IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's tennis announced its full 2021 schedule including two dual matches this week.

UCI will travel to Cal State Fullerton for a non-conference match Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 1:30 p.m. followed by a game at San Diego State Sunday, March 28^th at noon.

The Anteaters opened the season with two home matches against San Jose State (Feb. 12) and hosted Hawai'i in a Big West dual last Friday (Feb. 19).

UCI's next six matches will be on the road. After CSF and SDSU, the 'Eaters will play at San Diego (March 5), at Cal Poly (March 21), at UC Riverside (March 25) and at CSUN (April 1).

The Anteaters return home in April to host UCSD in Big West action Saturday, April 3 at 12 p.m. before a conference match at UCSB on April 10.

UCI will close out the 2021 dual match season with three Big West home matches against Long Beach St. (April 6), CS Fullerton (April 17) and UC Davis (April 25).

The 2021 Big West Tournament will take place at the Great Park in Irvine April 29-May 2. All Big West teams will be eligible to compete in the tournament.

Per state, local, and university guidelines, the season will begin without spectators in attendance. The Anteater Tennis Complex will be closed to the public.

STORYLINES
- The Anteaters opened the 2021 season 0-2 with losses to San Jose State and Hawai'i
- UCI concluded the shortened 2020 season 5-7 overall and 0-2 in conference action
- Jessica Tsukiji posted the top singles dual-match record in 2020 at 5-1. Overall, she was 8-5 in singles. Tsukiji won both Big West Conference matches that were played
- Jenna Schlatter returns for her sophomore season after a strong freshman debut. She went 5-2 during the dual-match season
- Alyssia Fossorier shined in fall competition in 2019, winning the singles main draw championship at the SDSU Fall Classic II. She earned 10 wins during the fall season
- Fossorier will look to replace her doubles partner, Stephanie Nguyen, lost to graduation. The duo earned a 4-2 record including 2-0 BWC record in doubles last season
- Tsukiji is UCI's only returning All-Big West player
- In total, UCI returns 10 players from last year's squad
- The Anteaters will have three new faces in the lineup
- Head coach Elizabeth Ferris returns for her fifth season at the helm
- UCI was named an ITA All-Academic Team for the third straight year in 2020 and had six players earn scholar-athlete honors, including Halla Alajeely, Dasee Carter, Shreya Pavani and Jessica Tsukiji

LAST TIME OUT
- UCI dropped its first Big West match of the season to Hawai'i, 7-0
- At No. singles, Jessica Tsukiji battled with All-American Petra Melounove, winning the first set, 6-3, before dropping sets two and three
- In doubles, Dassee Carter and Emily Fowler earned a 6-3 win over Rebecca Ehn and Bojana Markovic at the No. 3 spot

SCHLATTER NAMED BIG WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
- Sophomore Jenna Schlatter was named the Big West Athlete of the Week for the week of Feb. 17. It marked the first career weekly award for Schlatter and the first for an Anteaters since 2017
- Schlatter earned the 'Eaters lone singles point after defeating SJSU's Tamara Culibrk, 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 spot

ABOUT CS FULLERTON
- CSUF is 1-2 on the season with losses to USC (4-0) and San Diego (7-0). The Titans one win came against Concordia (Cal.), 4-3
- Misaki Kobayashi leads the Titans with a 2-1 dual-match record playing at the No. 1 and 2 positions
- Camilla Garcia/YuSeung Suh are 1-0 in No. 2 doubles while Jadie Acidera/Taylor Valenzuela are 1-0 at No. 3 doubles
- Dianne Matias is in her ninth season at the helm

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE
- UCI's match at SDSU will be the first for the Aztecs this season as the team has been on pause for COVID-19 related issues
- SDSU finished the shortened 2020 season with a 6-5 dual-match record
- UCI and SDSU last met in Jan. 2018 with the Aztecs winnings a 7-0 decision
- Tamara Arnold returns at the No. 1 and 2 position after finishing last season with a 6-3 record at the two top positions
- Peter Mattera is in his 26^th season at the helm

NEW FACES
Freshmen Emily Fowler, Mia Totah and Raquel Pareja all enter their first seasons with the 'Eaters. Fowler and Pareja hail from San Diego while Totah comes to UCI from Aptos

SUMMER CIRCUIT
Freshman Mia Totah competed in two ITA Summer Circuit events and advanced to the final round in both tournaments.

EXCITED TO RETURN!
"I'm so excited to play our first match this Friday! We have a strong team this year and I'm looking forward to being on court with my girls and competing together. I am thankful for the opportunity to play again and represent UCI. Zot Zot Zot!" – Arianna Tilbury

"It was really tough having our last season cut so short so I'm super grateful for the opportunity to compete and have a season this year. There's never a dull moment being on the court with my amazing teammates & we're all so pumped for our first match!" – Jessica Tsukiji

"We're very excited to start our season, it's been awhile since we've competed, but I think UCI athletics has done a good job of letting us practice on campus and keeping us safe during these tough times. We're ready to go. GO EATERZ!!" – Halla Alajeely
 
UP NEXT
UCI will play at San Diego Friday, March 5 at 1:30 p.m.