Weber State (2-3) at
UC Irvine (3-2)
Date: Sunday, March 7
Time: 11 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team looks to extend its two-match win streak when it welcomes Weber State to Anteater Tennis Stadium for an 11 a.m. dual match on Sunday, March 7. Per state, local and university guidelines, spectators will not be permitted. The issue of fan attendance will be revisited as the season progresses.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine has played four of its first five matches on the road.
• The 'Eaters have won two in a row, defeating San Diego State, 4-0, on Feb. 28, and Fresno State, 5-2, on Feb. 21.
• Bjorn Hoffmann and Matthew Sah are both riding three-match win streaks in singles play.
• Hoffmann is 4-1 at No. 1 singles, including a signature 6-3, 7-6 victory over No. 60 August Holmgren of San Diego (Feb. 14).
• He was named the Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Feb. 10 and Feb. 17.
• Sah is also 4-1 in singles, playing at the fourth and fifth positions.
• He recently won an epic three-set battle vs. Fresno State's Reece Falck, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (6), 6-2.
• Mike Mkrtchian earned back-to-back straight-set victories at Nos. 5 and 6 in the team's last two dual matches.
• Jeremy Merville, who joined UCI as a transfer from Nevada in 2019-20, has 15 overall career singles victories (8-3 dual).
• Ali Amiri delivered the final point in the season opener at LMU for his second career 4-3 match-clinching singles win.
• Bruce Man-Son-Hing owns a 46-25 (.648) career record in dual-match doubles.
• Man-Son-Hing's 46 victories are tied for 21st among UC Irvine's all-time doubles win leaders.
• In their Division I history, the Anteaters 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 won its second-straight match in dominant fashion, defeating San Diego State, 4-0, last Sunday at the Aztec Tennis Center. Playing clinch format, the Anteaters quickly secured the doubles point. Bjorn Hoffmann and Bruce Man-Son-Hing won their second in a row with a 6-2 triumph over Aaro Pollanen/Johannes Seeman, 6-2, at the top of the lineup. Mark Peneff and Thomas Smart followed with a 6-2 victory against Rafael Gonzalez Almazan/Ignacio Martinez at No. 2 to give the 'Eaters a 1-0 lead. In singles, Matthew Sah was the first off the court as he dispatched Victor Castro, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4. Hoffmann also took care of business at No. 1, topping Seeman, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Mike Mkrtchian then delivered the final blow, upending Judson Blair, 6-3, 6-4, at the fifth position.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Weber State (2-3) was last in action on Feb. 14, when it dropped a 5-2 decision at Utah State. Senior Kris Van Wyk, an All-Big Sky performer, has played every match at No. 1 singles, compiling a 3-2 record. Freshman Sebastian Buxman is also 4-1 at the third position.
 
Weber State came out to Irvine to play in UCI's annual tournament multiple times in the 1980s and 1990s, but the two teams have only met once in program history. The Anteaters swept the Wildcats, 7-0, on March 8, 2016.
 
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. The 6-foot-2 graduate transfer from Cal, was recognized for his effort in a road battle at San Diego on Sunday, Feb. 14. Hoffmann earned a statement singles win, defeating the Toreros' 60th-ranked August Holmgren, 6-3, 7-5, at the top of the lineup. He 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). Hoffmann is 4-1 in singles, while playing all five matches at No. 1. His only loss came at top-ranked USC.
 
SUNDAY TENNIS
This marks the fifth week in a row the Anteaters will be playing on a Sunday. They are looking to improve to 4-1 in Sunday matches this year when they take on Weber State this weekend.

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."
 
SAH POWER
Sophomore Matthew Sah, who has played at Nos. 4 and 5 in the lineup, is tied for the team lead with four singles wins. The San Diego native earned straight-set victories against opponents from 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, finishing the tournament with a 3-6, 6-4, 15-13 comeback win over Ellis Short in the championship match.
 
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 46-25 dual-match doubles record. His 46 wins are tied for 21st in school history.
 
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 13 overall singles, and nine overall doubles wins. He owns an 8-3 career dual-match record at UCI, and was named the Big West Athlete of the Week on Feb. 19, 2020.
 
ANTEATER ROOTS
Graduate transfer Bjorn 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 has not played yet this season.
 
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.