IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team closed out a five-match homestand with its fourth-straight win, defeating the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 6-1, Thursday morning at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
UTRGV (5-12) held the early momentum, taking the first doubles match on court one, 6-0. The Anteaters responded at No. 3, where Rithvik Krishna and Thomas Smart topped Chris Lawrance/Te Kani Williams, 6-1.
 
The doubles point then came down to No. 2. Matthew Sah and Lawee Sherif raced out to a 4-1 lead but were unable to hold off the surging Vaquero duo of Karlo Krolo/Sam Whithead, who won five consecutive games for the 6-4 victory.
 
The 'Eaters (5-6) bounced back with a dominant performance in singles as they did not drop a set.
 
Krishna quickly pulled UCI even with an impressive 6-0, 6-1 win over Williams at No. 4.
 
Enrique Luque Rico also dispatched Burnel, 6-1, 6-1, at the top of the lineup. Luque Rico extended his singles win streak to five in a row and has not lost a set since March 3.
 
Smart also earned his fourth consecutive victory with a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Whitehead at the fifth spot before Noah Zamora delivered the match-clinching 6-2, 6-2 win over Devald at No. 2.
 
The two remaining courts played out their respective matches with Ali Amiri and Brandon Park completing the singles sweep. Amiri upended Agustin Salazar, 6-4, 6-2, while Park battled back from a 5-2 first-set deficit to defeat Krolo, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 3.
 
UC Irvine will take a short break for finals week before returning to action at UC Riverside for its Big West opener on Saturday, March 25.