The UC Davis women’s tennis team has had a rough start to its season thus far. With a record of 1-4, the team has spent the majority of its time playing on the road. After winning its first match against Northern Arizona, it has lost four consecutive matches to No. 29 Arizona, No. 37 Arizona State, No. 5 Stanford and Santa Clara. Freshman Tiffany Pham and senior Ellie Edles won in straight sets against Santa Clara on Feb. 3, while also winning their doubles match. However, the team could not overcome the strong play by their opponents, losing by a score of 4-3. The team has been hit with one of the most challenging schedules that it has ever faced, with four Pac-12 teams in its first five matches. The Pac-12 is known as the powerhouse of collegiate athletics on the West Coast with the likes of California and the University of Southern California, while receiving constant national recognition. Coach Bill Maze continues to be optimistic in the early going... ...

The UC Davis women’s tennis team earned themselves a No. 59 national ranking in last year’s preseason polls and may be on track to grabbing another spot in the top 75 this year as well. The Aggies traveled down to Moraga to compete in the Saint Mary’s Invitational this weekend and had quite an interesting tournament. “There was a delay because of wet courts, so five of our players were on at 10 at night in the cold under the lights,” said head coach Bill Maze. “It was fun to watch the players play; they went close to midnight and put in a lot of effort. Maze was most impressed with the performance of the players battling for a spot in the starting lineup. “I think all the players from five down are in the mix for a spot in the starting lineup,” Maze said. “It’s great because they push each other and it makes them all better.” Junior Melissa Kobayakawa won the Flight Blue singles draw in her first... ...

The UC Davis women’s tennis team sent a couple of players down to Berkeley to compete at the Cal Nike Invitational this past weekend to test their abilities against strong Northern California competition. Junior Megan Heneghan, who has played at the No. 1 singles slot for the Aggies consistently in her first two years, advanced to the second round before getting taken down by the sixth-seeded player from Saint Mary’s. “Megan has a shot at getting ranked this year,” head coach Bill Maze said. “She’s played high up for the past year, and she has a chance at making the NCAA tournament this year.” Heneghan played in the 32-person Gold singles bracket, which was the top flight of the tournament. After losing in the second round, Heneghan dominated a Sacramento State player 6-0, 6-2. Senior Lauren Curry, junior Nicole Koehly and sophomore Layla Sanders all competed in the Blue Flight singles. Unfortunately, none of them could get past the round of 32. Curry split sets but was unable to pull... ...

Just when things appeared to be going the right way, the UC Davis Women’s Tennis season came to a disappointing end. Despite all the indicators that this would be the year, No. 2-seeded UC Davis found itself in a familiar place when it fell 4-0 to the lower-seeded UC Irvine. The Aggies breezed by Pacific on Friday but could not get by the Anteaters in the Big West Conference Championship semifinals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. “The team put a lot of effort and had good attitudes on the court,” said head coach Bill Maze. “Winning would have been icing on the cake, but I’m proud of how we played.” Friday — UC Davis 4, Pacific 0 The Aggies beat the Tigers not two weeks ago, and did not lose a match in their convincing win over Pacific in the first round of the Big West tournament. UC Davis got on the board first when its top two doubles teams both got 8-4 wins to capture the doubles point. Three... ...

Event: Big West Conference Championships Records: Aggies 11-11 (6-2) Where: Indian Wells Tennis Garden — Indian Wells, Calif. When: Friday at 8 a.m. Who to Watch: Sophomore Megan Heneghan, a freshman in the top singles spot last year when UC Davis was upended by UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West Conference Championships. A year later, Heneghan is still playing No. 1, but has a year of collegiate tennis under her belt. Coach Bill Maze has cited that this will make a difference this year and in the future. Heneghan almost upset the No. 1 ranked player in the nation when the Aggies played Stanford and won her final three matches of the regular season. Did you know? At first glance the Aggies’ 11-11 overall record is mediocre at best. Still, UC Davis stands in second place with a 6-2 Big West Conference record. The women’s tennis program faced arguably the toughest schedule — consisting of 11 ranked opponents — in its history, but playing the top... ...

The UC Davis women’s tennis team had a very difficult fall season that saw them drop out of the rankings with a less-than-impressive record. But the Aggies have been showing signs of improvement for a while, and some of their best performances of the campaign have come in the recent past. UC Davis swiped two Big West Conference victories this week, toppling Pacific and Cal State Fullerton to finish the regular season 6-2 in league competition. The Aggies close the regular season 11-11 overall after winning four straight and six of their last seven to capture the second seed in the Big West. “Credit goes to our assistant coach Christina Fusano, who’s been saying all year long it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Coach Bill Maze said. “We’ve never had this tough a schedule and we’re definitely peaking at the right time.” Thursday — UC Davis 5, Pacific 2 The Aggies traveled to Pacific to make up a rescheduled match from March, and left with another win... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine; vs. San Jose State Records: Aggies 9-11 (4-2), Tigers 4-13 (1-5), Titans 6-9 (0-4) Where: Hal Nelson Tennis Courts — Stockton, Calif.; Marya Welch Tennis Center When: Thursday at 2 p.m.; Saturday at 11 a.m. Who to Watch: Dahra Zamudio is the only senior in the UC Davis women’s tennis program’s starting lineup. She started the year playing in the No. 1 singles position, but switched to No. 2, where she holds a 12-5 record. Zamudio has been a steady force in the singles lineup her entire career, but her doubles play has also been a strong contributor to the Aggies’ success. She and sophomore Nicole Koehly have teamed up to win their last five matches, and are an impressive 7-2 at the No. 3 doubles spot. Did you know? After a shift in doubles pairings, UC Davis hopes its struggles in doubles are in the past. The Aggies have won the doubles point just six times this season, but two of those victories came in... ...

With a surplus of close losses littered throughout its season, the UC Davis women’s tennis team appears to be figuring things out at the right time. Some tinkering with the doubles lineup brought about good results, as the Aggies took convincing wins over San Jose State University and Big West Conference foe UC Irvine. “Sometimes it takes a while to get the right team, and it would have been nice to figure it out earlier, but better late than never,” Coach Bill Maze said. UC Davis defeated the Anteaters by a 5-2 match score on Saturday and then downed the Spartans 6-1 on Sunday to improve its record to 9-11 and 4-2 in conference. Saturday — UC Davis 5, UC Irvine 2 The Aggies lost to UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West Tournament last year, but quickly showed why they have been ranked as high as No. 58 in the nation this season. UC Davis took down No. 66 UC Irvine by winning the doubles point... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine; vs. San Jose State Records: Aggies 7-11 (3-2), Anteaters 13-5 (5-1), Spartans 13-4 Where: Marya Welch Tennis Center When: Saturday at 11 a.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: Junior Lauren Curry has been one of the most reliable players in the Aggies’ lineup this year. “[Curry] is incredibly consistent and has a great work ethic and attitude,” Coach Bill Maze said. The Walnut Creek, Calif. native has won three straight matches and has scraped out 10 victories this season in the No. 4 singles slot. Did you know? It is not uncommon to see players’ parents take on a dual role as coach. But how often do you play against your parent’s team? Junior Ellie Edles is an Aggie through and through but may have created a house divided when she committed to UC Davis three years ago. Her father has been the coach of the Anteaters for 15 years, and his alliances will be tested when Edles and the Aggies face off with... ...

The difference between a win and a loss seems to be the doubles point for the UC Davis women’s tennis team. Both of this week’s matches were decided by a 5-2 score, and UC Davis experienced both sides of the coin. The Aggies came out on top Wednesday against Cal State Northridge, and then, on Saturday, came up short against Nevada. “I was worried about fatigue after our Hawaii trip, but it didn’t seem to faze us,” said coach Bill Maze. “The team played really tough and it was nice to get the win at home.” The Aggies ended the week with a 7-11 record, including a 3-2 mark in Big West Conference play. Wednesday — UC Davis 5, Cal State Northridge 2 Winning the doubles point was a good start for the Aggies against Big West foe Cal State Northridge. UC Davis started singles play with a 1-0 advantage for only the fourth time this year and never looked back. Senior Dahra Zamudio and sophomore Nicole Koehly had an... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge Records: Aggies 6-10 (2-2), Matadors 9-6 (2-3) Where: Marya Welch Tennis Center, Davis When: Wednesday at 2 p.m. Who to Watch: Coach Bill Maze has cited singles play as the strength of the Aggies’ women’s tennis team, and sophomore Kelly Chui has been a stronghold in the third singles slot. Chui has grabbed wins in six of her last seven matches and also is part of UC Davis’s No. 1 doubles pairing. Did you know? The doubles point is turning out to be a tipping point for UC Davis. The Aggies have won the doubles point only four times this year, and they have emerged victorious each of those times. Yet, the Aggies have lost four matches by scores of 4-3, and in all of those, they won half of the six singles matches but dropped the doubles point. “We could have won a couple extra matches if we’d won the doubles point,” Maze said. “I think we’ll get it together before the... ...