IRVINE, Calif. --- The Anteaters held off a persistent UC San Diego bunch for the 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon in Anteater Tennis Stadium after going 14 weeks between home matches.

Doubles came up with the sweep to give UC Irvine (4-1) the early 1-0 lead.

Luca Marquard stretched the lead to 2-0 winning in straight sets to open singles.

UCSD (0-2) cut into the lead with straight set wins at Nos. 4 and 5 singles.

A Vatsal Bajpai sweep gave UCI the third point, and Tyler Pham fought back after dropping his first set to win in three and clinch the match, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Nico Mertens and Axel Bouillin played out the remainder of their match with Mertens winning in three sets at No. 1 singles.

The 'Eaters forge on with a big weekend upcoming with a trip to Waco, Texas for the ITA Kick-Off Classic beginning Sat. Jan. 23. No. 4 Baylor starts it off with a 10:00 a.m. match followed by either No. 49 Oregon or No. 56 Old Dominion on Sunday.

_________________________________________________________________

For UC Irvine Athletics ticket information, please call (949) 824-5000 or e-mail athletics.tickets@uci.edu. For more information click here.

For information on how you can help support UC Irvine Athletics, please call (949) 824-6933 or e-mail aaf@uci.edu. For additional information, click here.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and by downloading the UCI Front Row app, available free to all Anteater fans through iTunes and Google Play, to view schedules, results, and up-to-the-minute news.