Women's Tennis 4/28/2021 4:42:00 PM

Highlanders Face Top-Seeded UCSB at Big West Quarterfinals

The Highlanders have everything to gain heading into their Big West quarterfinal against the No. 1 seed.

IRVINE, Calif. – Looking to upset the top seed to start their conference tournament, No. 8-seeded UC Riverside begins Thursday's quarterfinals of the 2021 Big West Tennis Championships at 8:30 a.m. PT against UC Santa Barbara, with live stats available to follow the action from Irvine Great Park.

Here are projected Highlanders set to compete at 2021 Big West Tennis Championships:

Doubles
1. Tia Elpusan/ Hanh Pham
2. Mahli Silpachai/ Natalie Shamma
3. Serina Saltzen/ Sydney Tran

Singles
1. Tia Elpusan
2. Mahli Silpachai
3. Natalie Shamma
4. Hanh Pham
5. Sofia Lazzaroni
6. Serina Saltzen

The last time out, on April 25, the Highlanders honored Elpusan pregame at SRC Tennis Courts before the graduating senior took to Court 1 to face the three-time conference player of the year Petra Melounova, taking it to a 4-6 3-6 result as UC Riverside was defeated by Hawai'i, 0-4.

The Highlanders last faced UC Santa Barbara in their regular-season meeting on March 28 at SRC Tennis Courts in Riverside, Calif. Despite being defeated by the Gauchos that day, 6-1, UC Riverside saved its best for last, as sophomore Sofia Lazzaroni held on to beat Marta Gonzalez-Balbe in three sets, 2-6, 7-5, 10-8.

The last women's tennis championship at the Big West was in 2019, prior to the cancellation of the 2020 event due to COVID-19. In 2019, the ninth-seeded Highlanders advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-3 win over UC Irvine, boosted by a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win on court three by then-freshman Natalie Shamma, which gave her team a 2-1 lead. Shamma is projected to play at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles against the Gauchos Thursday. After advancing to the quarterfinals, the Highlanders lost to UC Santa Barbara, 0-5, to end the 2019 Big West Championships.

The Highlanders' best finish at the Big West is a tie for fifth, which they have achieved six times, most recently in 2018.

Live stats for the quarterfinal matchup between UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara are available here.

For more coverage, visit the 2021 Big West Tennis Championships Headquarters.