IRVINE, Calif – UC Irvine fell to Hawai'i, 6-1, in its Big West and home opener, Saturday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.

INSIDE THE MATCH
> The Anteaters dropped two out of three doubles matches, losing the doubles point in a special clinch situation
> Stephanie Nguyen and Alyssia Fossorier won their doubles match 6-4 at the No. 2 spots at the same time Jessica Tsukiji and Flora Amiri would lose their match at 4-6 at the No. 1 position
>UCI's No. 3 Tsukiji would beat Nikola Dolakova 7-6 (5), 7-5
> Hawaii responded by taking the other five singles and clinching the match 4-0, and 6-1 overall
> Stephanie Nguyen would lose to Satsuki Takamura 0-6, 1-6 at the No. 1 position
> Amiri played against Michelle Pits in the No.2 spot and lost 2-6, 2-6
> Halla Alajeely played a tight match against Madison Kim on Court four with the final score being 0-6, 6-7 (2).
> Fossorier would go the distance her match against Rebecca Ehn but just fall short, 4-6, 6-4, 8-10 at the fifth court.
>Jenna Schlatter would play Lea Romain at the six spot and lose a tightly contest match 3-6, 5-7.

QUOTE FROM COACH ELIZABETH FERRIS
"This may be one of Hawaii's deepest lineups and we battled them well. We are starting to play doubles like we do in practice. We are mixing up our shots and focusing on aggressive positioning. It looked like we were going to snag that doubles point. Court two did a great job of being reliable under pressure, that's what won us that match. Jessica played her singles game to a t. She stayed calm when the match got close and didn't deviate. Alyssia was an inch away from winning. I think this loss will teach her a lot, and when in these positions again will be able to come out on top. I'm super proud of her fight and coachability. Both Jenna and Halla were fighting to force a third and were so close. We need to continue to focus on starting the match how we want to play not try to work our way into it. That will continue to come with experience and maturity. Overall, the intensity from the crowd and players was high and it made for an exciting match. We will have some very focused practices in the near future and be ready for our next matches. Also, I would like say congratulations to all of the hall of fame inductees being honored today. Well deserved!"
 
QUOTE FROM JESSICA TSUKIJI
"We had a tough match today against a really good team. We had a bunch of close matches and even though it didn't go our way, I'm proud of the way we fought as a team. I'm so thankful for my teammates for cheering me on and helping me pull through in my match!"

QUOTE FROM STEPHANIE NGUYEN
"Our doubles today was super tough and I felt everyone fought really hard. Alyssia and I trusted our game and followed our strategy throughout the whole match. We can really build and learn from today's match and I'm really excited for our upcoming matches!"

QUOTE FROM ALYSSIA
"I'm really proud of our team and how we fought today. Everyone gave a lot of heart and effort into the match. In doubles Steph and I have a game that compliment each other nicely and I can always count on her to have my back."
 
UC Irvine 6, Hawaii 1
Singles
1. Satsuki Takamura (Hawaii) def. Stephanie Nguyen (UCI), 6-0, 6-1.
2. Michelle Pits (Hawaii) def. Flora Amiri (UCI) 6-2, 6-2
3. Jessica Tsukiji (UCI) def. Nikola Dolakova (Hawaii) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
4. Madison Kim (Hawaii) def. Halla Alajeely (UCI) 6-0, 7-6
5. Rebeccas Ehn (Hawaii) def. Alyssia Fossorier (UCI) 4-6, 6-4, 8-10
6. Lea Romain (Hawaii) def. Jenna Schlatter (UCI) 6-3, 7-5
 
Doubles
1. Dolakova/Ehn (Hawaii) def. Amiri/Tsukiji (UCI)  6-4
2. Fossorier/Nguyen (UCI) def. Pits/Kim (Hawaii) 6-4
3. Takamura/Romain def. Schlatter/Tilbury (UCI) 6-4

UP NEXT
>UCI will play a non-conference match against Nevada Feb. 7 at home on February 7, at 1:30 PM.