IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's tennis continues its Big West schedule with a match at CSUN Thursday, April 1 at 2 p.m. before a home match against UC San Diego Saturday, April 3 at 12 p.m.

STORYLINES
-UCI got both its first win and conference win of the season last week at UC Riverside. The Anteaters won a 5-2 decision to improve to 1-6 on the season and 1-2 in the conference
- Emily Fowler and Jenna Schlatter lead UCI with two singles wins apiece
- 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 in 2020
- 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 earned a 5-2 win at UC Riverside in conference action
- The match started with singles as Halla Alajeely (no. 2 spot), Jenna Schlatter (no. 3), Emily Fowler (no. 5) and Dasee Carter (no. 6) each earned a win in singles. Carter clinched the match at the no. 6 spot with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over UCR's Sofia Lazzaroni
- UCI's Arianna Tilbury/Alajeely and Jessica Tsukiji/Schlatter won at No. 1 and 2 doubles, respectively, to give the 'Eaters the doubles point

ABOUT CSUN
- CSUN is 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference play
- The Matadors are coming off a 4-1 win against UC Davis and went 3-0 last week with additional wins against Sacramento State and Santa Clara
- Magdalena Hendrzak is undefeated in singles for CSUN with a 5-0 record

ABOUT UCSD
- UCSD is 1-4 on the season with two recent losses to Hawaii, 7-0 and 4-0
- The Tritons only win came against Portland State, 4-1
- UCSD is 0-2 in Big West play
- Shweta Kumar, Ella Pachl and Rachel Wagner each lead the Tritons with one win on the season

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

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 plays at UC Santa Barbara Saturday, April 10 at 12 p.m.