• 2022 & 2024 Big West Champions
• 2023 Big West co-Regular Season Champions
• Two-Time Big West Coach of the Year
Mike Saunders is entering his 10thyear at the helm of the UC Irvine men's tennis program in 2024-25.
Saunders has built the Anteaters back into a Big West powerhouse, winning two conference tournaments and one regular-season title over the last three seasons. Since 2022, UCI is 20-5 against Big West opponents (including postseason).
Last year, the second-seeded ‘Eaters defeated Cal Poly in the semifinals before taking down No. 1 seed and 45th-ranked UC Santa Barbara in the championship match to claim the program’s fifth Big West tournament title, and second under Saunders. They went on to make their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance. UC Irvine closed out the campaign with a 17-7 record (5-1 Big West) and was 69th in the final ITA Rankings.
Individually, Saunders collected his second Big West Coach of the Year award, while Andy Nguyen was tabbed the Big West Freshman of the Year. Enrique Luque Rico, who was 123rd in the final national singles rankings, and Hiroki Sakagawa were first-team all-conference selections. Rithvik Krishna and Noah Zamora earned second-team recognition, and Nguyen was an honorable mention pick. Three Anteater doubles teams also received All-Big West distinction - Rahul Dhokia/Zamora (first team), Nguyen/Sakagawa (second team) and Brandon Park/Matthew Sah (honorable mention).
In 2023, Saunders led the ‘Eaters to a share of their first Big West regular-season title since 2015. They went 5-1 in conference to finish in a three-way tie for first with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis. As the No. 2 seed at the Big West Championships, UCI defeated the third-seeded Aggies to advance to the title match for the second year in a row. Four 'Eaters earned All-Big West honors, led by Enrique Luque Rico and Noah Zamora who were first-team selections in singles. Brandon Park garneredsecond-team recognition, while RithvikKrishna received an honorable mention nod. Park/Zamora were also named to the All-Big West First Team for doubles.
In 2022, Saunders guided the Anteaters to one of their best seasons in recent history. They claimed theBig West tournament title and made their first NCAA appearance in 11 years, while finishing the campaign ranked 67th in the nation. UC Irvine went 17-7 overall, marking the program’s most victories since 2016 and best win percentage since 1999. The ‘Eaters defeated four ranked teams in dual-match play, including Big West foes Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara during their conference tournament championship run.
Saunders, who was named the 2022 Big West Coach of the Year, saw three of his athletes garner all-conference honors. Emmanuel Coste and Riccardo Roberto were first-team selections in singles, while Noah Zamora, the co-Freshman of the Year, received a second-team nod. Coste and Zamora also earned first-team distinction in doubles. Coste was featured in 10 consecutive ITA Singles Rankings with a high of No. 60 after defeating then No. 1 and eventual NCAA runner-up August Holmgren of San Diego.
After a nearly 11-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saunders' squad returned to the court in January 2021. Navigating through an unprecedented season, the Anteaters went 10-6 overall and finished second in the Big West standings with a 5-1 conference mark. They closed out the year ranked 70th in the ITA Poll. Bjorn Hoffmann and Mateusz Smolicki earned first-team All-Big West honors in singles, while the 'Eaters had three doubles pairs receive all-conference accolades.
Although the 2019-20 season was cut short in response to the pandemic, Saunders' group was well on their way to another successful campaign. UC Irvine was sitting at 5-3 after winning five of itslast six dual matches. Individually, Mateusz Smolicki won the ITA Southwest Regional consolation championship in the fall.
In 2018-19, the Anteaters finished with a 15-8 overall record and had six players earn All-Big West honors. The 2017-18 squad saw similar results with 16 dual-match victories and seven individuals receiving all-conference accolades.
In 2016-17, Saunders' crew had to reload afterthe loss of six players to graduation, but despite a young team with only one senior, they still made their third-straight appearance in the Big West semifinals. Sebastian Heim and Luca Marquard earned all-conference honors in both singles and doubles, while Luis Lopez and Mason Hansen were recognized in doubles.
As the interim head coach in 2015-16, Saunders led the 'Eaters to the Big West semifinals and a 17-9 overall record. He saw seven of his players garner all-conference recognition, including first-team singles selections Sebastian Heim and Nico Mertens. In addition, Justin Agbayani and Jonathan Poon were named to the All-Big West First Team in doubles.
In his nineseasonsas head coach, Saunders has led UCI to eightwinning campaigns and has compiled a 119-75 dual-match record. He has mentored 26All-Big West singles selections and 18All-Big West doubles teams. His student-athletes have also combined to earn 20 conference athlete of the week awards.
Saunders' student-athletes haveimpressed in the classroom as well. UC Irvine has beennamed an ITA All-Academic Team every year since 2017, while the Anteaters have also collected 34individual ITA Scholar-Athlete awards.
Saunders is a UCI alum, playing for the 'Eaters from 1986-1990. In 1989, he helped the men's tennis program rise to No. 4 in the nation after an upset win over top-ranked UCLA.
Individually, Saunders advanced to the finals of the ITA National Indoor Championships and won two Big West singles titles at the No. 6 spot. He was also a Big West Scholar-Athlete and was named the Most Inspirational Player by his coaches and teammates.
Following his collegiate career, Saunders played professionally in satellite and challenge tournaments. He later coached Trevor Kronemann and David McPherson on the ATP Tour the year the doubles tandem finished 11th in the world rankings.
Saunders has also worked as a private coach with WTA Tour players, Division I college players and some of the nation's top juniors.
