California Irvine Athletics

IRVINE, Calif.— UC Irvine heads up to the central coast to take on two nationally ranked opponents in consecutive days.

Notes

• UC Irvine split their last weekend of action, downing Hope International 6-0 and dropping 5-2 to Cal State Fullerton
• The Anteaters hold a 10-8 overall record, 1-4 in the Big West
• It is the second time in three seasons where UCI has posted double digit wins
• At Hope International…
  • The Anteaters earned the doubles point as Amanda Perez and Maily Huynh finished 6-1 on court three while Kayla Meraz and Haily Huynh clinched the point with a 6-2 at the top of the lineup
  • M. Huynh was first to finish on the individual side, downing Melody Kilonzo 6-1, 6-0, at No. 6 before H. Huynh did not drop a set (6-0, 6-0) to the Royal's at No. 5
  • For the second consecutive match, Kayla Meraz clinched the win for the 'Eaters at No. 1 with an unblemished score, 6-0, 6-0
  • Perez ended 6-0, 6-0 on court three as Yen Nhi Huynh finished up on court four, 6-0, 6-1
• Against Cal State Fullerton…
  • The Titans recorded the first doubles win on court three as they went 6-1 until Carolyna Fowler and Yen Nhi Huynh made it interesting over on court two, tying the match with their 6-2 win
  • After two Cal State Fullerton individual wins to kick off singles play, Amanda Perez halted the Titan momentum as she downed Diana Yanotovskaya, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 3
  • CSUF took the next point at No. 1, but it didn't come easy as both sets went over the normal six-points [7-5, 7-6 (7-5)] to clinch the match
  • Rounding out the match, Y. Huynh also played in a three-setter where she took down Mariia Nikitash 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
• Yen Nhi Huynh boasts an Anteater best 13-3 individual record which is followed by Haily Huynh at 12-2
• Maily Huynh has reached double figure wins at a 10-4 mark
• Senior Kayla Meraz is on track to hit double digit victories as she is currently sitting at 9-5 overall
• The duo of Fowler and Y. Huynh, the winners of five straight matches as a pair, and are now 12-2 overall
• UC Irvine has dropped 10 consecutive matches to UC Santa Barbara, but the Anteaters are grasping onto the 16-13 all-time lead over the Gauchos
• Despite holding the series advantage over Cal Poly, 17-11, the Mustangs have won seven straight meetings

 
Scouting No. 42 UC Santa Barbara
The 42nd ranked UC Santa Barbara enters the match with an 11-8 overall record and are a perfect 6-0 against Big West opponents. The Gauchos, who have won seven consecutive contests, just pulled off a thrilling 4-2 upset over No. 26 Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon in Malibu.
 
The Gauchos are led by Amelia Honer's 14-2 record, all at No. 1, in singles play. Honor is ranked 11th in the nation as an individual. Both Tyra Richardson and Raphaelle Leroux top UCSB with ten singles wins as they are both unbeaten against conference foes at 6-0 and 5-0 respectively. Over in doubles, Honor is nationally ranked with partner Marie Weissheim at 18th, going 4-2 in dual matches and 7-3 in tournament matches. In Big West contests, Honor has been partnered with Lucy Lu where they are 3-1.
 
Scouting No. 52 Cal Poly
Cal Poly, who ranks 52nd in the ITA poll, heads into the contest with a 16-3 overall record and sit at 5-1 in the Big West ledger. The Mustangs have won seven straight matches, the last against UC San Diego, 5-2, on Apr. 4. Cal Poly faces Cal State Fullerton on Saturday Apr. 12 before hosting the Anteaters.
 
The Mustangs have five players who have won double digit wins in singles paced by Jessica MacCallum's 15-3 overall record (13-1 at No. 5) and Alexandra Ozerets next at 14-4 overall. Both Peyton Dunkle and Natalie Lynch have 13 individual victories on the year and are 13-2 and 13-4 respectively. Dunkle holds down the No. 2 spot with a 12-2 record while most of Lynch's wins have come at No. 6, 10-3. The duo of Kennedy Buntrock and Romane Mosse anchor doubles with their 11-4 dual match record, splitting their wins at No. 1 (5-4) and No. 2 (6-0).