BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
First Round
[3] UC Irvine (14-6, 4-2 Big West) vs.
[6] UC Davis (15-13, 1-5 Big West)
Date: Friday, April 29
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Barnes Tennis Center - San Diego, Calif.
Live Scoring

Semifinals
Date: Saturday, April 30
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Barnes Tennis Center - San Diego, Calif.
Live Scoring

Championship Match
Date: Sunday, May 1
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Barnes Tennis Center - San Diego, Calif.
Live Scoring

Notes (PDF) // Championship Central

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team heads to San Diego this weekend for the Big West Championships, April 29-May 1. The third-seeded Anteaters are set to open the tournament on Friday against No. 6 seed UC Davis. The winner will advance to Saturday's semifinal against No. 2 Cal Poly, while the championship is slated for Sunday, May 1. All matches will start at 9 a.m. at Barnes Tennis Center.
 
STORYLINES
• The 'Eaters went unbeaten from Feb. 19-March 30 for their first 10-match win streak since 2015.
• At 14-6, 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 each of the last seven ITA Singles Top-125 Rankings.
• He had a high ranking of No. 60, and most recently came in at No. 75 (April 27).
• 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.
• Noah Zamora is the first 'Eater to reach double digits in the win column with a team-best 10-2 dual-match singles record.
• Coste, Riccardo Roberto and Mike Mkrtchian are also tied for second on the team with nine singles victories each.
• Roberto owns UC Irvine's longest active win streak as he has come out on top in his last eight decisions.
• UCI has been tough to beat at Anteater Tennis Stadium in recent years, owning a 40-9 (.816) 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.
 
BIG WEST NOTABLES
The Anteaters have advanced to the semifinals in each of the last six Big West Tournaments. They are 15-1 in first round/quarterfinal matches, 8-18 in semifinal appearances and 3-5 in championship matches. UCI won the title in 2005, 2010 and 2011. The 'Eaters and Aggies have met once in their postseason history with UCD taking the 4-0 first-round win in 2014.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UC Irvine brought home two Big West Player of the Week awards in 2022. Emmanuel Coste was recognized on Jan. 26, following his win over top-ranked August Holmgren of San Diego. Noah Zamora also earned the weekly honor for his performance in the Anteaters' 4-2 victory over UC Davis on April 16. He joined forces with Coste for a 6-4 triumph against Andrei Volgin/Mitchell Davis at the top of the doubles lineup, before delivering the match-clinching point by coming from behind to defeat Ryan Morgan 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
 
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 year. Coste, who has been ranked as high as 60th in the nation, came in at No. 75 in the latest ITA poll (April 27). The graduate transfer made his way into the first rankings of the dual season after picking up a signature 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 win over then No. 1 August Holmgren of San Diego 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 sixth in the nation.
 
SINGLES STREAK
Riccardo Roberto owns UCI's longest active singles win streak at eight matches. He has not lost since the Anteaters' Feb. 13 contest at UCLA. Noah Zamora also had an eight-match win streak that lasted from Feb. 19-April 3.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
UC Davis (15-13, 1-5 Big West) snapped a four-match losing streak with a 4-2 victory over UC San Diego in its regular-season finale on April 23. Ryan Torres leads the Aggies with a 21-4 singles record while playing at Nos. 1-3. Andrei Volgin is also 10-7 at the top of the lineup.
 
SERIES RECORD
Since 2003, UC Irvine is 13-5 against UC Davis. The Anteaters have won three-straight matches in the series after taking down the Aggies, 4-2, on the road on April 16.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine closed out the regular season with a 4-1 victory over No. 72 Hawai'i. It was the Anteaters' second win over a ranked opponent this season. Riccardo Roberto and Matthew Sah won a tiebreaker on court two to clinch the doubles point before the 'Eaters dug deep for three comeback singles wins. Rithvik Krishna defeated Kilian Maitre, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6, while Roberto prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 against Axel Labrunie at No. 2. That set the table for Mike Mkrtchian who had a gritty performance at the fifth position. The first set was a back-and-forth affair with UH's Karl Collins eventually winning the tiebreaker, but it was all Mkrtchian after that as he bounced back for the 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-4 match-clinching victory.
 
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 14-6, with all six of its losses coming to teams that have been ranked among the ITA's Top-75 at some point this season.
 
MATCH CLINCHERS
Seven different 'Eaters have secured the match-clinching point in the team's 14 victories. 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 wins for both Rithvik Krishna and Lawee Sherif were match-clinchers, while one of Noah Zamora's three decisive victories was a thrilling 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 win vs. Dartmouth. Riccardo Roberto, Matthew Sah and Mike Mkrtchian have also delivered the final point this season.
 
SENIOR YEAR
Through three-plus seasons at UC Irvine, which included two shortened campaigns due to the pandemic, senior Mike Mkrtchian has posted a 37-25 overall singles record. He is 22-13 in dual-match play, and a remarkable 11-1 against Big West opponents. His first and only regular-season conference loss to date came on Sunday, April 10, at No. 57 UC Santa Barbara.
 
SAH POWER
Junior Matthew Sah is the Anteaters' only returning All-Big West performer as he received an honorable mention nod in doubles last year. Sah has a team-leading 11 dual-match doubles wins this season and 21 in his career.
 
GRAD TRANSFERS
Emmanuel Coste and Riccardo Roberto are both graduate transfers closing out their collegiate careers at UC Irvine. Coste, who has earned a singles ranking every year, went 39-27 in three seasons at Pac-12 member Oregon. Roberto also boasted a 56-40 overall singles record in four seasons at Alabama. Coste is in UCI's 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 hail 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.