California Irvine Athletics

IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine fell 6-1 on the road at CSUN in a Big West match Saturday morning.
 
The Anteaters (7-6, 1-2 Big West) dropped the doubles point as Asha Gidwani and Nour Khayat were defeated 6-1 on court three while the Matadors (7-7, 1-3 Big West) claimed the 6-4 win against Carolyna Fowler and Yen Nhi Huynh on court two. At No. 1, Kayla Meraz and Haily Huynh were battling with CSUN's top contenders and tied 4-all when the point was determined.
 
CSUN kept firing, taking away three straight singles wins at No. 2 (6-1, 6-1), No. 4 (6-1, 6-4), and No. 3 (6-3, 6-4) for a Matador win. The remaining three courts were battling. Haily Huynh finished fourth in the individual portion dropping her match at No. 5 in three sets. Next up, Maily Huynh earned UCI's lone match point with her three-setter, going the distance 1-6, 6-1, 11-9. Senior Kayla Meraz played a tie-breaker in the first set of her match at the top of the lineup and despite dropping the match, she kept it close 6-7 (6-8), 5-7.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH FERRIS SMITH
"Tough match today, CSUN played with a lot of energy and belief. I'm proud of how Maily got herself back into the match and got the win. Haily and Kayla were right there and it was good to see AP back out there. We have some focused practices coming up and we will be ready for our upcoming challenges."
 
FROM THE PLAYERS
"Starting off with an exhibition match with Amanda, I was really happy with how I competed in doubles and hoped I could take that momentum into singles. In the first set I started off slow when my opponent caught me off guard with heavy balls. I was able to win the second set when I started swinging, and getting more balls in play. I fought hard and played with the same game in the tiebreak getting the win. Though this was not the outcome we wanted, I was really proud with how we fought as a whole. Next one 'Eaters!" –Maily Huynh
 
SINGLES RESULTS
Yuliia Zhytelna (CSUN) def. Kayla Meraz (UCI) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
Victoria Santibanez Luna (CSUN) def. Carolyna Fowler (UCI) 6-1, 6-1
Angela Ho (CSUN) def. Yen Nhi Huynh (UCI) 6-3, 6-4
Elena Goodman (CSUN) def. Amanda Perez 6-1, 6-4
Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN) def. Haily Huynh (UCI) 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Maily Huynh (UCI) def. Sofia Dermenjyan (CSUN) 1-6, 6-1, 11-9
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
Kayla Meraz/Amanda Perez (UCI) vs. Victoria Santibanez Luna/Angela Ho (CSUN) 4-4 unf
Yuliia Zhytelna/Madison Shepperson (CSUN) def. Carolyna Fowler/Yen Nhi Huynh (UCI) 6-4
Elena Goodman/Emma Moratala Sanz (CSUN) def. Asha Gidwani/Nour Khayat (UCI) 6-1
 
EXHIBITION SINGLES
Bella Pitchford (UCI) def. Sydney Wilson (CSUN) 6-2, 6-3
Madison Shepperson (CSUN) def. Lindsay Kim (UCI) 6-1, 6-3
Nour Khayat (UCI) def. Annette Robertson (CSUN) 6-4, 4-6, 10-7
Vitoria Solis Urdales (CSUN) def. Asha Gidwani (UCI) 6-4, 6-3
 
EXHIBITION DOUBLES
Amanda Perez/Maily Huynh (UCI) vs. Sydney Wilson/Annette Robertson (CSUN) 4-3
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters return to the Anteater Tennis Stadium on Thursday Mar. 27 for a doubleheader with UC San Diego first at 11 a.m. followed by Stanton at 3 p.m.