DAVIS, Calif. — After a two-and-a-half month hiatus, UC Davis women's tennis returns to action in their first set of dual matches in the 2019 season, traveling to Tempe, Ariz. to face Arizona State and Northern Arizona.

On Saturday, the Aggies take on Arizona State at 10 AM MST (9 AM PST) at the Whiteman Tennis Center, and will wrap up the weekend against Northern Arizona on Sunday at 11 AM MST (10 AM PST), also at the Whiteman Tennis Center on the Arizona State campus.

The match against Arizona State will be streamed on the Pac-12 website.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
The 2018 squad returns seven players from a roster that accomplished a historic season, finishing with a 15-7 record, and tying for second place with the 2017 season for the most overall wins in a season in Division I history. The Aggies also finished second overall in regular season conference standings, and entered the Big West Conference tournament as the second seed, matching the 2012 team that also recorded a 6-2 conference record. The 2019 roster features four upperclassmen: lone senior Isabella von Ebbe, who has had a winning singles record every season in her three years at UC Davis so far, redshirt junior Kelsie Bryant, a two-time All-Big West Conference Second Team Doubles honoree, junior Kristina Breisacher, an NCAA Division I HERO of the Week (Mar. 21, 2018) and 2018 All-Big West Second Team Singles honoree, and junior Nikita Pradeep, who won the first Big West Conference Athlete of the Week award (Feb. 21, 2018) since 2016, and earned 2018 All-Big West Honorable Mention Singles. Joining the upperclassmen are sophomores Sara Tsukamoto, who finished 2018 with a perfect 11-0 singles record at No. 5, Shirley Hall, and Jessica Walker, along with freshman Skyler Holm.

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
In both team's season openers, the Aggies are looking to earn their first win over the Pac-12 team. Arizona State is coming off a 16-7 overall record, and a third place finish in the Pac-12 Conference regular season. The Sun Devils have a roster of ten players, with two freshmen. Currently, freshman Cali Jankowski is ranked No. 84 nationally, and the duo of Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste are ranked No. 8 in the November 2018 rankings, bettering their quarterfinal appearance in the 2018 NCAA Doubles Championships. Arizona State returns five out of their six members of last season's starting lineup, and their top two doubles teams. 

LOOK OUT FOR THE LUMBERJACKS
In the second match of the weekend, the Aggies take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in a neutral site matchup. UC Davis has won four of the last five meetings, posting a narrow 4-3 win in their most recent meeting in 2017. Northern Arizona had a dominant season last year, finishing undefeated in regular season conference play (11-0), and is the Big Sky preseason favorite in the coach's poll for the 2019 season. Junior Chiara Tomasetti is the lone Lumberjack in the ITA national rankings, coming in at No. 75. Tomasetti is a two-time All-Big Sky First Team Singles honoree, has made all-conference teams in doubles both years, and has three Big Sky Athlete of the Week honors to her name. Joining Tomasetti is Sacramento-native Eirene Granville, Cora-lynn Von Dungern, Madi Moore, Ellie Millard, and Hanneke Lodewijks, who all competed in the starting singles lineup last season, and most posting impressive winning records.

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.