IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis has a rich tradition as it has won 17 Big West championships and four conference tournament titles.
 
The Anteaters have continued that success over the last two years, winning the 2022 Big West tournament and making the program's 12th NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. Last season, they also earned a share of their first regular-season title since 2015.
 
The 'Eaters return seven letterwinners from last year's team, while five were also part of the 2022 squad.
 
"Experience can win matches, and often does," ninth-year head coach Mike Saunders said. "It also helps galvanize team culture, but more than anything, teams with experience tend to improve and grow. This is a team that is inspired to get better every day."
 
UCI is set to begin its 2024 dual-match campaign against Westcliff next Thursday, Jan. 18. Below are five things to know before the start of the season.
 
 
BIG WEST ACCLAIM
Of UC Irvine's seven returners, five have earned All-Big West honors in their careers. Junior Noah Zamora is a two-time all-conference selection in both singles and doubles, and was named the 2022 Big West co-Freshman of the Year. Last season, graduate student Enrique Luque Rico garnered first-team recognition in singles, while senior Brandon Park was named to the second team in singles and first team in doubles. In addition, junior Rithvik Krishna earned an honorable mention nod in singles. In 2021, graduate student Matthew Sah also received All-Big West honors in doubles.
 
POWER 5 ADDITIONS
Two of the Anteaters' three newcomers are graduate transfers. Rahul Dhokia comes to UCI from Texas A&M where he owned a 22-8 overall singles record in two seasons. The Aggies were consistently among the top-25 in the nation during his time in College Station. Dhokia spent his freshman and sophomore campaigns at Baylor where he was a member of the Bears' 2021 Big 12 Champion and NCAA Finalist team. Hiroki Sakagawa joins the 'Eaters after four years at the University of Arizona. In 2022 and 2023, the Wildcats won back-to-back Pac-12 regular-season championships. In his two shortened seasons on the court, Sakagawa went 24-12 overall in singles.
 
"Our newcomers add both experience and talent," Saunders said. "Hiroki and Raul are veteran college tennis players who are coming from very successful programs."
 
BLUE CHIP RECRUIT
Freshman Andy Nguyen rounds out UC Irvine's trio of newcomers. Nguyen is a blue chip recruit out of Millikan High School in Long Beach. He was the CIF-Southern Section individual champion in 2022, while he also led the Rams to the CIF Division 4 team title in 2021. Nguyen was a two-time Moore League singles champion and MVP. He did not compete his senior year to focus on junior tournaments. He was ranked eighth in California and 18th in the nation according to Tennis Recruiting.
 
"Andy is one of the best freshman recruits to come to UCI in recent years," Saunders added. "He's also a natural leader and has already proven to be an inspirational sparkplug."
 
FALL RECAP
UC Irvine finished the fall tournament season with a combined 50-28 (.641) singles record. Rithvik Krishna and Noah Zamora tied for the team lead with eight singles wins each, while Hiroki Sakagawa and Lawee Sherif were right behind them with identical 7-3 marks. Andy Nguyen was also an impressive 6-2 in his collegiate debut. In addition, Ali Amiri had UCI's first ranked win of the season, taking down No. 53 Noah Berry of Cal Poly, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships.
 
DUAL MATCH SCHEDULE
UC Irvine will play three of its first four matches of the 2024 season at home, starting with the opener against Westcliff on Jan. 18. After heading to Pac-12 member USC, UCI returns to Anteater Tennis Stadium to host BYU (Jan. 26) and San Diego State (Jan. 27).  The 'Eaters will be on the road for their four matches in February before a home-heavy schedule in March where they are slated to host Portland, Villanova, Case Western Reserve, Columbia and Gonzaga in non-conference play. UC Irvine then travels to UC Davis for its Big West opener on March 30. UCI will host three conference matches, welcoming Cal Poly (April 6), UC Riverside (April 8) and Hawai'i (April 20) to Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
The Big West Championships will be held, April 26-28, at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. The 'Eaters will be looking for their second tournament title in the last three years.
 
"The players really believe in each other," Saunders said. "When your teammates believe in you and they want to see you thrive and succeed, anything is possible."