Five Big West women's tennis matchups dot this week's schedule as teams jockey for position early on in the standings.  Several of the contests pit contenders against one another.  UC Irvine, off to a 2-0 start in league play, travels to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara for a key Central Coast swing.
   
UCI defeated both the Mustangs and Gauchos last season en route to a 7-1 Big West mark and second place finish.  The Anteaters are ranked No. 65 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings while the Mustangs enter the week No. 70.  Cal Poly is 1-0 in league action after knocking off Cal State Northridge on Jan. 31.  UCSB owns a 4-1 overall start, which includes a split of its first two conference contests.  The weekend gets even more intense for the CP and UCSB programs as they play each other in Santa Barbara  on Friday.  The Mustangs swept the Gauchos, 7-0, in San Luis Obispo last season.
   
Women's action continues as defending regular season champion Long Beach State makes its Big West debut at home on Friday against Cal State Northridge before heading a short distance away to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.  The 49ers went 8-0 in league play last year and have won 11 straight Big West regular season matches dating back to 2007.
   
On the men's side, UC Irvine has contended with a number of rainouts in the early going and looks to snap an 0-3 start this week.  The competition is tough as the Anteaters travel to No. 56 San Diego State and No. 6 USC prior to hosting No. 67 Utah.  The Anteaters sit at No. 69 in the ITA rankings.
   
UC Riverside makes a trip to Sin City to face host UNLV and Utah State, while UC Davis stays in Northern California to battle San Francisco and Saint Mary's.  Pacific hosts Loyola Marymount in one of only two home matches on the Big West men's ledger this week.