IRVINE, Calif. --- The Big West title came down to the final match of the season, and the Anteaters found a way to steal a share of it from No. 53 UC Davis rolling along with a 6-1 victory Sunday at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
A spirited doubles match was taken by UC Irvine (19-12, 4-1) with a pair of 6-3 sets clinched by Jonathan Hammel and Tyler Pham for the 1-0 lead.
Singles followed suit with three straight-set wins topped by Sebastian Heim at No. 1 singles to make the match 4-0 and clinch it for the 'Eaters.
UC Davis (16-5, 4-1) took a point as Jesse Ross came back from down a set to drop Rafael Davidian, but Hammel struck back for the fifth point, and Shuhei Shibahara battled in the super tiebreaker after being down 9-6, returning to extend the match and win 14-12 on an unfortunate code violation that carried over from the other court.
The title marks the fifth in the regular season for the UCI, the fourth its shared, and first since 2013. The 'Eaters also earned the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2011 which was also its last tournament title.
UCI is seeking its fourth Big West Tournament title as it kicks off on Thurs. Apr. 23. The 'Eaters earned a bye and will begin their portion of the tournament Fri. Apr. 24 at 3:00 p.m. in Indian Tennis Wells Garden. Their opponent is yet to be determined.
UC IRVINE 6, No. 53 UC DAVIS 1
UCI (19-12, 4-1) | UCD (16-5, 4-1)
April 19, 2015
Anteater Tennis Stadium
Doubles
1 Agbayani/Poon (UCI) def. Adamson/Levie (UCD) – 6-3
2 Hammel/Pham (UCI) def. Bacharach/McKelvie (UCD) – 6-3
3 Heim/Hernandez (UCI) vs. Lam/Wade (UCD) – 5-4 (unf.)
UC Irvine wins the doubles point
Singles
1 Sebastian Heim (UCI) def. Alec Adamson (UCD) – 6-1, 6-4
2 Tyler Pham (UCI) def. James Wade (UCD) – 6-3, 6-1
3 Nico Mertens (UCI) def. Brett Bacharach (UCD) – 6-1, 6-3
4 Shuhei Shibahara (UCI) def. Bryce McKelvie (UCD) – 4-6, 7-5, (14-12)
5 Jonathan Hammel (UCI) def. Everett Maltby (UCD) – 7-5, 7-5
6 Jesse Ross (UCD) def. Rafael Davidian (UCI) – 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles – 1, 2 | Singles – 3, 2, 1, 6, 5, 4
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