Box Score SAN DIEGO, Calif. – No. 8 seed UC Irvine battled for the 4-1 win over No. 9 seed UC Riverside in the opening round of the 2023 Big West Women's Tennis Championships.
 
The Anteaters earned three of their points in singles competition and took two victories in doubles.
 
The No. 2 doubles partners, Alyssia Fossorier and Jenna Schlatter, notched the first singles point for UCI, sweeping the match 6-0.
 
Back to their winning ways at No. 3 doubles, the duo of Asha Gidwani and Amanda Perez pulled out the 6-4 win in a comeback from behind effort. The freshmen pairing hold a 13-3 record this season and 12-3 at the third spot.
 
At the No. 1 spot, Schlatter made quick work in the first set, winning 6-0. The senior held an early 4-0 advantage before her opponent Kamya Nair scored a point. Schlatter was able to close out the first singles victory for UCI by picking up the 6-1 win in set two.
 
UC Riverside snuck in the win at No. 4 singles, 6-2, 6-1 to close the gap, putting the match at 2-1 UC Irvine.
 
In the No. 6 position, Larissa Teramura won easily in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-2. Snapping a four-game skid, Haily Huynh recorded the 6-4, 6-3 victory at the No. 5 spot to clinch the match.
 
"Our doubles were close, but we ended up walking away with the point and that helped us build momentum into singles," stated assistant coach Benjamin Cook. "We all had game plans for our singles matches and we stuck to them. Jenna had a dominant performance at No. 1 and Larissa had a solid win at No. 6. Then Haily played a great match at No. 5 where she clinched the match for us to get the 4-1 win. Now, we look to Hawai'i and bringing the fight to them. Go 'Eaters!"

SINGLES DRAWS
Jenna Schlatter (UCI) defeated Kamya Nair (UCR) 6-0, 6-1
Alyssia Fossorier (UCI) vs. Sofia Lazzaroni (UCR) 6-4, 4-2, unfinished
Asha Gidwani (UCI) vs. Brianna Nguyen (UCR) 7-5, 2-5, unfinished
Maya Youssef (UCR) defeated Amanda Perez (UCI) 6-2, 6-1
Haily Huynh (UCI) defeated Niki Shahbazi (UCR) 6-4, 6-3
Larissa Teramura (UCI) defeated Sydney Tran (UCR) 6-1, 6-2

DOUBLES
C.Fowler/E.Fowler (UCI) vs. Nair/Youssef (UCR), 5-4, unfinished
Fossorier/Schlatter (UCI) defeated Nguyen/Tran (UCR), 6-0
Gidwani/Perez (UCI) defeated Shahbazi/Saltzen (UCR), 6-4

WHAT THE PLAYERS HAD TO SAY:
"Super happy with the way I played today being able to close out a close match. I am proud of the way our team played today taking care of business. UC Riverside came out playing great, but we responded well. Excited to play Hawai'i again tomorrow and fight hard. Go eaters!" -Haily Huynh

"I am so unbelievably proud of the result today, winning the first round of the Big West Championships! Everyone fought extremely hard, and it showed with this positive result! I was excited that I could contribute a point to the win and get my first victory match at a Big West tournament. Let's go 'Eaters!" -Larissa Teramura
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters will face the No. 1 seeded Hawai'i in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Big West Women's Tennis Championships on Thursday Apr. 27^th. First serve is slated for 12 p.m.