Seniors Lead the Way As Anteaters Sweep

Just two weeks before the Big West Conference Championships, the UC Irvine Women’s Tennis team is at its best. On April 9, the Anteaters wrapped up the home-finale portion of its season with a 7-0 victory over UC Riverside. The game against the Highlanders was deemed Senior Day, as a respectful salute to the team’s two co-captain seniors, Tiffany Chang and Christie Posner.
Posner has been a starter in the singles and doubles during her four years with a career record of 38-33.
‘It’s been really, really fun,’ Posner said affectionately about her team. ‘I’ll be taking lots of memories with me. These girls have been like my family.’
During her three years on the team, Chang twice earned first-team All-Big West and Big West Scholar-Athlete honors. Twice awarded the UCI Most Inspirational Award, Chang said, ‘Finishing my tennis career here at UCI is a great way to finish. I wouldn’t want to end my career anywhere else.’
During the match-up against the Highlanders, the Anteaters came down hard on UCR, as Chang and junior Hui Leow overwhelmed Casey Cross and Kim Tran 8-3 in number one doubles.
Junior Anna Bentzer and freshman Jayme Hu beat Michelle Beyronneau and Carolyn Mitchell 8-0 in number two doubles.
Posner and junior Kristina Boss defeated Kelley Takeshita and Kristina Kim 8-3 in the number three match.
‘It’s been an up-and-down season,’ said Head Coach Mike Edles. ‘We’ve had some injuries that we seem to be coming out of.’
Edles’ observations explained how UCI’s recent exemplary performances have secured six of their previous eight games.
UCI captured wins in singles when the Anteaters swept all six matches.
Bentzer defeated Michelle Beyronneau 6-1, 6-1 in the number one singles match, and Chang’s lethal swings against opponent Casey Cross resulted in a 6-4, 7-6 win in number two singles.
Leow defeated Takeshita 6-2, 6-2 in the number three singles match and Boss beat Kim Tran 6-0, 6-2 in the number four match.
Posner’s killer forehand action struck Carolyn Mitchell 7-5, 6-3 on the fifth court and Hu defeated Catrisha Cabanilla 6-1, 6-2 in the number six match.
With the conference championships nearing, Chang anticipates positive results at the Big West Tournament.
‘I’m waiting for it and I think it will happen,’ Chang said. ‘We can finally bring a title home. ‘We’ve had a decent season so far but I’m still waiting for us to peak as a team. I’m excited to see everybody lift their game when it counts.’
Posner owns a career 6-2 singles and doubles record in the Big West Tournament.
‘We know what we need to work on and we’ll be ready for conference,’ Posner said.
The UC Irvine Women’s Tennis team will next play at Cal State Fullerton on April 14.