UC Irvine (5-4) at
Loyola Marymount (2-7)
Date: Sunday, March 6
Time: 12 p.m. (PST)
Location: LMU Tennis Center - Los Angeles, Calif.

Weber State (4-9) at
UC Irvine (5-4)
Date: Tuesday, March 8
Time: 10 a.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

Boston University (0-8) at
UC Irvine (5-4)
Date: Friday, March 11
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - No. 70 UC Irvine takes a four-match win streak into a busy week where it will head to Loyola Marymount for a 12 p.m. showdown on Sunday, March 6, before hosting Weber State (March 8) and Boston University (March 11).

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
• UC Irvine entered the ITA National Team Rankings this week, coming in at No. 70.
• The 'Eaters have won their last four matches, including a 4-3 victory at then No. 72 San Francisco.
• UCI has been tough to beat at Anteater Tennis Stadium in recent years as it owns a 35-8 (.814) home record since 2018.
• 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 for his effort (Jan. 26).
• Riccardo Roberto has won his last four singles matches, going 3-0 at No. 2 and 1-0 at No. 1.
• 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.
• Rithvik Krishna also picked up his first collegiate dual-match win to secure a 4-0 triumph over Villanova on March 2.
• 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 blanked Villanova, 4-0, on Wednesday, March 2, to extend its season-long win streak to four. UCI claimed the doubles point for the second-straight match. Ali Amiri and Riccardo Roberto took care of business on court two, upending Trey Forticq/Anthony Prokurat, 6-2. The Wildcats pulled even with a victory at No. 1 before Matthew Sah and Lawee Sherif secured the 1-0 lead with a 6-4 triumph at No. 3. Sah and Sherif, who made their debut as a pairing on Feb. 27, improved to 2-0. Sah kept the momentum in singles, making quick work of Noah Winton, 6-0, 6-2, at the fifth position. In his first match at the top of the lineup this season, Roberto dispatched Forticq, 6-3, 6-2. Rithvik Krishna then followed with his first collegiate dual-match victory as he clinched the 4-0 sweep with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Will Gatti at No. 6.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine made its 2022 debut in the ITA Men's National Team Rankings, coming in at No. 70 in the latest poll released on March 3. Emmanuel Coste, who has been ranked as high as 60th in the nation, is also 86th in the ITA Singles Top-125 (Feb. 23). Coste picked up a signature 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 win over then No. 1 August Holmgren of San Diego in the dual-match opener on Jan. 21. 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 LIONS
Loyola Marymount (2-7) was last in action in February, falling to San Diego (Feb. 18) and Oregon (Feb. 19) by identical 4-0 scores. The Lions' two wins this season came against UC Davis and San Diego State. Dane Esses leads LMU with a 4-2 singles record, playing at Nos. 3-5.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Weber State (4-9) split its last two matches, defeating Eastern Washington in its Big Sky opener, before falling to Utah in non-conference play. Sebastian Buxman has seen a bulk of the action at No. 1 singles where he is 4-5, while Tristan Sarp is 6-5 at Nos. 1 and 2.
 
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
Boston University (0-8) is still searching for its first win and will begin its Southern California trip at UC San Diego before making its way to Irvine. Jonah Dickson and Ben Letzer lead the Terriers with four dual-match singles victories each.
 
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.
 
MORE STREAKS
Riccardo Roberto has won each of his last four singles matches, going 3-0 at No. 2, and picking up a victory in his first appearance at the top of the lineup against Villanova on Wednesday, March 2. Roberto owns a team-best five wins in dual-match play. Noah Zamora (No. 4) has also come out on top in each of his last three singles decisions.
 
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 have a week off for finals before returning to action with a home match vs. Dartmouth on March 21.