Results

SAN DIEGO - The third-seeded UC Irvine men's tennis team blanked No. 2 seed and 60th-ranked Cal Poly, 4-0, in the Big West semifinals Saturday morning at Barnes Tennis Center.
 
The Anteaters (16-6) are moving on to tomorrow's championship match where they will face top-seeded UC Santa Barbara. It will be UCI's ninth appearance in the conference final and first since 2015.
 
In doubles, Cal Poly (15-6) opened with a 6-3 win at No. 3, but that was about all the 'Eaters would allow. Emmanuel Coste and Noah Zamora came right back with a 6-3 victory of their own against Colter Smith/Bastiaan Weststrate at the top of the lineup.
 
It then came down to court two where Riccardo Roberto and Matthew Sah delivered in the clutch, upending Hendrik Inno/Joseph Leather, 6-4, to secure the early lead.
 
UC Irvine kept the momentum in singles, cruising to three straight-set victories for the sweep. Zamora got things started by making quick work of Smith, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 3. Mike Mkrtchian followed suit with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Fernando Fonseca at the fourth position. Roberto then closed it out, dispatching Leather, 6-4, 6-2, for the match-clincher.
 
UCI and 55th-ranked UC Santa Barbara will square off for the Big West title and NCAA automatic bid tomorrow at Barnes Tennis Center. First serve is set for 9 a.m.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine will be making its ninth appearance in the Big West championship match.
• The Anteaters have won three conference tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011).
• Riccardo Roberto continued his impressive run in singles play, extending his win streak to 10.
• Mike Mkrtchian and Noah Zamora also won their fourth consecutive singles matches.
• The 'Eaters improved to 11-1 when winning the doubles point.
• UCI earned its third victory over a ranked team this year.