Results

LOS ANGELES - UC Irvine men's tennis, which went up against the nation's 23rd-ranked team for the second match in a row, fell at UCLA, 7-0, Tuesday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
 
The Anteaters (4-4) have faced three ranked opponents on the road in their first eight contests of the 2021 campaign. They previously squared off against No. 23 Pepperdine on March 12, and No. 1 USC on Feb. 5.
 
The 23rd-ranked Bruins (7-2), who have won five of their last six, took the early lead in doubles. The new UCI pairing of Bjorn Hoffmann and Mateusz Smolicki dropped a 6-2 decision to Keegan Smith/Bryce Pereira at the top of the lineup. UCLA then delivered a 6-4 victory at No. 3 to go up, 1-0. Jeremy Merville and Matthew Sah had pulled out front, 4-2, before Ben Goldberg/Connor Rapp won the next four games to hand the 'Eater duo their first loss of the season.
 
Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Mark Peneff were locked in a 4-4 battle with Govind Nanda/Drew Baird when the home team secured the doubles point.
 
UCLA carried its momentum into singles where it won the first three matches in straight sets, clinching the team victory on court five.
 
At No. 2, Merville nearly pulled off a huge upset over 10th-ranked Keegan Smith. Merville bounced back from a first-set loss with a 6-3 victory in the second. He then took the lead in the third frame but was unable to hold on as Smith escaped with the 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win.
 
Peneff also went down to the wire with Baird at the third position, falling 6-1, 7-6 (6).
 
UC Irvine will be right back in action tomorrow when it hosts Portland State at 11 a.m. Spectators are currently not permitted at Anteater Tennis Stadium.