COIN TOSS: Kicking off the longest roadswing of its season, UC Davis women's tennis travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon, Puget Sound, and Portland over the upcoming weekend.
NEXT UP…
UC DAVIS (1-0) at. OREGON (0-0)
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 24, 2020 at 2 PM
WHERE: Student Tennis Center in Eugene, Ore.
LIVE STREAM: https://goducks.com/sports/2017/1/12/womens-tennis-live-stream.aspx
LIVE SCORING: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ore
UC DAVIS (1-0) vs. PUGET SOUND (0-0)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 at 2 PM
WHERE: Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center in Portland, Ore.
UC DAVIS (1-0) at PORTLAND (0-0)
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 at 10 AM
WHERE: Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center in Portland, Ore.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES: Fans can see behind the scenes of UC Davis women's tennis by following them on their social media accounts. Like or follow on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook at @ucdaviswtennis.
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Oregon followed one of the program's best seasons in 2017-18 with an off-year in 2019, but now features a bolstered roster of four freshmen and a junior transfer from Kansas. The Ducks returned seniors Julia Eshet and Rifanty Kahfiani, with Kahfiani leading all Ducks with six fall singles and doubles wins this year. Kahfiani partnered with sophomore Allison Mulville at the ITA Northwest Regional to reach the tournament's semifinal round, while Eshet paired with Lillian Mould to advance to the quarterfinals.
SERIES NOTES: The Aggies last played Oregon in 2013, when the Ducks won 5-2. UC Davis' two points came from alumni Nicole Koehly's straight-set win at No. 6, followed by Melissa Kobayakawa's default win at 4-6, 2-3 at No. 5 singles.
ABOUT THE LOGGERS: Competing in at the NCAA Division III level, Puget Sound gears up for a Division I weekend, facing host Portland on Friday, and the Aggies on Saturday. Senior Lisa Owen has competed the majority of her career at the top of the singles lineup, and is a three-time All-Northwest Conference honoree with two first-team selections. Puget Sound picked up a 5-4 win over UC Santa Cruz in the fall.
SERIES NOTES: This will be the first meeting between the two programs in UC Davis' Division I era.
ABOUT THE PILOTS: Portland remains a tough opponent for the Aggies, and will open its season against Puget Sound, who the Aggies are slated to play the following day. The Pilots return every player from the singles lineup that led to a 8-12 record last season, topped by senior Jelena Lukic who posted seven wins at No. 1 in 2019. The team most recently competed at the Beach Winter Invite alongside CSUN, Portland State, and host Long Beach State. The Pilots were largely successful against Portland State players, but were nearly swept in singles play by CSUN and Long Beach State.
SERIES NOTES: The last meetings between the Pilots and the Aggies dates to the 2017-18 season, when UC Davis cruised to a 5-2 victory in Oregon, bringing the series record to 7-1 in UC Davis' Division I era.
TERRIFIC TOP THREE: Last season's top three players from the singles lineup are returning for 2020, who put up a combined 40 singles wins out of the team's 62 total wins. Juniors Shirley Hall and Sara Tsukamoto led the team with 15 and 13 singles wins, respectively, closely followed by senior Nikita Pradeep at 12 to be the only three players to reach double-digit wins.
BAGELS FOR BREAKFAST: The Aggies put up a dominant win over Sonoma State in their season opener, defeating the Seawolves 7-0. In doubles, Shirley Hall and Kristina Breisacher teamed at No. 2 to deliver the first 6-0 set — one of four on the day. In singles play, Hall claimed her opening set 6-0, dropped her first three games of the second set before coming from behind to essentially win the second set 6-0. Lauren Ko never looked back in singles, winning her first career 6-0, 6-0 match to be the first Aggie off the court.
PROGRAM FIRST: Starting off the fall tournament season in fashion, junior Sara Tsukamoto and freshman Lauren Ko posted the program's first doubles match win over a nationally-ranked team in UC Davis' Division I history. The duo defeated Saint Mary's Danielle McIntyre and Mariia Kozyreva at the Cal Invite, who were ranked No. 48 at the time.
FAB FRESHMEN: With the largest freshman class since the 2014-15 season, head coach Bill Maze added four newcomers to the roster for 2020, announcing the additions of Kristina Evloeva, Yana Gurevich, Emily Kha, and Lauren Ko.
A LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: Head coach Bill Maze enters his 25th year at the helm of UC Davis, and is approaching the 300-win mark during his tenure with the Aggies. Maze has coached the Aggies through the Division I transition, and compiled a 285-249 UC Davis record. Considering his five-year stint as the head coach of Pacific, Maze is well over the 300 dual match win threshold — entering into a league of legends.
ON THE ROAD… A LOT: The Aggies are slated for 11 road matches this spring. Which means chances are limited to just 10 days to watch UC Davis women's tennis at the Marya Welch Tennis Center.
DUCKS, LOGGERS, AND PILOTS, OH MY!: UC Davis heads to the Pacific Northwest for a three-match roadswing against Oregon, Puget Sound and Portland to close January. This marks the first meeting since 2013 between the Aggies and the Ducks, and the first-ever meeting with the Puget Sound Loggers.
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.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 athletics programs.
Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year.
All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs.
To learn more about projects the Marya Welch Initiative is currently funding, like the Marya Welch Initiative on Facebook. Join this groundbreaking program by clicking here, contacting Assistant AD for Leadership Giving and Alumni Engagement Liz Martin at (530) 752-7326 or emartin@ucdavis.edu.
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.
