IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team kicked off the week with a 6-1 win over Middlebury College Monday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
The 'Eaters (10-4) claimed the doubles point before taking five of six singles matches. The defending NCAA Division III national champion, and second-ranked Panthers (7-1) suffered their first defeat of the season.
 
INSIDE THE MATCH
> Vatsal Bajpai/Mateusz Smolicki opened with a 6-2 win over Lubomir Cuba/Nate Eazor, who are ranked ninth in DIII, at the top of the lineup.
> Middlebury then came back with No. 22 Noah Farrell/Peter Martin defeating Daniel Gealer/Mason Hansen, 6-4, at No. 2.
> Less than a minute later, UCI clinched the point at the third position.
> Luis Lopez/Bruce Man-Son-Hing delivered the final blow, topping Aleks Samets/Andre Xiao, 6-4.
> As a tandem, Lopez and Man-Son-Hing improved to 9-0 on the year.
> In singles, Mason Hansen dispatched Stanley Morris, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 3 to give UC Irvine a 2-0 lead.
> Hansen is a perfect 4-0 when playing at the third spot.
> Sasha Krasnov won a tough first set and kept the momentum on his side with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Lubomir Cuba at No. 1.
> Daniel Gealer then clinched the match with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Alex Vanezis on court six.
> Luis Lopez (No. 2) and Mateusz Smolicki (No. 4) each added a three-set victory to cap the afternoon.
> Lopez took down No. 13 Noah Farrell, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1, while Smolicki outlasted Andre Xiao, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
 
UP NEXT
> The Anteaters will conclude their nine-match homestand on Thursday, March 28, when they host Eastern Washington at 10 a.m.
> UC Irvine will then start Big West play at Cal Poly on Saturday, March 30.
 
 
UC Irvine 6, Middlebury College 1
Singles
1. Sasha Krasnov (UCI) def. Lubomir Cuba (MID), 7-6 (3), 6-4
2. Luis Lopez (UCI) def. Noah Farrell (MID), 5-7, 6-0, 6-1
3. Mason Hansen (UCI) def. Stanley Morris (MID), 6-1, 6-2
4. Mateusz Smolicki (UCI) def. Andre Xiao (MID), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
5. Adam Guo (MID) def. Aaron Bailey (UCI), 7-6 (5), 6-1
6. Daniel Gealer (UCI) def. Alex Vanezis (MID), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
 
Order of finish: 3, 1, 6*, 2, 5, 4
 
Doubles
1. Vatsal Bajpai/Smolicki (UCI) def. Cuba/Nate Eazor (MID), 6-2
2. Farrell/Peter Martin (MID) def. Gealer/Hansen (UCI), 6-4
3. Lopez/Bruce Man-Son-Hing (UCI) def. Aleksandr Samets/Xiao (MID), 6-4
 
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3