Wednesday, March 2
Irvine, Calif.
1:00 PM
UC Irvine
vs
Villanova
Men's Tennis Set to Face Villanova on Wednesday
February 28, 2022 | Men's Tennis
Villanova (2-4) at
UC Irvine (4-4)
Date: Wednesday, March 2
Time: 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine will be looking for its fourth-straight victory when it welcomes Villanova to Anteater Tennis Stadium for a 1 p.m. (PST) match on Wednesday, March 2.
Spectators are permitted at Anteater Tennis Stadium. Campus guidelines should be followed and while not mandated outdoors, masks are highly encouraged and physical distancing should be practiced.
STORYLINES
• UCI has been tough to beat at Anteater Tennis Stadium in recent years as it owns a 34-8 (.810) home record since 2018.
• This will mark UC Irvine's fifth meeting with Villanova since 2007. The 'Eaters are 4-0 against the Wildcats.
• 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 4-2 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.
• Noah Zamora has won his last three singles matches and dropped only one set during that stretch.
• 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 extended its win streak to three with a 4-1 victory over Santa Clara Sunday at Degheri Tennis Center. Playing their second road match in as many days, the Anteaters did not show any signs of fatigue as they got out to a strong start in doubles. Teaming up for the first time this season, Matthew Sah and Lawee Sherif clicked right away, shutting out Ryan Ali/Nick Cmager, 6-0, at No. 3. The Broncos evened the playing field on court two, but Emmanuel Coste and Noah Zamora grinded out a 7-6 (6) win at the top of the lineup to secure the early lead. SCU tied it up at 1-1 early in singles action before Zamora put the 'Eaters back out front for good. The true freshman dispatched James Bell, 6-2, 6-2, at the fourth position for his second straight-set win of the weekend. Mike Mkrtchian followed with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Santiago Hinojosa at No. 6, while Riccardo Roberto clinched the match by taking down Guillaume Dalmasso, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 on court two.
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 WILDCATS
Villanova (2-4) snapped a four-match losing streak last Friday with a 6-1 win over Coppin State. The Wildcats will play at UC Riverside (March 1) prior to making their way to UC Irvine. They will stay in Southern California for the remainder of the week, taking on UC San Diego and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, while also competing in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in La Jolla. Sophomore Josh Robinson has played every match at the top of the singles lineup, and has joined senior Matthew Jones as Villanova's No. 1 doubles team.
SENIOR YEAR
Through three-plus seasons at UC Irvine, which included two shortened campaigns due to the pandemic, senior Mike Mkrtchian has posted a 32-21 overall singles record. He is 17-9 in dual-match play, and coming off his best year after going 9-4 as a junior. Mkrtchian is currently on a three-match win streak at No. 6 singles where he has not dropped a set.
FINDING HIS FOOTING
Noah Zamora has won his last three singles matches and is 3-1 on the season. This past weekend, the true freshman made his debut at No. 4 where he cruised to straight-set victories over Mitch Johnson of No. 72 San Francisco and James Bell of Santa Clara. Zamora also earned his first collegiate dual-match singles win on Feb. 19, when he came from behind to defeat Pacific's Brandon Park, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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.
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
UCI will make the short trip to LMU on Sunday, March 6, before hosting Weber State on Monday, March 7.
UC Irvine (4-4)
Date: Wednesday, March 2
Time: 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine will be looking for its fourth-straight victory when it welcomes Villanova to Anteater Tennis Stadium for a 1 p.m. (PST) match on Wednesday, March 2.
Spectators are permitted at Anteater Tennis Stadium. Campus guidelines should be followed and while not mandated outdoors, masks are highly encouraged and physical distancing should be practiced.
STORYLINES
• UCI has been tough to beat at Anteater Tennis Stadium in recent years as it owns a 34-8 (.810) home record since 2018.
• This will mark UC Irvine's fifth meeting with Villanova since 2007. The 'Eaters are 4-0 against the Wildcats.
• 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 4-2 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.
• Noah Zamora has won his last three singles matches and dropped only one set during that stretch.
• 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 extended its win streak to three with a 4-1 victory over Santa Clara Sunday at Degheri Tennis Center. Playing their second road match in as many days, the Anteaters did not show any signs of fatigue as they got out to a strong start in doubles. Teaming up for the first time this season, Matthew Sah and Lawee Sherif clicked right away, shutting out Ryan Ali/Nick Cmager, 6-0, at No. 3. The Broncos evened the playing field on court two, but Emmanuel Coste and Noah Zamora grinded out a 7-6 (6) win at the top of the lineup to secure the early lead. SCU tied it up at 1-1 early in singles action before Zamora put the 'Eaters back out front for good. The true freshman dispatched James Bell, 6-2, 6-2, at the fourth position for his second straight-set win of the weekend. Mike Mkrtchian followed with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Santiago Hinojosa at No. 6, while Riccardo Roberto clinched the match by taking down Guillaume Dalmasso, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 on court two.
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 WILDCATS
Villanova (2-4) snapped a four-match losing streak last Friday with a 6-1 win over Coppin State. The Wildcats will play at UC Riverside (March 1) prior to making their way to UC Irvine. They will stay in Southern California for the remainder of the week, taking on UC San Diego and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, while also competing in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in La Jolla. Sophomore Josh Robinson has played every match at the top of the singles lineup, and has joined senior Matthew Jones as Villanova's No. 1 doubles team.
SENIOR YEAR
Through three-plus seasons at UC Irvine, which included two shortened campaigns due to the pandemic, senior Mike Mkrtchian has posted a 32-21 overall singles record. He is 17-9 in dual-match play, and coming off his best year after going 9-4 as a junior. Mkrtchian is currently on a three-match win streak at No. 6 singles where he has not dropped a set.
FINDING HIS FOOTING
Noah Zamora has won his last three singles matches and is 3-1 on the season. This past weekend, the true freshman made his debut at No. 4 where he cruised to straight-set victories over Mitch Johnson of No. 72 San Francisco and James Bell of Santa Clara. Zamora also earned his first collegiate dual-match singles win on Feb. 19, when he came from behind to defeat Pacific's Brandon Park, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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.
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
UCI will make the short trip to LMU on Sunday, March 6, before hosting Weber State on Monday, March 7.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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