Results
IRVINE, Calif. - Freshman
Noah Zamora won a third-set tiebreaker to clinch UC Irvine's thrilling 4-3 win over Dartmouth Monday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
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With the team score tied at 3-3, the deciding point came down to court two where Zamora and the Big Green's Anders Gibbons were locked in a tight battle that went down to the wire. After splitting the first two sets, the back-and-forth affair continued in the third frame. Each player held serve throughout the set, sending it to a tiebreaker where Zamora jumped out to an early lead. He was able to keep the momentum on his side for the 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) match-clinching victory.
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Dartmouth (7-4) took the early lead, winning two out of the three doubles matches.
Ali Amiri and
Mike Mkrtchian got the 'Eaters out to a good start with a 6-1 triumph over Logan Chang/Carlos Guerrero at the third position, but the visitors answered with a pair of 6-3 wins at Nos. 1 and 2.
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The Anteaters (9-4) responded in singles play with Amiri,
Matthew Sah and No. 71
Emmanuel Coste dispatching their respective opponents in straight sets for a 3-1 lead. Amiri was first off the court as he upended Pierce Widdecombe, 6-3, 6-2, at the fifth spot, while Sah took care of business against Daniel Webb, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 6. Coste then closed out a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Guerrero at the top of the lineup.
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The Big Green stayed alive with hard-fought wins at the third and fourth positions, setting up the decisive showdown between Zamora and Gibbons at No. 2.
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UC Irvine returns to Anteater Tennis Stadium for its non-conference finale against DePaul on Wednesday, March 23. First serve is set for 12 p.m.
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NOTES
• The Anteaters extended their season-long win streak to eight matches.
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Emmanuel Coste improved to 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
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Noah Zamora won his sixth-straight singles decision and is now 6-1 in dual-match play.
• UCI has come out on top in all three of its meetings with Dartmouth since 1999.
