IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine won the doubles point but came up short in singles in a 5-2 loss to 48th-ranked UC Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.

UCSB (15-5, 3-0 Big West) extended its win streak to eight and remained unbeaten in conference play. This was UCI's third ranked opponent in its last four outings.

"Overall, we were competitive, but we need to execute on the big points to beat a more experienced team like UC Santa Barbara," head coach Mike Saunders said. "We did play high percentage solid doubles at two and three."

The 'Eaters (7-13, 1-2 Big West) won the doubles point for the third match in a row. After junior Luca Marquard and sophomore Mason Hansen fell at the top of the lineup, the Anteaters rallied for victories at Nos. 2 and 3.

On court two, junior Sebastian Heim and sophomore Luis Lopez topped Morgan Mays/Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, 6-4, to even the score before sophomore Vatsal Bajpai and freshman Bruce Man-Son-Hing came from behind for a 6-4 victory against Kristian Prior/Cody Rakela. Bajpai and Man-Son-Hing trailed 4-3 before winning the next three games to give UC Irvine the early lead.

Through three Big West Conference matches, UCI is undefeated at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, improving to 6-0 on the year.

The Gauchos came back in singles, taking the first three matches in straight sets. Anders Holm then outlasted Hansen, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4 to clinch the dual for the visitors.

Heim responded with a big win at the top of the lineup where he upended Moreno de Alboran, 6-1, 7-5. It was Heim's second consecutive Big West victory and his ninth of the year, all coming at the No. 1 spot.

"Sebastian is starting to find his groove and hopefully he can peak for the conference tournament," Saunders added.

Bajpai also put up a fight at No. 6 as he made the adjustments following a first-set loss, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 3-6, 6-1, 3-6 defeat to Rakela.

UC Irvine will close out the regular season next weekend when it welcomes Hawai'i (April 21) and UC Davis (April 22) to Anteater Tennis Stadium.

#48 UC Santa Barbara 5, UC Irvine 2

Singles
1. Sebastian Heim (UCI) def. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (UCSB): 6-1, 7-5
2. Morgan Mays (UCSB) def. Luca Marquard (UCI): 6-2, 6-3
3. Simon Freund (UCSB) def. Luis Lopez (UCI): 6-4, 6-3
4. Anders Holm (UCSB) def. Mason Hansen (UCI): 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
5. Cody Rakela (UCSB) def. Bruce Man-Son-Hing (UCI): 6-2, 6-2
6. Chase Masciorini (UCSB) def. Vatsal Bajpai (UCI): 6-3, 1-6, 6-3

Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 4*, 1, 6

Doubles
1. Freund/Holm (UCSB) def. Hansen/Marquard (UCI): 6-1
2. Heim/Lopez (UCI) def. Mays/Moreno de Alboran (UCSB): 6-4
3. Bajpai/Man-Son-Hing (UCI) def. Prior/Rakela (UCSB): 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3