IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team picked up two wins on Tuesday as it defeated Georgetown, 4-1, and Boston College, 4-3, in a doubleheader at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
The 'Eaters extended their win streak to three and improved to 4-7 on the year.
UC Irvine 4, Georgetown 1
In the opener, the Anteaters bounced back from a tough doubles result to win the first four singles matches in straight sets for a 4-1 victory over Georgetown.
"Georgetown outhustled us in doubles, but we rebounded and played some of our best singles of the season," UCI head coach Mike Saunders said. "I love playing the East Coast schools because they are street tough and are always up for a good fight."
Sophomore Mason Hansen started the dominant singles performance for the 'Eaters with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Jack Murphy at No. 4.
Junior Sebastian Heim, who was 113th in the latest Oracle/ITA National Singles Rankings, then took down Peter Beatty at the top of the lineup, 6-3, 6-3. Junior Luca Marquard followed suit at No. 2 with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Michael Chen, while sophomore Luis Lopez eventually clinched the match on court three as he dispatched Marco Lam, 6-3, 6-2.
Both sophomore Vatsal Bajpai and freshman Bruce Man-Son-Hing were also leading in their respective matches when the dual was decided.
In doubles play, Heim and Lopez cruised to a 6-2 victory over Yannik Mahlangu/Will Sharton at the No. 2 spot. The Hoyas then evened the playing field as they won on court three. It all came down to the No. 1 position, where Marquard and Man-Son-Hing went back-and-forth with Georgetown's Beatty/Jordan Portner but the UCI duo ultimately dropped a hard-fought 7-6 (8-6) decision.
UC Irvine 4, Boston College 3
UC Irvine clinched the doubles point and held off Boston College's rally in singles to pull out the 4-3 victory.
"Boston College would not say die, they are one of those very close teams who play for each other," UCI head coach Mike Saunders said. "But, Sebastian, Luca and Luis rose to the moment today and showed what it means to compete with passion and courage."
Mason Hansen and Luca Marquard upended Aidan McNulty/Hank Workman at No. 1 doubles, before Sebastian Heim and Luis Lopez clinched the point with a 6-2 triumph at No. 2.
Heim then made quick work of McNulty in singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory that gave the 'Eaters a 2-0 lead. The Eagles then battled back, taking a 3-2 advantage with wins at Nos. 6, 5 and 4.
In the two remaining singles contests, Lopez was up a set and a break at No. 3, while Marquard was also up a set at No. 2 before the Eagles rallied to force a third frame in both matches. Lopez then delivered a clutch 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 victory to knot the dual score at 3-3. Marquard found himself down, 5-3, but willed himself to pull even at 6-6, and ultimately closed out the deciding tiebreaker for the final 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) win.
"We knew the doubles point would likely decide the match and our doubles teams answered the call," Saunders said. "The match ultimately came down to Luis and Luca, and both won by being the better competitors. Luis showed the resolve and resiliency it takes to win must-have matches, while Luca showed the courage and will it takes to win the decider."
UC Irvine returns to Anteater Tennis Stadium on Saturday, March 11, when it hosts New Mexico at 10 a.m.
