IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's tennis team pulled out a 4-3 win over a tough Gonzaga team Monday at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
UCI wins its fifth-straight match improving to 7-3 on the season. Gonzaga falls to 8-4 overall.
 
DOUBLES
> The Anteaters dropped the doubles point after losses on courts 1 and 3
> Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Luis Lopez earned a 6-4 victory at No. 2 over Kyle Everly and Vincent Rettke
> Mateusz Smolicki and Vatsal Bajpai fell at No. 1, 7-5, while Daniel Gealer and Mason Hansen dropped a 7-5 decision at No. 3
 
SINGLES
> Gealer bounced back in singles defeating Matthew Perkins 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6, tying the match 1-1
> Smolicki put the 'Eaters up 2-1 with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win at No. 3
> The Bulldogs tied the match, 2-2, after winning on court 4
> Gonzaga took back the lead with a win on court five
> Sasha Krasnov defeated Sam Feit in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, tying the game 3-3
> It all came down to Luis Lopez at No. 1. He battled with Ruadhan O'Sullivan and ultimately came out on top, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
 
UP NEXT
> UCI continues its busy week with two matches tomorrow against Navy (9 a.m.) and Quinnipiac (2 p.m.)

QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH MIKE SAUNDERS
"Today was an epic college tennis match. Gonzaga returned all but one of their players from last year, however, this year's team fought with more fire and played with more discipline and grit. They out-played us in the doubles. I felt we could have won the doubles point but they came up with the better shots in the big moments. Down 0-1 we had our work cut out for us in the singles needing 4 of 6. We took a commanding lead at 6 singles while they countered at 5. Mason on court four started cramping from adrenaline and lost his first set. But our top three triumvirate, Mat, Sasha and Luis embraced the challenge and gave us a dose of momentum winning the first sets on their respective courts. We evened the team score 1-1 with Danny's win on court 6. I was proud of how Danny rebounded from the doubles and got us back in the match. Mat stayed focused in the second set at 3 to secure the win. He played one of his best matches of the year. He is getting better by the day. I'm so proud of his attitude. He's playing with joy and passion and purpose and it's making all the difference. Gonzaga countered with wins at 4 and 5 to go up 3-2. Sasha rallied to win his third set with some great coaching from Tyler to even the match 3-3. Luis went down one break, 2-5 in the third. But with Bruce Senior by your side you are never out of a match and Luis pulled off one of the greatest comebacks I've ever seen. Both players were playing high level tennis with the match on the line. And both displayed perfect sportsmanship. Both probably deserved to win. But Luis made some adjustments, played with so much heart, courage and grit it brought tears to my eyes. Luis is one tough cookie. He played like a true warrior today, ultimately saving four match points, 3 in a row to break serve at 3-5 and then served huge before finally closing it out 7-5. Bruce Senior and Tyler both deserve credit because their coaching won us this match. It was a match that could have gone either way and both teams deserved to win. Today we were fortunate and hopefully it will inspire our guys going forward."

"Today we were fortunate, but that's what happens when you compete with courage; you beat the odds, achieve the impossible. I hope this match inspires us going forward." 

UC IRVINE 4, GONZAGA 3
Doubles
1. Sam Feit/Ruadhan O'Sullivan (GON) def. Mateusz Smolicki/Vatsal Bajpai (UCI), 7-5
2. Bruce Man-Son-HIng/Luis Lopez (UCI) def. Kyle Everly/Vincent Rettke (GON), 6-4
3. Simone Homedes/Emilio Moreno (GON) def. Daniel Gealer/Mason Hansen (UCI), 7-5
Order: 2,1,3
 
Singles
1. Lopez (UCI) def. O'Sullivan (GON), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
2. Sasha Krasnov UCI) def. Feit (GON), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
3. Smolicki (UCI) def. Everly (GON), 7-6 (4), 6-1
4. Rettke (GON) def. Hansen (UCI), 6-3, 6-3
5. Moreno (GON) def. Aaron Bailey (UCI), 6-3, 6-4
6. Gealer (UCI) def. Perkins (GON), 6-3, 6-1
Order: 6,3,4,5,2,1