IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's tennis (2-4, 0-2) fell against Cal State Fullerton (4-2, 2-0) in Fullerton, Calif. on Sunday, 5-2.

UCI started the day strong, winning a competitive doubles point with victories coming from pairings of Quin Brady/Bella Pitchford (No. 3 line) and Yen Nhi Huynh/Haily Huynh (No. 2 line). Y. Huynh and H. Huynh's match specifically was a thriller — the duo won 7-6 after winning a first-to-seven tiebreaker for the seventh game, finishing the day's last doubles match and clinching the opening point for the Anteaters.

In singles play, UCI's opening momentum dissipated quickly. Fullerton took the first five singles matches on the day, winning all in two sets. The Titans clinched the victory with a No. 5 line win, however the day's remaining matches on the No. 1 and No. 2 lines continued.  

Both Y. Huynh (No. 1 line) and Amanda Perez (No. 2 line) saw their matches go into a third set, first-to-10 tiebreaker to close the day, with Perez going all the way to 13-11 in order to clinch the Anteaters' sole singles win on the day. The senior came down from as much as five points (6-1) to claim the singles victory on Sunday.

In exhibition play, Sayuri Parandian picked up a victory for the Anteaters as well, winning 6-4.

The Anteaters will return home to Irvine after a four-match road trip to face off against Portland at home on Friday with a 1:00 p.m. first serve. 

SINGLES RESULTS

1. Martina Markov (CSF) def. Yen Nhi Huynh (UCI) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-8) 

2. Amanda Perez (UCI) def. Emilie Lugon-Moulin (CSF) 0-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (13-11) 

3. Amelia Zylberman (CSF) def. Carolyna Fowler (UCI) 7-5, 6-4 

4. Seha Yu (CSF) def. Haily Huynh (UCI) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) 

5. Chloe Schwarz (CSF) def. Bella Pitchford (UCI) 7-5, 6-3 

6. Milena Gevorgyan (CSF) def. Quin Brady (UCI) 6-3, 7-5

Order of finish: 4, 3, 6, 5*, 2, 1

DOUBLES RESULTS

1. Emilie Lugon-Moulin/Chloe Schwarz (CSF) def. Amanda Perez/Carolyna Fowler (UCI) 7-6 (7-3) 

2. Yen Nhi Huynh/Haily Huynh (UCI) def. Seha Yu/Martina Markov (CSF) 7-6 (7-2) 

3. Bella Pitchford/Quin Brady (UCI) def. Amelia Zylberman/Milena Gevorgyan (CSF) 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*

FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH FERRIS SMITH

"I was very proud of how we played doubles today. With Maily not feeling well we had to change up No. 3 doubles about 25 minutes before the match. Quin and Bella have had very few reps together, but they had full belief in themselves, each other and the coaching. They won in dominant fashion. No. 1 doubles lost the early break but fought back to make the match even and then get a break of their own. No. 2 doubles found themselves down 4-5 and then 5-6 but played big service games to tie up the match. That gave them a lot of momentum into the tiebreaker. Yen really took over the net and had solid returns and first serves. Haily stayed steady and made a couple moves at the net of her own to help secure the win."

"We started singles with a lot of confidence, but so did Fullerton. We found ourselves down on just about every court. I think we handled that well though. We kept fighting to find ways back in the match. Haily, Yen and Amanda were down by large margins but got out of their comfort zones and used their mid-court and net-court games well and played really solid defense. Amanda and Yen played unreal to win their second sets. So many ups and downs but they stuck with the strategy. They really emptied the tank and gave everything they had … We really appreciated the support of our fans and every player on the team played their role to a 'T' today. We are making big strides and it starts with belief in ourselves and trust in the strategies. We can continue to clean up some things and will look to do that for our upcoming matches."

FROM SAYURI PARANDIAN 

"I'm proud of the team for all the progress we've made in our games, especially in doubles. We're now playing on our own terms, going for shots and taking risks. Although singles didn't go our way, we all fought for every point until the end. I'm proud of myself for believing in my game, even when the score didn't [show] that. I think that belief helped me play the game I have been working hard towards. My teammates and coaches also did a great job supporting myself and each other. I know we will bounce back even stronger as a team, and I'm excited to continue playing with my girls. Go 'Eaters!"