HONOLULU - The UC Irvine men's tennis team kept its win streak alive with a big 5-2 road victory over Hawai'i Saturday at the UH Tennis Complex.
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The Anteaters (9-6, 2-0 Big West) won their eighth in a row and remained unbeaten in Big West play, while the Rainbow Warriors dropped to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in conference.
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UH claimed the doubles point for the early advantage. Kilan Maitre/Axel Labrunie defeated
Thomas Smart and
Enrique Luque Rico, 6-2, at No. 2, before Andre Ilagan/Lucas Labrunie secured the 1-0 lead with a 6-4 triumph over
Brandon Park and
Noah Zamora at the top of the lineup.
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Like they've done in each of their last two outings, the 'Eaters bounced right back with a dominant performance in singles. Smart avenged his doubles loss to Maitre as he was first off the court with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 6.
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UCI proceeded to take the lead after Park dispatched Vojta Vlkovsky, 6-3, 6-4, at the second position.
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Rithvik Krishna kept the momentum on the Anteaters' side, taking down Guillaume Tattevin, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, at No. 4.
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Ali Amiri then delivered the match-clinching point by closing out a 7-5, 6-4 win over Lucas Labrunie on court five.
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Although the match was already decided, Luque Rico and Zamora played out the third set in their respective matches. At No. 3, Zamora outlasted Axel Labrunie, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. At No. 1, Luque Rico took the first set off 68th-ranked Andre Ilagan, who is the reigning Big West Player of the Year, but Ilagan held strong for the 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 win. It was Luque Rico's first loss since Feb. 18.
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Krishna and Zamora each extended their singles win streak to seven, while Amiri earned his sixth victory in a row.
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UC Irvine will be back in action next Saturday, April 8, at Cal Poly.
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