SAN FRANCISCO - The University of San Francisco men's team is gearing up for another jam-packed weekend with matches set against UC Irvine (Feb. 7) and California (Feb. 9). The Dons are currently 2-3 on the season.

"The Dons are excited to play at home Friday against UC Irvine," said head coach Pablo Pires de Almeida. "We have lost to the Ant Eaters the last two seasons so the Dons want this match big time. We are also looking forward to going to Cal on Sunday and playing at the highest level of college tennis."

LAST TIME OUT
The Dons faced Grand Canyon University last weekend and walked away with the 5-2 win.

USF grabbed the doubles points after wins from Paul Giraud and Mitch Johnson (7-6), and Phuc Huynh and David Woodland (7-6).

Nitzan Ricklis kept the momentum going with a win of his court due to a retirement from GCU. The Lopes came back with back-to-back wins on courts No. 4 and No. 6, but the Dons rallied and had wins from Huynh (6-1, 5-7, 6-2), Ori Maior (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) and Giraud (2-6, 6-4, 7-6).

LAST TIME OUT VS. UC IRVINE
Last season, the Dons fell to Irvine on the road, 4-1. USF was able to secure the doubles point when duo Giraud and former Don Ryan Marker won their match in a tiebreaker set followed by a win from pair former Don Oz Daniel and Huynh.

In singles, USF couldn't find a singles win with all the Dons falling on their courts.

UC Irvine just recently lost to San Diego State University this season, putting it at a 0-1 record.

LAST TIME OUT VS. CALIFORNIA
It has been since 2018 when the Dons last faced the Cal Bears and that matchup ended in a 0-4 loss for USF.

The match started with a dropped doubles point from the Dons. Giraud and his former partner Marco Barretto fell 2-6 while former Dons Johan Joenhagen and Marker (3-6) fell on their court.

Cal clinched the match win after three singles. Barretto fell first with a 0-6, 2-6 loss as Poysti followed with his own dropped match (4-6, 4-6). When Giraud fell 2-6, 4-6, the rest of singles went unfinished.

The Bears are currently 2-2 on the season, coming off of a 1-4 loss from USC last weekend.

FUN STATS
Ricklis and Maior each currently hold a 4-1 record in singles so far this year. 

Ricklis has wins against Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, UC Davis, and GCU while Maior walked away with wins against Pepperdine, UC Davis, Arizona and GCU.

UP NEXT
Friday's match is set for noon PT at the Cal Club followed by Sunday's at 2 p.m. PT in Berkeley, Calif.

Make sure to follow the Dons on social media @usfdonstennis and @usfmenstennis for updates and more news.