RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Irvine won a Big West Conference match against UC Riverside, 5-2, Thursday afternoon in Riverside.

UCI won its first match of the season improving to 1-6 and 1-2 in conference action. The Highlanders fall to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big West.

The match unfolded with singles first as Emily Fowler got the first win of the day at No. 5 over Serina Saltzen, 6-4, 6-2. Jenna Schlatter stayed persistent, after trailing 0-3 in the first set she came back to win it, 6-4 and once again trailed 3-4 in the second set before pulling out a 6-4 second set victory to take the point at No. 3.

Halla Alajeely earned a 6-0, 7-5, win over Mahli Silpachai at No.2. The match was clinched on court six as Dasee Carter trailed, 4-5, in the first set but stayed the course and pulled off a 7-5 win before a 6-4 victory in the second set to clinch the match for the 'Eaters.

In doubles, the Anteaters were down match points on three separate occasions and came back to win every single one. Arianna Tilbury and Alajeely to a 7-6 (12-10) win on court one while Jessica Tsukiji and Schlatter earned a 6-3 win at No. 2.

UP NEXT
> UCI continues conference play with a game at CSUN Thursday, April 1 at 2 p.m.

Halla Alajeely Quote
"I'm very happy with our win today. I think our energy and focus was great today! It was a lot of fun playing doubles with Ari. For our first time playing, I think we did a really good job."

Jessica Tsukiji Quote
"It was so exciting getting our first win of the season! After a few tough losses it was really nice to see everyone step up in both singles & doubles. It was super fun playing dubs with Jenna again & I'm looking forward to building on this win!"

Jenna Schlatter Quote
"Today was a lot of fun and I'm glad we got our first win of the season! It was really exciting to see everyone step it up and bring out some good energy today! I'm happy I was able to pull out my match after a rocky start and I thought Jess and I really brought the heat in doubles!"

Emily Fowler Quote
"I'm so proud of how our team fought today! We did a great job with execution on every court and I'm very happy with the overall result. I also want to give recognition to Dasee for pulling through and clinching the win for us! Go Eaters!!"

Arianna Tilbury Quote
"I'm so amazed by how great everyone did today. Everyone had determination and focus and played with confidence. It was fun to win our first match and I'm confident we will keep building on it. I really enjoyed playing with Halla in our first doubles match together! We had good energy on court, played very well and secured the win!! Let's go 'Eaters!!

Dasee Carter Quote
'It was so exciting to get the win today! Everyone had such great energy out there that we could all feed off of. Alyssia stepped in as an amazing coach to help me get that first singles win of the season! I'm so proud of everyone and can't wait for the next one. Go Eaters!!"

UCI 5, UCR 2
Singles
1. Tia Elpusan (UCR) def. Jessica Tsukiji (UCI), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Halla Alajeely (UCI) def. Mahli Silpachai (UCR), 6-0, 7-5
3. Jenna Schlatter (UCI) def. Natalie Shamma (UCR), 6-4, 6-4
4. Hanh Pham (UCR) def. Arianna Tilbury (UCI), 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
5. Emily Fowler (UCI) def. Serina Saltzen (UCR), 6-4, 6-2
6. Dasee Carter (UCI) def. Sofia Lazzaroni (UCR), 7-5, 6-4
order: 5, 3, 2, 6, 4, 1

Doubles
1. Tilbury/Alajeely def. Elpusan/Pham, 7-6 (12-10)
2. Tsukiji/Schlatter def. Silpachai/Shamma, 6-3
3. Saltzen/Syndey Tran def. Carter/Fowler, 6-4
order: 2, 3, 1