Results

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team fell to Cal Poly, 5-2, in its Big West opener Saturday afternoon at the Mustang Tennis Complex.
 
The Anteaters (5-5, 0-1 Big West) earned their points with wins at No. 1 and No. 5 singles.
 
Graduate student Bjorn Hoffmann, who came in at No. 60 in the latest Oracle ITA Singles Rankings, lived up to the billing as he defeated his second ranked opponent of the season. Hoffmann bounced back from a first-set loss to take down No. 77 Alex Stater, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, at the top of the lineup. He improved to a team-best 7-3 on the year.
 
Junior Mike Mkrtchian also had an impressive performance on court five where he delivered a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Fernando Fonseca. It was Mkrtchian's second-straight win at the fifth position.
 
Cal Poly (9-7, 2-0 Big West) started the match with the early lead as it claimed the doubles point. Antoine Noel/Andrew Whitehouse edged Mateusz Smolicki and Mark Peneff at No. 2, before Stater/Gary Vardanyan topped the newly formed 'Eater duo of Ali Amiri and Jeremy Merville at No. 3. It was Amiri's first doubles appearance of the season.
 
At No. 1, Hoffmann and Bruce Man-Son-Hing held a 5-4 lead when their match was halted after the Mustangs clinched the doubles point.
 
Cal Poly kept the momentum in singles play, winning on courts 2, 3 and 6 to secure the team victory.

At No. 4, Smolicki, who was playing in only his second singles match of the year, took Joe Leather down to the wire but came up just short, dropping a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2) decision.
 
UC Irvine will be back in action next weekend as it continues a three-match Big West-opening road stretch at Hawai'i on Saturday, April 3.