IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's tennis improves to 2-0 on the season after defeating Portland State (3-3), 5-2 in a hard-fought slate.

The duo of Carolyna Fowler and Emily Fowler clinched the doubles victory for the Anteaters at the No.1 slot, winning 6-3.

Freshman Larissa Teramura's win at No.6 singles clinched the singles and match victory for UC Irvine.
Jenna Schlatter fought hard in her singles competition, winning each set with seven points and battled in the tiebreaker of her second set up to seven points again.

"We took a tough loss against this team last season, but saw them again this fall in individual matches and stepped up for some good wins," said head coach Elizabeth Ferris Smith. "Both teams came in with quite a bit of knowledge of one another, so we knew we would have to play clean from the start. Every court had a gamelan and executed it right away. Even though we were confident in our strategies, we did get down on several courts. Big credit to Portland St. as they are an experienced team with a lot of good matches under their belt early on. But we allowed all the hard work we've been doing, belief in ourselves, and desire to win shine through."

"Jenna lead us on court one with such heart. She ran down some impossible shots today over and over, and when she gets pumped, it brings the whole crowd and team up. Asha had a great comeback win, and Larissa had a solid win against the same opponent she lost to in a tight match in the fall. Total battle and great team win today that will set the tone for the season."

SINGLES DRAWS
Jenna Schlatter (UCI) defeated Maria Ponomareva (PSU) 7-5, 7-6(7-4)
Elizabeth Strongina (PSU) defeated Alyssia Fossorier (UCI)  6-3, 0-6, 3-6
Asha Gidwani (UCI) defeated Nell Arendt (PSU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
Amanda Perez (UCI) defeated Emily Rees (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
Emily Rees (PSU) defeated Haily Huynh (UCI) 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (3-7)
Larissa Teramura (UCI) defeated Makoto Ohara (PSU) 7-5, 6-4

DOUBLES
C.Fowler/E.Fowler (UCI) defeated Ponomareva/Strongina (PSU), 6-3
Arendt/Rees (PSU) defeated Schlatter/Fossorier (UCI), 3-6
Gidwani/Perez (UCI) defeated Beukers/Ohara (PSU), 6-3

WHAT THE PLAYERS HAD TO SAY:
"This was such a fun and tough match for us, but I'm so proud of our team for fighting until the very end. For our doubles match, Amanda and I were solid, and we worked great together as a team! For my singles match, I fought till the very end and I'm so thankful for my team for cheering me on!" -Asha Gidwani

"I'm really proud of the energy we brought to the game today! Everyone was very supportive, loud, and excited to compete. Lyna and I stuck to our strategy and came out on top and everyone in singles competed so well." -Emily Fowler

"I was extremely impressed with entire team today against Portland State! I really felt a strong team bond and atmosphere throughout the matches, and it ended in a great result! For my match, it was tough playing the same person as I did in the fall, when I had previously lost before. But with the team energy and support I was able to pull out a win today!" -Larissa Teramura
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters will face Cal State LA for an afternoon match on Thursday Feb. 9 with first serve at 1 p.m.