Friday, February 4
Irvine, Calif.
1:30 PM
UC Irvine
vs
Grand Canyon
Anteaters Host GCU, USF in Home Opening Weekend
February 03, 2022 | Men's Tennis
Grand Canyon (0-6) at
UC Irvine (0-2)
Date: Friday, Feb. 4
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
San Francisco (1-1) at
UC Irvine (0-2)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 6
Time: 11 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Match Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team is set for its home-opening weekend as it welcomes Grand Canyon and San Francisco to Anteater Tennis Stadium. The 'Eaters will host the Lopes on Friday, Feb. 4, before entertaining the Dons Sunday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m. Friday's match is the back end of a doubleheader with the UCI women's team and is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.
Spectators are permitted at Anteater Stadium. Campus guidelines should be followed and while not mandated outdoors, masks are highly encouraged and physical distancing should be practiced.
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is looking to extend an eight-match home win streak that dates back to March 8, 2020.
• Emmanuel Coste was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week on Jan. 26.
• The graduate transfer earned his first career weekly award after upsetting the NCAA's top-ranked singles player.
• In the dual-match opener at San Diego on Jan. 21, Coste took down No. 1 August Holmgren, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
• In the fall, Coste advanced to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships.
• In his 2022 debut, Ali Amiri defeated Paul Barretto of ninth-ranked USC, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7, at the sixth position.
• Matthew Sah and Thomas Smart are 1-0 in dual-match doubles after picking up a 6-4 win on court three at USD.
• Sah/Smart and Coste/Riccardo Roberto made an appearance in the doubles Round of 16 at the ITA Southwest Regional.
• In their Division I history, the Anteaters 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 ninth-ranked USC, 6-1, at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 23. Ali Amiri earned the Anteaters' point with a victory at No. 6 singles. He split his first two sets against the Trojans' Paul Barretto before winning a super tiebreaker for the 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7) triumph. Emmanuel Coste, who was coming off a win over No. 1 August Holmgren two days earlier, faced his second-straight top-10 singles opponent in No. 6 Stefan Dostanic. Coste put up a fight but was unable to complete back-to-back upsets with a 6-3, 6-3 loss at the top of the lineup. Riccardo Roberto and Mike Mkrtchian also came up short against No. 70 Bradley Frye and No. 35 Peter Makk, respectively. USC's lineup featured three players in the ITA Singles Rankings and the No. 10 doubles team in Dostanic/Frye.
DOWN GOES NO. 1
Emmanuel Coste headlined UC Irvine's dual-match opener at the University of San Diego by taking down the NCAA's top-ranked singles player on Friday, Jan. 21. Coste got the Anteaters, who dropped a 6-1 decision to the Toreros, on the board in impressive fashion. At the top of the lineup, he took control early against No. 1 August Holmgren with a 6-3 victory in the opening set. Holmgren bounced back to win the second, 6-0, forcing the decisive third frame where in a back-and-forth-affair, it was Coste who prevailed 7-5 for the upset victory. Holmgren had earned his No. 1 ITA Singles ranking after winning the 2021 ITA Fall National Championship and claiming runner-up honors at the ITA All-American Championships. Coste was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week for his top-ranked win.
SCOUTING THE LOPES
Grand Canyon (0-6) is in the midst of a nine-match road swing to start the 2022 season. The Lopes were last in action on Jan. 30, falling at Idaho State, 4-0. GCU has four returners who earned All-WAC honors, including graduate student Freddie Grant, who is a two-time singles and doubles selection. Grant leads the squad with two singles wins this year, while junior Mariano Argote has played all six matches at the top of the lineup.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine and Grand Canyon have squared off four times since 2015 with the series tied at 2-2. The Lopes won the most recent meeting, 4-1, at Anteater Tennis Stadium on Jan. 21, 2018.
SCOUTING THE DONS
San Francisco (1-1) opened its dual-match campaign two weeks ago, splitting a pair of road matches as it defeated Cal Poly, 6-1, before falling at UC Santa Barbara, 5-2. The Dons will head to Point Loma and UC San Diego before making their way to Irvine. Junior Nitzan Ricklis is USF's top returner after earning All-WCC singles honors in each of his first two seasons.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with San Francisco, 5-1. The Dons snapped UCI's five-match win streak with a 4-1 home victory in the most recent meeting on Feb. 7, 2020.
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.
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 28-20 overall singles record. He is 13-8 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. He has earned a singles ranking each year with a high of No. 63. 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 will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 13, making the short trip to No. 23 UCLA.
UC Irvine (0-2)
Date: Friday, Feb. 4
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
San Francisco (1-1) at
UC Irvine (0-2)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 6
Time: 11 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Match Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team is set for its home-opening weekend as it welcomes Grand Canyon and San Francisco to Anteater Tennis Stadium. The 'Eaters will host the Lopes on Friday, Feb. 4, before entertaining the Dons Sunday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m. Friday's match is the back end of a doubleheader with the UCI women's team and is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.
Spectators are permitted at Anteater Stadium. Campus guidelines should be followed and while not mandated outdoors, masks are highly encouraged and physical distancing should be practiced.
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is looking to extend an eight-match home win streak that dates back to March 8, 2020.
• Emmanuel Coste was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week on Jan. 26.
• The graduate transfer earned his first career weekly award after upsetting the NCAA's top-ranked singles player.
• In the dual-match opener at San Diego on Jan. 21, Coste took down No. 1 August Holmgren, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
• In the fall, Coste advanced to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships.
• In his 2022 debut, Ali Amiri defeated Paul Barretto of ninth-ranked USC, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7, at the sixth position.
• Matthew Sah and Thomas Smart are 1-0 in dual-match doubles after picking up a 6-4 win on court three at USD.
• Sah/Smart and Coste/Riccardo Roberto made an appearance in the doubles Round of 16 at the ITA Southwest Regional.
• In their Division I history, the Anteaters 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 ninth-ranked USC, 6-1, at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 23. Ali Amiri earned the Anteaters' point with a victory at No. 6 singles. He split his first two sets against the Trojans' Paul Barretto before winning a super tiebreaker for the 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7) triumph. Emmanuel Coste, who was coming off a win over No. 1 August Holmgren two days earlier, faced his second-straight top-10 singles opponent in No. 6 Stefan Dostanic. Coste put up a fight but was unable to complete back-to-back upsets with a 6-3, 6-3 loss at the top of the lineup. Riccardo Roberto and Mike Mkrtchian also came up short against No. 70 Bradley Frye and No. 35 Peter Makk, respectively. USC's lineup featured three players in the ITA Singles Rankings and the No. 10 doubles team in Dostanic/Frye.
DOWN GOES NO. 1
Emmanuel Coste headlined UC Irvine's dual-match opener at the University of San Diego by taking down the NCAA's top-ranked singles player on Friday, Jan. 21. Coste got the Anteaters, who dropped a 6-1 decision to the Toreros, on the board in impressive fashion. At the top of the lineup, he took control early against No. 1 August Holmgren with a 6-3 victory in the opening set. Holmgren bounced back to win the second, 6-0, forcing the decisive third frame where in a back-and-forth-affair, it was Coste who prevailed 7-5 for the upset victory. Holmgren had earned his No. 1 ITA Singles ranking after winning the 2021 ITA Fall National Championship and claiming runner-up honors at the ITA All-American Championships. Coste was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week for his top-ranked win.
SCOUTING THE LOPES
Grand Canyon (0-6) is in the midst of a nine-match road swing to start the 2022 season. The Lopes were last in action on Jan. 30, falling at Idaho State, 4-0. GCU has four returners who earned All-WAC honors, including graduate student Freddie Grant, who is a two-time singles and doubles selection. Grant leads the squad with two singles wins this year, while junior Mariano Argote has played all six matches at the top of the lineup.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine and Grand Canyon have squared off four times since 2015 with the series tied at 2-2. The Lopes won the most recent meeting, 4-1, at Anteater Tennis Stadium on Jan. 21, 2018.
SCOUTING THE DONS
San Francisco (1-1) opened its dual-match campaign two weeks ago, splitting a pair of road matches as it defeated Cal Poly, 6-1, before falling at UC Santa Barbara, 5-2. The Dons will head to Point Loma and UC San Diego before making their way to Irvine. Junior Nitzan Ricklis is USF's top returner after earning All-WCC singles honors in each of his first two seasons.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with San Francisco, 5-1. The Dons snapped UCI's five-match win streak with a 4-1 home victory in the most recent meeting on Feb. 7, 2020.
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.
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 28-20 overall singles record. He is 13-8 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. He has earned a singles ranking each year with a high of No. 63. 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 will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 13, making the short trip to No. 23 UCLA.
Players Mentioned
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