Results

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team cruised to a 6-1 victory over Villanova Wednesday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
UCI (4-3) has had the Wildcats' number recently, defeating Nova for the fourth-straight year.
 
Sophomore Aaron Bailey and senior Daniel Gealer set the tone early as they blanked Daniel Martinez/Tyler Roth, 6-0, at No. 2 doubles.
 
It wasn't quite as easy for the new tandem of senior Bruce Man-Son-Hing and junior Jeremy Merville on court three, but they dug deep for the point-clinching win over Dylan Flanagan/Tommy Mulflur. Man-Son-Hing and Merville were able to hold off match point before coming all the way back for the 7-5 victory.
 
UC Irvine carried the momentum into singles play, reeling off four straight-set wins. Gealer got things started by dispatching Alex Kim, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5. Merville quickly followed suit, taking down Roth, 6-2, 6-2, at the top of the lineup.
 
Sophomore Mark Peneff then clinched the match for the Anteaters with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Stefan Suarez on court two. Bailey also topped Flanagan, 6-0, 6-4, at No. 3.
 
Junior Antoine Barthe improved to 2-0 at the sixth position, outlasting Matthew Jones, 6-1, 4-6, 10-3.
 
Villanova (3-6) eventually ended UCI's shutout bid with a close decision at No. 4. Freshman Ali Amiri fought back from a first-set loss to Mulflur, forcing a super tiebreaker. After falling behind, 8-4, Amiri rallied to even it up at 8-8. It went back-and-forth before Mulflur secured the 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 win.
 
UC Irvine will take a short break from dual-match play as it heads south to La Jolla for the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship starting on Friday, March 6. The Anteaters then return home to host Bucknell at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.