UCI Heads to Northern California for Two Matches

UC Irvine (2-4) at
San Francisco (4-3)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 26
Time: 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: California Tennis Club - San Francisco, Calif.

UC Irvine (2-4) at
Santa Clara (3-2)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 27
Time: 11 a.m. (PST)
Location: Degheri Tennis Center - Santa Clara, Calif.
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IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine is on the road this weekend, traveling to Northern California for two matches. The Anteaters make their way to San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 26 (1 p.m.), for their second meeting with the Dons in as many weeks, before heading to Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 27 (11 a.m.).

STORYLINES
• The 'Eaters are looking for their first road win of the dual-match season.
• UCI has been tough to beat at Anteater Tennis Stadium in recent years as it owns a 34-8 (.810) home record since 2018.
• UC Irvine's only home loss this season came to USF on Feb. 6 when the Dons edged the Anteaters, 4-3.
• Emmanuel Coste was 86th in the latest ITA Singles Rankings which were released on Feb. 23.
• Coste, who has faced two top-10 opponents this year, is 3-2 at No. 1 singles.
• 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.
• 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 was dominant in singles play to earn a 5-2 victory over Pacific last Saturday at Anteater Tennis Stadium. The 'Eaters won five of their six singles matches, including four in straight sets. The doubles point went down to the final match. Ali Amiri and Emmanuel Coste were handed their first loss of the season, but Riccardo Roberto/Lawee Sherif tied it up with a 6-3 win over Aleska Mardjonovic/Coby McCaig at the top of the lineup. The Tigers eventually took the early 1-0 lead with a 6-2 triumph at No. 3. UCI bounced back in singles, starting with Roberto, who took care of business on court two, dispatching Peter Alam, 6-1, 6-1. Mike Mkrtchian followed with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over McCaig at the sixth spot before UOP's Ran Amar won at No. 4 to even the match at 2-2. UC Irvine would finish strong, winning the final three matches. Sherif upended Liam Puttergill, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 3, and Coste clinched with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 1. Noah Zamora closed out the day with his first collegiate dual-match singles win as he came from behind to top Brandon Park, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, on court five.

IN THE RANKINGS
Emmanuel Coste, who has been ranked as high as 60th in the nation, came in at No. 86 in the latest ITA Singles Top-125 (Feb. 23). Coste picked up a signature win over then No. 1 August Holmgren of San Diego in the dual-match opener on Jan. 21. 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 straight-set wins against San Francisco and Pacific, 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.

SCOUTING THE DONS
No. 72 San Francisco (4-3) is in the midst of a five-match homestand where it is currently 1-1, defeating Sacramento State, 4-2, on Feb. 13, and falling to UC Davis, 4-3, on Feb. 18. Junior Nitzan Ricklis is USF's top returner after earning All-WCC singles honors in each of his first two seasons.

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara (3-2) dropped a 6-1 decision to UC Davis last Saturday, and will host UNLV on Feb. 26 before welcoming the Anteaters to Degheri Tennis Center. Sophomore Guillaume Dalmasso leads the Broncos with a 17-4 overall singles record, including a 5-0 mark at Nos. 2 and 3 in dual-match play.

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 30-21 overall singles record. He is 15-9 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.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine is back in action next week, hosting Villanova on Wednesday, March 2.

Schedule

UCI Heads to Northern California for Two Matches

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Players Mentioned

Ali Amiri

Emmanuel Coste

Rithvik Krishna

Mike Mkrtchian

Riccardo Roberto

Matthew Sah

Lawee Sherif

Thomas Smart

Noah Zamora

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