MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's Women's Tennis begins head-to-head, team play this weekend with matches at UC Santa Barbara and No. 17 USC. The Gaels will take on the Gauchos at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 22 before playing USC at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday the 23^rd.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Saint Mary's took part in the Cal Winter Invite this past weekend where Mariia Kozyreva claimed the singles title by going 3-0 in matches on the main court. No. 74 Kozyreva defeated Haley Giavara of Cal 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 on Sunday to win her third match of the invite after defeating Finley Kalinic of Santa Clara 6-1, 6-2 on day one and Kim Bhunu of Cal Poly 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 on day two.

The Saint-Petersburg, Russia native has had a fantastic year in which she has advanced to the ITA National Fall Championship Quarterfinals, the ITA Division-I Northwest Regional Semifinals, and defeated the No. 1 seed at the KPSF Open in San Francisco, Sai-Sai Zheng from China, who was ranked No. 75 in the world at the time.
 
The Gaels also swept Cal Poly in the doubles portion of day three at the Cal Winter Invite, going a perfect 4-0 in their match ups with the Mustangs.
 
ABOUT UCSB
 
The Gauchos finished 13-4 overall last season and were a perfect 8-0 in Big West play. They defeated Cal Poly 4-0 to win the Big West Championship, before losing 4-0 to No. 28 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Gaels haven't played UC Santa Barbara since a 4-3 loss to the Gouchos on February 9, 2019, where Kozyreva rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win in the top singles slot while the Gaels also picked up wins from Chloe Goyette and current senior Jordan Harris.
 
ABOUT USC
 
In 2021, USC recorded a 13-11 record and went 5-5 in Pac-12 play. After being selected to compete in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans upset both Oklahoma and Florida in the First and Second Rounds to advance to the Round of 16 where they fell to North Carolina State. Junior Salma Ewing earned placement in the NCAA Singles Tournament where she fell in the First Round. The Trojans finished No. 27 in the country with three singles players nationally ranked.

The Gaels have lost their last two meetings with the Trojans, falling 4-0 to then No. 17 USC last February 6 of 2021 and 4-0 to the No. 19 Women of Troy on January 31 of 2020.