Slug: 100415_sp_WTennisPreview4_15
Headline: Women’s Tennis Preview
Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine
Records: Aggies 9-9, Anteaters 8-10
Where: Marya Welch Tennis Center
When: Saturday at 11 a.m.
Who to watch: Ellie Eadles earned UC Davis’ only singles win against Pacific.
The Costa Mesa, Calif. native has quietly snuck into a second place tie with Dahra Zamudio for team-leading singles wins with 10.
Did you know? Eadles father, Mike Eadles, is the head coach at UC Irvine.
Preview: There are many factors to motivate UC Davis this weekend.
Whether it’s momentum, winning their last home match or to earn a victory for Eadles as she faces off against her father, the Aggies have a chance to finish the season with a winning record as they take on No. 72 UC Irvine.
“There are a lot of reasons to try to get a win,” said coach Bill Maze. “It’s a good draw for our team.”
Maze realizes that Eadles’ game must be kept in-check against the Anteaters because squaring off against a parent can harvest some anxiety.
“I’m sure she’ll probably have mixed emotions and he’ll have some mixed emotions,” Maze said. “He taught her how to play the game.”
This matchup against the Anteaters has Maze preparing the Aggies for the inevitable close games this Saturday. That’s why Maze has been drilling it into them since the last match.
“We have drills to work on the big points,” he said. “I try to talk to the players to get them ready before their matches.”
The Aggies have to be ready for a team that has a deceivingly low record as the Anteaters have played top-notch competition all season.
This matchup, however, may prove inconsequential when the dust finally settles, as every Big West Conference team has been gearing up for the tournament.
“I feel we have prepared as best we could,” Maze said. “We have 10 or 11 days off so we’ll get healed up and ready for the conference tourney.”
– Marcos Rodriguez XXX
