Indian Wells, Calif. – UC Irvine's Big West Championship ambitions are cut short in 4-0 loss to the top seeded and nationally ranked No. 46 UC Santa Barbara.
The Anteaters finished doubles behind 1-0 to the Gauchos. Flight one duo Justin Agbayani and Jonathan Poon were defeated by nationally ranked pair No. 76 Nathan Eshmade and Miles Seemann, 6-2. No. 3 pair Sebastian Heim and Nico Mertens held close in their set with Morgan Mays and Andrew Riminton but eventually fell 6-4, and action at flight two remained unfinished once the Gauchos clinched the doubles point as Tyler Pham and Jonathan Hammel were up 5-3.
UC Irvine battled in singles but could never quite get over the hump of UC Santa Barbara. No. 6 Vatsal Bajpai was defeated by Teague Hamilton 6-4, 6-2 followed by No. 5 Agbayani falling to Cody Rakeala 6-4, 6-4.
Mertens' first set ended in a tie-breaker loss and was clamoring in the second when Luca Marquard was foiled at flight three 6-3, 6-3 by Morgan Mays who clinched the fourth point for the Gauchos.
Other unfinished matches included Heim in the top spot who triumphed in his first set over Eshmade, and Pham in the No. 4 spot who had a first set win and was doing work in the third set with Anders Holm when the match ended.
UC Irvine concludes the season with a 17-9 record, going 8-1 at home.
UC Irvine vs. UC Santa Barbara
April 28, 2016
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
(1)UC Santa Barbara 4, (4)UC Irvine 0
Doubles Competition
1. #76 Nathan Eshmade/Miles Seemann (UCSB) def. Justin Agbayani/Jonathan Poon (UCI) 6-2
2. N. Moreno de Alboran/Anders Holm (UCSB) vs. Jonathan Hammel/Tyler Pham (UCI) 5-3, unfinished
3. Morgan Mays/Andrew Riminton (UCSB) def. Sebastian Heim/Nico Mertens (UCI) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,3
Singles Competition
1. Nathan Eshmade (UCSB) vs. Sebastian Heim (UCI) 4-6, 3-2 unfinished
2. N. Moreno de Alboran (UCSB) vs. Nico Mertens (UCI) 7-6 (7-2), 4-1, unfinished
3. Morgan Mays (UCSB) def. Luca Marquard (UCI) 6-3, 6-3
4. Anders Holm (UCSB) vs. Tyler Pham (UCI) 5-7, 6-0, unfinished
5. Cody Rakela (UCSB) def. Justin Agbayani (UCI) 6-4, 6-4
6. Teague Hamilton (UCSB) def. Vatsal Bajpai (UCI) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 6,5,3
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