IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's tennis continues its Big West schedule with a match at UCSB Saturday, April 10 at 12 p.m.

STORYLINES
-UCI earned its second conference win of the season, defeating UC San Diego, 5-2 at home. The Anteaters improved to 2-7 overall and 2-3 in Big West action
- Emily Fowler and Jenna Schlatter lead UCI with three singles wins apiece while Dasee Carter has two wins this season
- The doubles team of Schlatter and Arianna Tilbury is 2-0 this season at the No. 2 position
- 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 against UCSD in conference action
- The match started with doubles as Jessica Tsukiji/Jenna Schlatter earned a 6-2 victory at No. 2 while Emily Fowler and Dana Mackensen won, 6-4 at No. 3 to give UCI the doubles point
- In singles, Dasee Carter, Emily Folwer, Arianna Tilbury and Schlatter all earned wins. Fowler delivered the match clinching point on court five
ABOUT UCSB
- UCSB is 5-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play this season. The Gauchos are riding a four-game winning streak
- The Gauchos earned a 5-2 win at Hawaii last Saturday  
- Shakhnova Khatamova leads UCSB in singles with a 7-2 overall record while Khatamova/Kira Reuter boast a team-best 3-3 doubles record

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 hosts CS Fullerton in a Big West match Saturday, April 17 at 11 a.m.