Yovan opportunistic for UCI

The UC Irvine men’s tennis team enters today’s 9 a.m. semifinal of the Big West Conference Championship — against UC Santa Barbara at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden — with a golden opportunity to seize success.

The Anteaters’ senior No. 1 singles player, Aaron Yovan, knows all about such a proposition.

Yovan, who starred at University High in Irvine, transferred from UCLA for his senior season and, first-year UCI Coach Trevor Kronemann said, he has made the most of his fresh start and last chance as a collegian.

“It has been a great opportunity for me to let him fulfill the dreams that he had to be a college tennis player,” Kronemann said. “Getting a chance to watch him play on a daily basis has been a joy. He realized the opportunity he had when he came here for his last year of eligibility, and he has gone for it and he has made it happen. He has not wasted one ounce of this opportunity he has gotten for himself. And that has been great to see, because it could have gone the exact opposite way.”

Things went the wrong way when Yovan first considered transferring to UCI, after his first two years at UCLA. Dissatisfied with his playing time and position in the lower singles lineup for the Bruins, Yovan thought returning to Irvine would provide a needed change.

But when Yovan and then-UCI coach Steve Clark experienced philosophical differences, Yovan instead took a year off and competed on the pro futures tour. When Yovan went back to school after his year off, he returned to Westwood.

“[Coming to UCI after his sophomore season] didn’t work out the way Aaron thought it was going to happen,” Kronemann said. “It was a little bit of an unfortunate incident.”

Yovan found no more happiness at UCLA the second time around as a junior. So, when Kronemann replaced Clark at his alma mater, he made a point of giving Yovan a home at UCI.

“When I got the [UCI job last summer], I immediately made getting Aaron a top priority,” Kronemann said. “To get Aaron Yovan, who hadn’t had the opportunity to prove himself yet as a college player, was something we needed here. I knew he would be a No. 1 player and I knew he would be very good for the program. He was a great initial step for our coaching staff, in terms of trying to recruit local players. It was the first piece of the puzzle, if you will, to turning this program around.”

Yovan’s power baseline game and quiet leadership have helped UCI earn the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament. Cal Poly is the No. 1 seed and UCSB is seeded No. 3. Today’s semifinal winners meet in the final Sunday at 9 a.m. at Indian Wells.

“He leads by letting it all work its way out on the court, in practices and matches,” Kronemann said of Yovan, who he has nicknamed “Stealth.”

“He’s kind of that under-the-radar guy,” Kronemann said. “He quietly drops his bombs and gets things done. That’s just the way he is.”

Yovan said he relishes the moniker.

“I guess it’s because I’m a little under the radar, but when I do something to get noticed, it’s something big,” Yovan said. “I kind of like that.”

Yovan, a four-time Big West Conference Player of the Week, is 12-10 in singles and has teamed with Mustafa Ulukan to forge a 14-6 record at No. 1 doubles for the Anteaters (11-11).

Kronemann said UCI enters the tournament a little under the radar, a situation he believes they can do something about.

“It’s our tournament to lose in my opinion,” Kronemann said. “We did not play very well at Cal Poly [San Luis Obispo, where Kronemann coached the last five seasons before coming to UCI], under very difficult conditions with the crowd up there.”

Cal Poly handed UCI its only conference loss, a 4-3 setback on April 15.

UCI won at Santa Barbara, 4-3, on April 14. Santa Barbara is 4-18.

“But I think on a neutral site, and with the right attitude, I really feel that it’s our tournament to lose. Cal Poly, as the No. 1 seed and being undefeated [in conference], has everything to lose. In my eyes, we have nothing to lose. We’re going to go out and play well and I know that the [players] know that.”

The winner of the Big West Conference championship earns a berth in the NCAA tournament that begins May 11.