UC Irvine (12-6, 2-2 Big West) at
UC Davis (14-11, 0-3 Big West)
Date: Saturday, April 16
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Marya Welch Tennis Center - Davis, Calif.

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team will head to UC Davis for its final Big West regular-season road match on Saturday, April 16. The Anteaters and Aggies are set to square off at 12 p.m. at Marya Welch Tennis Center.
 
STORYLINES
• The 'Eaters went unbeaten from Feb. 19-March 30 for their first 10-match win streak since 2015.
• At 12-6, they have secured the program's fifth consecutive winning season.
• All six of UC Irvine's losses have come to teams that were ranked or later made their way into the ITA's top-75.
• Emmanuel Coste has been featured in six consecutive ITA Singles Top-125 Rankings.
• He had a high ranking of No. 60, and most recently came in at No. 91 (April 13).
• Coste, who has faced two top-10 opponents this year, is 9-3 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).
• Noah Zamora saw an eight-match win streak snapped vs. Cal Poly with his first loss since his debut on Jan. 23.
• Zamora and Coste are tied for the team lead with nine dual-match singles wins.
• Riccardo Roberto and Mike Mkrtchian also have seven singles victories each with Roberto winning his last six decisions.
• In his 2022 debut, Ali Amiri defeated Paul Barretto of ninth-ranked USC, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7, at the sixth position.
• UCI has been tough to beat at Anteater Tennis Stadium in recent years, owning a 39-9 (.813) home record since 2018.
• 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 No. 57 UC Santa Barbara, 4-0, this past Sunday at Arnhold Tennis Center. The Gauchos clinched the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. UCSB then kicked off singles play with a pair of straight-set victories. Matthew Sah fell to Gianluca Brunkow, 6-1, 7-5, at No. 6, before Emmanuel Coste dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision to Phillip Jordan at the top of the lineup. Despite being in a 3-0 hole, the 'Eaters kept their comeback hopes alive on the four remaining courts. Riccardo Roberto, Mike Mkrtchian and Noah Zamora all won their opening sets, while Lawee Sherif bounced back from a 7-5 loss with a 6-2 victory in the second frame. But, UC Santa Barbara was eventually able to close out the match at the fifth position where Alejandro Vedri overcame the one-set deficit to defeat Mkrtchian, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine has made two appearances in the ITA National Team Rankings, coming in at No. 70 on March 2 and No. 74 on April 6. Emmanuel Coste has also been a staple in the ITA Singles Top-125 this season. Coste, who has been ranked as high as 60th in the nation, came in at No. 91 in the latest ITA poll (April 13). The graduate transfer made his way into the first rankings of the spring after picking 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. He is 9-3 on the season with his only losses coming to UCSB's Phillip Jordan, UCLA's Drew Baird and USC's Stefan Dostanic, who remains unbeaten in dual match play and is ranked second in the nation.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
UC Davis (14-11, 0-3 Big West) dropped two Big West road matches last week, falling at UC Santa Barbara, 4-0, and at Cal Poly, 4-3. Ryan Torres, who has played primarily at No. 2 in the lineup, leads the Aggies with a 19-3 dual-match singles record. Andrei Volgin has also seen most of the action at No. 1 where he is 9-7.

MARCHING ON
The Anteaters went 7-0 in March, marking their first undefeated month with at least five matches played since 2000. That run extended their win streak to 10 before a 4-2 defeat against No. 61 Cal Poly on April 3. On the year, UC Irvine is 12-6, with all six of its losses coming to teams that have been ranked among the ITA's Top-75 at some point this season.
 
SINGLES STREAKS
Riccardo Roberto owns UCI's longest active singles win streak at six matches. Roberto has not lost since the Anteaters' Feb. 13 match at UCLA. Noah Zamora recently saw his season-long eight-match win streak snapped against Cal Poly on April 3, while Emmanuel Coste's six-match win streak came to an end at UC Santa Barbara on April 10.
 
MATCH CLINCHERS
Six different 'Eaters have delivered the match-clinching point in the team's 12 victories this season. Emmanuel Coste has ended the match on five separate occasions, including in a 4-3 triumph at then No. 72 San Francisco. The first collegiate dual-match wins for both Rithvik Krishna and Lawee Sherif were also match clinchers, while Noah Zamora had a thrilling 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) triumph to secure UCI's 4-3 victory against Dartmouth.
 
SENIOR YEAR
Through three-plus seasons at UC Irvine, which included two shortened campaigns due to the pandemic, senior Mike Mkrtchian has posted a 35-25 overall singles record. He is 20-13 in dual-match play, and coming off his best year after going 9-4 as a junior.
 
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. He has 20 career dual-match doubles victories.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns home to host Hawai'i in its regular-season finale on Sunday, April 24.