UC Irvine (5-4, 0-0 Big West) at
Cal Poly (7-7, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 27
Time: 12 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Mustang Tennis Complex - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team opens Big West play this weekend as it travels to San Luis Obispo for a 12 p.m. conference showdown at Cal Poly on Saturday, March 27.
 
STORYLINES
• Bjorn Hoffmann checked in at No. 60 in the latest Oracle ITA Singles Rankings released on March 24.
• Hoffmann, who has played every match at the top of the lineup, is 6-3 overall and 1-2 against ranked opponents.
• His ranked victory came at San Diego where he defeated then No. 60 August Holmgren, 6-3, 7-6 (Feb. 14).
• Hoffmann was named the Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Feb. 10 and Feb. 17.
• Matthew Sah has posted a 5-3 mark at Nos. 4 and 5 singles, with four of his wins coming in straight sets.
• Jeremy Merville and Mike Mkrtchian have chipped in four and three singles victories, respectively.
• Graduate transfer Jonathan Star picked up his first victory as an Anteater with a three-set triumph vs. Weber State (March 7).
• Ali Amiri delivered the final point in the season opener at LMU for his second career 4-3 match-clinching singles win.
• Since making his season debut at Pepperdine on March 12, Mateusz Smolicki is 1-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles.
• Bruce Man-Son-Hing owns a 48-26 (.649) career record in dual-match doubles.
• Man-Son-Hing's 48 victories are tied for 17th among UC Irvine's all-time doubles win leaders.
• In their Division I history, the 'Eaters have made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• They have finished first in the Big West standings 17 times and won three Big West Tournament titles.
• UCI has been named an ITA All-Academic Team (minimum 3.2 team GPA) in each of the last four years.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine did not drop a set in a dominant 7-0 sweep of Portland State in non-conference action Wednesday at Anteater Tennis Stadium. Matthew Sah and Jonathan Star kicked things off in doubles with a 6-2 rout of Nikola Dimitrijevic/Bryan Husin at No. 3. Bjorn Hoffmann and Mateusz Smolicki then clinched the point with a 6-4 triumph over Tommy Edwards/Matteo Fortini at the top of the lineup. The 'Eaters kept their foot on the gas in singles. Smolicki was first off the court in his singles season debut, making quick work of Tommy Hsu, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 4. Hoffmann also dispatched Fortini, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 1, before Jeremy Merville secured the team victory by taking down Edwards, 7-5, 6-4, at the second position. UCI kept rolling with wins from Mike Mkrtchian, Ali Amiri and Peneff.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Bjorn Hoffmann was 60th in the most recent Oracle ITA Men's Tennis Singles Rankings that were released on Wednesday, March 24. Hoffmann is 6-3 at the top of the lineup, and posted a signature 6-3, 7-5 straight-set win over then No. 60 August Holmgren of San Diego on Feb. 14. That stands as Holmgren's only loss of the season as the Torero has since moved up to No. 39 in the rankings. Hoffmann also picked up singles victories against LMU, Fresno State, San Diego State, Weber State and Portland State. His three losses have come against top-ranked USC, No. 23 Pepperdine and No. 23 UCLA. Hoffmann is in his first season at UCI as a grad transfer from Cal. In his time with the Golden Bears, he was ranked as high as 81st in singles and 22nd in doubles. He is the first Anteater featured in the Oracle ITA Singles Rankings since Sebastian Heim in 2017.
 
RETURN TO PLAY
On Sunday, Jan. 31, UC Irvine made its return to competition after an 11-month hiatus due to COVID-19 public health and safety concerns. In their first dual match in 328 days, the Anteaters earned a 4-3 victory at Loyola Marymount.
 
"We have a lot of gratitude that we get the opportunity to go out and compete," said sixth-year head coach Mike Saunders. "There have been a lot of people working really hard behind the scenes to give us that privilege and we are extremely grateful for that."

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly (7-7, 0-0 Big West) is riding a three-match win streak after defeating New Mexico, 4-3, in its most recent outing on March 16. CP will host Hawai'i in its Big West opener on Friday, March 26, before welcoming UC Irvine to the Mustang Tennis Complex. Junior Alex Stater, who is ranked 77th, has paced Cal Poly with a 10-3 singles record, including a 5-2 mark at the top of the lineup.
 
DOUBLES SPECIALIST
Senior Bruce Man-Son-Hing is a two-time All-Big West doubles selection, earning first-team honors in 2018 and second-team recognition in 2019. In his UCI career, Man-Son-Hing has accumulated a 48-26 dual-match doubles record. His 48 wins are tied for 17th in school history.
 
SAH POWER
Sophomore Matthew Sah, who has played at Nos. 4 and 5 in the lineup, ranks second on the team with five singles wins. The San Diego native earned straight-set victories against opponents from Weber State, San Diego State, USD and LMU, while also defeating Reece Falck of Fresno State, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 in an epic three-set battle. Sah set the tone for his 2021 season with an impressive performance back in July, when he won the ITA Summer Circuit event at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego (July 11-13, 2020). Sah went 5-0 over the course of three days.
 
STATEMENT MADE
Senior Jeremy Merville (Paris, France) has been a key contributor in the UC Irvine lineup ever since his arrival on campus prior to the 2019-20 campaign. In his first season with the 'Eaters, which was shortened due to the pandemic, the transfer from Nevada picked up a team-leading 13 overall singles wins. He owns a 10-5 career dual-match record at UCI, and was named the Big West Athlete of the Week on Feb. 19, 2020.
 
TWICE AS NICE
Bjorn Hoffmann earned his second-straight Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week award on Feb. 17, making him the first Anteater to win back-to-back weekly awards since 2008. Hoffmann was recognized for his effort in a road battle at San Diego (Feb. 14), where he defeated the Toreros' 60th-ranked August Holmgren, 6-3, 7-5, at the top of the lineup. Hoffmann was also tabbed the Big West Athlete of the Week on Feb. 10, after going 2-0 in singles and doubles in a season-opening team victory at LMU (Jan. 31).
 
ANTEATER ROOTS
Hoffmann has returned to his Orange County roots for his final season of eligibility. A Newport Beach native, Hoffmann has strong ties to UC Irvine with his parents, Carsten and Biljana, and his uncle, Zoran Korac, all being Anteater tennis alums. Both his father and mother still rank among UCI's all-time win leaders. Hoffmann is looking to finish out a stellar collegiate career himself, as he was a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete as a member of the Cal men's tennis team. He was ranked 81st in singles and 22nd in doubles in the final Oracle/ITA Rankings of the 2019 fall season. Hoffmann finished his Golden Bear career with a 67-34 singles and 39-28 doubles record.
 
ALL-BIG WEST RETURNER
Senior Mateusz Smolicki, who played one season at USC, is in his third year with the Anteaters. As a sophomore in 2019, the Warsaw, Poland, native earned All-Big West honorable mention recognition in both singles and doubles. Last year, Smolicki played primarily at the top of the lineup and tied for second on the squad with 10 overall singles victories. Smolicki made his 2021 season debut in doubles at Pepperdine on March 12. Since his return to the court, Smolicki is 2-1 in doubles and 1-0 in singles.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
UC Irvine men's tennis has three international student-athletes in Jeremy Merville (France), Mateusz Smolicki (Poland) and Thomas Smart (England). Since 2014-15, the Anteaters have had at least two international student-athletes on their roster.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine continues a three-match Big West-opening road swing at Hawai'i next Saturday, April 3.