IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's tennis (1-2) claimed its first victory of the season against Santa Clara (1-3) on the road on Saturday, defeating the Broncos 4-3 in Santa Clara.

In a thrilling match that came down to the final point during both singles and doubles play, UCI opened Saturday with a victory in the best-of-three doubles point. After dropping the No. 2 line doubles matchup, the Anteaters rallied behind pairings of Amanda Perez/Carolyna Fowler (No. 1 line) and Quin Brady/Maily Huynh (No. 3 line) to seize the day's doubles point. On the third line, the Brady/M. Huynh pairing got a crucial play from Brady to clinch the point when the junior made a poach to win the match's final set.

In singles play UC Irvine faltered early, losing matches on the No. 1, 2 and 4 lines to go down 3-1 against Santa Clara. However, three straight wins on the No. 3, 5 and 6 lines from Fowler, Bella Pitchford and M. Huynh clinched the Anteaters' first win of the 2026 dual match season. M. Huynh and Fowler both dropped their initial sets, but took the next two to record victories on Saturday. Pitchford's win came in dramatic fashion as well — after Santa Clara recorded a point to push the deciding set to deuce sudden death, the junior hit an inside forehand shot to clinch the match and the overall team victory for UC Irvine.

The Anteaters now head northeast to take on Big West rival UC Davis on the road on Sunday with an 11:00 a.m. serve to start action.

SINGLES RESULTS

1. Dimitrova (SCU) def. Yen Nhi Huynh (UCI) 6-1, 6-1 

2. Boyer (SCU) def. Perez (UCI) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) 

3. Fowler (UCI) def. Dong (SCU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 

4. Rahman (SCU) def. Haily Huynh (UCI) 6-3, 7-5 

5. Pitchford (UCI) def. Katz (SCU) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-5 

6. M. Huynh (UCI) def. Krumholz (SCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2

DOUBLES RESULTS

1. Perez/Fowler (UCI) def. Dong/Katz (SCU) 6-4 

2. Boyer/Dimitrova (SCU) def. H. Huynh/Y. Huynh (UCI) 6-3 

3. Brady/M. Huynh (UCI) def. Rahman/Satishbabu (SCU) 7-5

FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH FERRIS SMITH

"Nevada and Houston really exposed us in doubles and forced us to prepare differently in practice and come up with more aggressive game plans. We had some leads at 1 and 3 but Santa Clara continued to push us into positions to truly earn our wins. We stepped up with conviction in the last one or two games to clinch the doubles point."

"On paper the singles score lines were looking bleak but I knew we were ok with taking our time to find the winning strategies. We weren't rattled. Once we figured out our opponent's game styles we were relentless with our pursuits. The team was very open to coaching and kept belief in themselves. They weren't afraid to play really tough defense and find ways to play smart offense. We emptied the tank and that's what it took to beat such a solid team. We have been the team with the match on our rackets. Today we stepped up and played with no fear or excuses. We held ourselves accountable to the games plans and positive attitudes and are looking to do the same thing tomorrow."

FROM CAROLYNA FOWLER

"I loved the passion and energy on the court from everyone. Whether they were playing or not, they wanted it just as badly as I did. That energy carried me through the match and helped me get that win. Watching Bella [Pitchford] clinch was such a special moment that I will always remember. The doubles point was crucial and I am so proud of how we were able to stay mentally tough. Amanda and I bounced back from our last two matches and we showed how connected we are as a team. Let's bring this energy tomorrow! Go 'Eaters!"

FROM BELLA PITCHFORD

"I am super proud of this team for pulling out the win today. We came into this match and will continue to go into next match with a positive and competitive mindset. My opponent was pretty tough to play, we split sets and in the third I was down 4-5, battled back to be up 6-5 and closed it out on a deuce point. The biggest thing that got me through was the belief I had in myself and my teammates and coaches having my back. I'm excited to go into our match with Davis tomorrow with this energy! Go 'Eaters!"