IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine closed out the regular season with a 4-1 victory over UC San Diego Sunday at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
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With the win, UCI (12-7, 5-1 Big West) clinched a share of the Big West regular-season title along with UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, who also went 5-1 in conference play.
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The 'Eaters will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big West Championships and will start their title defense in the semifinals on Saturday, April 29.
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The Anteaters took the early lead with a pair of 6-4 victories giving them the doubles point.
Matthew Sah and
Rithvik Krishna set the tone, taking down Joseph Teh/Diogo Tinoco at No. 3 Shortly after,
Brandon Park and
Noah Zamora closed out their team-leading 11th dual-match doubles victory at the top of the lineup.
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Noah Zamora continued to roll in singles as he was first off the court with his 10th-straight win. Playing at No. 1 for the first time since Feb. 19, Zamora was dominant in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Daniel Traxler, who was the reigning Big West Player of the Week.
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Thomas Smart then dispatched Charles Qian 6-3, 6-2 on court five to give UC Irvine a 3-0 advantage. Smart, who has won seven of his last eight singles matches, is tops on the squad with 13 victories.
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The Tritons (7-18, 0-6 Big West) stayed alive with a win at the third position before
Brandon Park delivered the match-clinching point at No. 2. Park dug deep to edge Phillip Lan, 7-6 (7) in the first set and carried the momentum into the second frame where he ran away with the 6-2 victory.
Lawee Sherif was leading in a third set, while
Ali Amiri was also up 7-5, 4-1 when the match was clinched.
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The Anteaters recognized both
Matthew Sah and
Thomas Smart following the Senior Day win.
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UCI will now head to Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego for the Big West Championships, April 28-30. Based on the tiebreakers, the 'Eaters earned the No. 2 seed and are slated to open postseason play in the semifinals on Saturday, April 29. They will face the winner of No. 3 UC Davis and No. 6 UC Riverside. Â
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