Pacific (0-3) at
UC Irvine (1-4)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 19
Time: 10 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine will be looking to defend its home court this weekend when it welcomes the University of the Pacific to Anteater Tennis Stadium for a 10 a.m. match on Saturday, Feb. 19.
 
STORYLINES
• Emmanuel Coste was 60th 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 2-2 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.
• The doubles pairing of Ali Amiri/Emmanuel Coste is 2-0 in dual matches.
• Amiri/Coste won their first two as a tandem 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 fell to UCLA, 7-0, this past Sunday at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins, who were receiving votes in the ITA Men's Top-25 Coaches Poll, got out to a quick start on their home court, winning at Nos. 1 and 2 to take the doubles point. Ali Amiri and Emmanuel Coste were tied with Karl Lee/Giacomo Revelli, 4-4, at the third position when the match was abandoned. In singles, UCLA picked up straight-set victories at five, three and six to clinch the team victory. Lawee Sherif faced a tough challenge in the third slot, going up against 72nd-ranked Alexander Hoogmartens (6-3, 6-4). No. 60 Emmanuel Coste also dropped a hard-fought 6-3, 6-2 decision to Drew Baird at the top of the lineup. On court two, Riccardo Roberto held off match point at 5-4 in the second set, winning a crucial deciding point at 40-40 to tie it up before ultimately falling to Patrick Zahraj, 6-4, 7-5. Ali Amiri went the distance against Revelli at No. 4, but was unable to pull off his second Pac-12 win, coming up short, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Emmanuel Coste came in at No. 60 in the latest ITA Singles Rankings (Feb. 9). Coste, who was also 63rd in the Preseason Top-125, made his way back into the national rankings on the strength of his 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 losses this season were to UCLA's Drew Baird and 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 TIGERS
Pacific (0-3) has dropped its first three dual matches, falling at Cal Poly, UTSA and UC Santa Barbara. The Tigers, who opted out of the 2021 season, have two returners from the shortened 2019-20 campaign in juniors Coby McCaig and Manroop Saini.
 
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 29-21 overall singles record. He is 14-9 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. He has earned a singles ranking each year with a high of No. 60. 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.
 
DUAL MATCH OPENER POSTPONED
UC Irvine's originally scheduled dual-match opener on Monday, Jan. 17, at Anteater Stadium was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the San Diego State program. The match will be rescheduled at a later date.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will head to Northern California for a pair of matches next weekend, traveling to San Francisco for a rematch with the Dons on Saturday, Feb. 26, and to Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 27.