UC Irvine (1-3) at
UCLA (2-3)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 13
Time: 12 p.m. (PST)
Location: Los Angeles Tennis Center - Los Angeles, Calif.
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Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine has one match this weekend, traveling to UCLA on Sunday, Feb. 13. First serve is set for 12 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
 
STORYLINES
• Emmanuel Coste came in at No. 60 in the latest ITA Singles Rankings which were released on Feb. 9.
• Coste, who faced a top-10 opponent in each of the Anteaters' first two dual matches, is 2-1 at the top of the lineup.
• The graduate transfer kicked off the 2022 season by upsetting the NCAA's top-ranked singles player at the time.
• On Jan. 21, he took down then No. 1 August Holmgren of San Diego, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
• Coste was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week (Jan. 26) for his effort.
• In his 2022 debut, Ali Amiri defeated Paul Barretto of ninth-ranked USC, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7, at the sixth position.
• Lawee Sherif's first collegiate victory was a 6-2, 7-6 triumph (No. 3) that clinched a 4-0 sweep of Grand Canyon on Feb. 4.
• The doubles pairings of Matthew Sah/Thomas Smart and Ali Amiri/Emmanuel Coste are both 2-0 in dual matches.
• Amiri/Coste won their first two matches as a duo as they made their doubles debut on Feb. 4.
• In their Division I history, the 'Eaters have made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• They have placed first in the Big West standings 17 times and won three Big West Tournament titles.
• UC Irvine has been named an ITA All-Academic Team (minimum 3.2 team GPA) in each of the last five years.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine came up short in a 4-3 heartbreaker to San Francisco last Sunday at Anteater Tennis Stadium. It was UCI's first home loss since March 8, 2020, snapping a nine-match win streak. The 'Eaters got out to a strong start in doubles with Ali Amiri and Emmanuel Coste dispatching Nikola Kuraica/Johan Garpered, 6-2, at No. 3. USF answered at the top of the lineup to bring the doubles decision down to court two where Matthew Sah and Thomas Smart were locked in a back-and-forth battle with Nil Giraldez/Mitch Johnson. The two teams went toe-to-toe before the Anteater tandem made the final push for the 7-6 (9-7) triumph. UC Irvine pulled ahead 3-1 in singles play with Coste and Mike Mkrtchian winning in straight sets on Nos. 1 and 5, respectively. The Dons were down but not out as they came back to win the remaining matches in three sets, clinching the 4-3 victory at No. 6.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Emmanuel Coste came in at No. 60 in the latest ITA Singles Rankings that were released on Feb. 9. Coste, who was also 63rd in the preseason rankings, made his way back into the top-125 on the strength of a win over then No. 1 August Holmgren of San Diego. He took control early in the match with a 6-3 opening-set victory. Holmgren bounced back to win the second, 6-0, forcing a decisive third frame where in a seesaw battle, Coste prevailed 7-5 for the upset. The Frenchman added a straight-set win against San Francisco, while his only loss this season was to USC's Stefan Dostanic, who is unbeaten and now ranked fourth in the nation. Coste, a graduate transfer from Oregon, has been featured in the ITA Rankings in each of his four collegiate campaigns.
 
WIN NO. 1
The 'Eaters earned their first win of the season in convincing fashion as they swept Grand Canyon, 4-0, on Feb. 4. UCI took the early lead with Ali Amiri/Emmanuel Coste and Riccardo Roberto/Lawee Sherif clinching the doubles point. Roberto continued to cruise in singles where he was first off the court with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 2. Matthew Sah wasn't far behind, making it 3-0 with a similar 6-2, 6-0 triumph at the fifth position. Sherif then delivered the final point with his first collegiate win as he took down Freddie Grant, 6-2, 7-6, at No. 3.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
UCLA (2-3) dropped out of the ITA Men's Top 25 Coaches Poll, but was still receiving votes. The Bruins have lost two in a row, falling at Cal, 4-0, and at Stanford, 6-1, last weekend. Drew Baird has played all five matches at No. 1 singles with a 2-3 record. No. 72 Alexander Hoogmartens is also 6-4 overall, and 2-1 against nationally ranked opponents.
 
SAH POWER
Junior Matthew Sah finished with a team-best 7-3 singles record in the fall. The San Diego native went 6-0 in hidden duals and picked up impressive wins over opponents from Pac-12 members Utah and Arizona. Sah is the Anteaters' only returning All-Big West performer as he received an honorable mention nod in doubles last year.
 
SENIOR YEAR
Through three-plus seasons at UC Irvine, which included two shortened campaigns due to the pandemic, senior Mike Mkrtchian has posted a 29-20 overall singles record. He is 14-8 in dual-match play, and coming off his best year after going 9-4 as a junior. Mkrtchian closed out the 2021 regular season on a seven-match win streak.
 
GRAD TRANSFERS
The Anteaters welcome two graduate transfers for the 2021-22 campaign. Emmanuel Coste, who hails from France, went 39-27 in three seasons at Pac-12 member Oregon. Riccardo Roberto also boasted a 56-40 overall singles record in four seasons at Alabama. The Padova, Italy, native qualified for the 2021 NCAA Doubles Championships with partner Patrick Kaukovalta, and the duo closed out the campaign ranked 32nd in the nation. Coste is currently in the Master of Finance program, while Roberto is working toward a Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship degree.
 
STAYING LOCAL
UC Irvine's nine-man roster is comprised of six student-athletes from the Southern California area. Three are Orange County natives, including Rithvik Krishna and Ali Amiri, who are both from Irvine.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
Three international student-athletes - Emmanuel Coste (France), Riccardo Roberto (Italy) and Thomas Smart (England) - round out UC Irvine's roster. The 'Eaters have had at least two international student-athletes every year since 2014-15.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to Anteater Tennis Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 19, when it hosts Pacific at 10 a.m.