Sunday, January 31
Los Angeles, Calif.
11:00 AM
UC Irvine
4
at
3
Loyola Marymount
Anteaters Deliver 4-3 Season-Opening Win at LMU
January 31, 2021 | Men's Tennis
Results
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - In their first team competition in over 10 months, UC Irvine men's tennis fought back from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-3 win at Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon.
"Great team win; I'm very proud of how we competed," said head coach Mike Saunders. "It was a hard-fought match. We played with belief and courage, problem solved and raised our level in the must-have moments."
Β Β
The Anteaters (1-0) took LMU down to the wire in doubles, but ultimately dropped the early point. LMU wonΒ the first match at the No. 2 position before Bjorn Hoffmann and Bruce Man-Son-Hing upended Daniel Moreno/Diego Nava, 7-6 (3), at the top of the lineup. It then came down to court three where Matthew Sah and Thomas Smart fell just short in a tough 7-6 (9-7) battle against Ethan Prost/Emin Torlic.
Β
In singles play, Loyola Marymount (0-2) picked up the first resultΒ for a 2-0 lead. Jeremy Merville then closed out a 6-3, 6-4 victory over John Bryan Otico at No. 3 to get the visitors on the board. The 'Eaters reeled off two more wins with Hoffmann defeating Nava, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 1, and Sah dispatching Thien Nguyen, 6-4, 6-4, at the fourth position. Down 3-2, the Lions were able to stay alive with a triumph at No. 6.
Β
All eyes then turned to court five where Ali Amiri had bounced back from a first-set loss to force a decisive third. Amiri thrived under the pressure as he secured the match-clinching 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. It was his second career 4-3 clincher as he also delivered the final point at Pacific as a true freshman (Feb. 16, 2020).
NOTES
β’ UCI made its return to the court after the cancelation of the 2020 spring and fall seasons due to the pandemic.
β’ Bruce Man-Son-Hing earned his 44th career dual-match doubles victory.
β’ That moved him into a tie for 23rd among UC Irvine's all-time doubles win leaders.
β’Β Jeremy Merville improved to 14-4 overall, and 7-1 in dual-match singles in his Anteater career.
β’ Graduate transfers Bjorn Hoffmann and Jonathan Star, and freshman Thomas Smart made their 'Eater debuts.
β’ The trio all saw action in doubles as UCI introduced three new pairs.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - In their first team competition in over 10 months, UC Irvine men's tennis fought back from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-3 win at Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon.
"Great team win; I'm very proud of how we competed," said head coach Mike Saunders. "It was a hard-fought match. We played with belief and courage, problem solved and raised our level in the must-have moments."
Β Β
The Anteaters (1-0) took LMU down to the wire in doubles, but ultimately dropped the early point. LMU wonΒ the first match at the No. 2 position before Bjorn Hoffmann and Bruce Man-Son-Hing upended Daniel Moreno/Diego Nava, 7-6 (3), at the top of the lineup. It then came down to court three where Matthew Sah and Thomas Smart fell just short in a tough 7-6 (9-7) battle against Ethan Prost/Emin Torlic.
Β
In singles play, Loyola Marymount (0-2) picked up the first resultΒ for a 2-0 lead. Jeremy Merville then closed out a 6-3, 6-4 victory over John Bryan Otico at No. 3 to get the visitors on the board. The 'Eaters reeled off two more wins with Hoffmann defeating Nava, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 1, and Sah dispatching Thien Nguyen, 6-4, 6-4, at the fourth position. Down 3-2, the Lions were able to stay alive with a triumph at No. 6.
Β
All eyes then turned to court five where Ali Amiri had bounced back from a first-set loss to force a decisive third. Amiri thrived under the pressure as he secured the match-clinching 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. It was his second career 4-3 clincher as he also delivered the final point at Pacific as a true freshman (Feb. 16, 2020).
NOTES
β’ UCI made its return to the court after the cancelation of the 2020 spring and fall seasons due to the pandemic.
β’ Bruce Man-Son-Hing earned his 44th career dual-match doubles victory.
β’ That moved him into a tie for 23rd among UC Irvine's all-time doubles win leaders.
β’Β Jeremy Merville improved to 14-4 overall, and 7-1 in dual-match singles in his Anteater career.
β’ Graduate transfers Bjorn Hoffmann and Jonathan Star, and freshman Thomas Smart made their 'Eater debuts.
β’ The trio all saw action in doubles as UCI introduced three new pairs.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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