Women's Tennis:

Jan. 21, 2008

NO. 37 ANTEATERS AT NO. 8 USC: The No. 37 UC Irvine women's tennis team will open the 2008 season Friday on the road at No. 8 USC in a non-conference match at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The No. 8 Women of Troy open the season against Long Beach State before hosting the `Eaters. USC lost in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships in 2007. USC's No. 1 singles player Amanda Fink is ranked No. 51 currently. Fink and Gabriela Niculescu team up in doubles and are ranked No. 5 nationally.

 

ANTEATERS RANKED 37^TH: The Anteaters have been ranked 37th in the country by the ITA preseason rankings and is UCI's highest preseason ranking ever. The Anteaters finished the 2006-07 season ranked 35th nationally after a first round loss to Texas in the NCAA Tournament to finish with a 21-5 record. UCI was ranked as high as No. 28 in the country during the season as the team won the Big West regular season championship with a perfect 7-0 record in conference play.

 

UCI FACES TOP OPPONENTS THIS SEASON: UCI's 2008 schedule features 15 teams ranked in the preseason top 75, including Big West rivals, No. 41 Long Beach State, No. 63 Cal Poly and No. 69 Cal State Northridge.

 

UCI also faces No. 3 UCLA, No. 8 USC, No. 14 Fresno State, No. 18 Pepperdine, No. 33 Louisiana State, No. 44 Boise State, No. 48 San Diego State, No. 54 Pennsylvania, No. 57 Saint Mary's, No. 64 Loyola Marymount, No. 66 Nevada and No. 71 Yale.

 

 

SENIOR Becky Bernhard IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior Becky Bernhard was ranked as high as No. 81 in the Fila/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings in 2007. Bernhard was named Big West Player of the Week six times last season and a total of nine times in her career, more than any women's tennis player in Big West history and more than any athlete at UCI in Big West sports.

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