Arianna Tilbury
"It's exciting being in palm desert and playing at Indian Wells! There is great energy at this facility and I'm happy to be able to experience this with my team! We had a close match today and it was hard to not come out on top but I'm proud of everyone who played today because they fought hard and gave it their all. It's been an exciting year a I look forward to next year!"

Jessica Tsukiji
"It was a tough loss today. I think Flora and I had a good chance to win our doubles match but we weren't able to take advantage of our opportunities. Although we didn't come out on top today, I'm proud of how hard everyone fought today.  It's been an incredible season and I'm looking forward to the next 3 years!"

Stephanie Nguyen
"There were a lot of tough matches starting with doubles and then going into singles. I'm really proud of everyone, and looking forward to what next season brings!"

DOUBLES
1. Tia Elpusan/Sara Khattab (UCR) def. Stephanie Hazell/Danielle Garrido (UCI), 7-5
2. Mahli Silpachai/Hanh Pham (UCR) def. Jessica Tsukiji/Flora Amiri (UCI), 6-4
3.  Stephanie Nguyen/Alyssia Fossorier (UCI) def. Tracy Van/Natalie Shamma (UCI), 6-1
Order: 3, 2, 1

SINGLES
1. Nguyen (UCI) def. Elpusan (UCR), 6-4, 6-1
2. Silpachai (UCR) def. Hazell (UCI), 6-4, 6-2
3. Shamma (UCR) def. Amiri (UCI), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Tsukiji (UCI) def. Pham (UCR), 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
5. Khattab (UCR) def. Fossorier (UCI), 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
6. Arianna Tilbury (UCI) def. Lauren Wolfe (UCR), 6-3, 6-2
Order: 1, 3, 6, 2, 4, 5*