UC Irvine (9-6, 2-0 Big West) at
Cal Poly (6-8, 1-1 Big West)
Date: Saturday, April 8
Time: 11 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Mustang Tennis Complex - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis continues Big West play on the road this weekend, traveling to San Luis Obispo for a showdown at Cal Poly on Saturday, April 8. First serve is set for 11 a.m.
 
STORYLINES
• After a tough 1-6 start to the dual match season, UC Irvine has found its stride, winning its last eight matches.
• Four of their six losses were to teams currently ranked in the ITA Top 75 - USC, UCLA, Pepperdine and Boise State.
• Thomas Smart, who has played at Nos. 4-6, is tops on the squad with 10 singles victories.
• Rithvik Krishna and Noah Zamora have both won seven in a row, tying for the team's longest active win streak.
• Ali Amiri (6) and Brandon Park (5) are also riding season-long singles win streaks.
• Enrique Luque Rico saw his seven-match win streak snapped in a three-set loss to No. 68 Andre Ilagan (UH) on April 1.
• Luque Rico has played at No. 1 singles in each of the last 10 outings where he is 6-1.
• Zamora and Amiri traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the ITA All-American Championships in the fall.
• In their Division I history, the Anteaters have made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• They have placed first in the Big West standings 17 times and won four Big West tournament titles (2022, 2010-11, 2005).
• UC Irvine has been named an ITA All-Academic Team (minimum 3.2 team GPA) in each of the last six years.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine kept its win streak alive with a 5-2 road victory over Hawai'i last Saturday. The Anteaters won their eighth in a row and remained unbeaten in Big West play. 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. Like they did in their previous 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. UCI proceeded to take the lead after Park dispatched Vojta Vlkovsky, 6-3, 6-4, at the second position. Rithvik Krishna kept the momentum on the Anteaters' side, taking down Guillaume Tattevin 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 4. Ali Amiri then delivered the match-clinching point by closing out a 7-5, 6-4 win over Lucas Labrunie on court five. 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.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly (6-8, 1-1 Big West) is coming off a 4-0 conference win over UC Riverside on Wednesday, April 5. No. 83 Noah Berry leads the Mustangs with a 10-2 singles record at the top of the lineup. He has won four in a row, including both of his Big West matches. Berry and Colter Smith have also paired up for a team-best five dual-match doubles victories. In 2022, Berry earned first-team all-conference honors in singles, while Smith was an honorable mention selection.
 
UCI split its two meetings with Cal Poly last year. The Anteaters fell 4-2 in the regular-season match-up in Irvine before upsetting the second-seeded and 60th-ranked Mustangs, 4-0, in the Big West semifinals.
 
SINGLES STREAKS
UC Irvine has four players with a win streak of five or more, led by sophomores Noah Zamora and Rithvik Krishna at seven each. Zamora is unbeaten in his last nine outings where he is 7-0 with two matches that went unfinished. During that stretch, he has played at Nos. 2 and 3. He earned his 20th career dual-match victory last weekend at Hawai'i. Krishna has only dropped two sets in his run at No. 4 that started on March 5. Ali Amiri has also won six in a row, while Park has extended his streak to five.

FROM THE TOP
Graduate transfer Enrique Luque Rico (8-4) is 6-1 since moving to the top of the singles lineup on March 2. He was dealt his first loss at No. 1 in a three-set battle against 68th-ranked Andre Ilagan of Hawai'i on April 1. That defeat also snapped a season-long seven-match win streak. Earlier in the season, Luque Rico earned a Pac-12 win, upending UCLA's Giacomo Revelli 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 2 on Feb. 11.
 
WIN NO. 20
Sophomore Noah Zamora earned his 20th career dual-match singles win last weekend at Hawai'i. In one-plus seasons at UCI, Zamora, who was tabbed the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year, has compiled a 20-8 record. The San Diego native has settled in at the second and third positions this season where he is 7-1. In the fall, Zamora led the 'Eaters with seven victories, advanced to the pre-qualifying Round of 64 at the ITA All-American Championships and made it to the Round of 32 at the ITA Southwest Regional.
 
THE COMEBACK
Junior Thomas Smart, who missed most of last season with an injury, became the first Anteater to reach double digits in the dual-match singles win column in 2023 with his 10th victory coming at Hawai'i. He has played at Nos. 4-6 and is 7-2 in his last 10 outings. Three of Smart's four losses were against teams that are currently ranked in the ITA Top-75.
 
INSTANT CHEMISTRY
Junior Brandon Park and sophomore Noah Zamora found instant chemistry on the court. The duo made their debut as a tandem on Feb. 18 and proceeded to win six-straight at the top of the lineup. They clinched the doubles point against Nevada and Army, while also earning an impressive 6-4 victory at Pepperdine. Park/Zamora (8-4) were handed their first loss of the season against Utah State on March 11.
 
SENIOR LEADERS
Seniors and veteran leaders Matthew Sah and Ali Amiri have both been with the UC Irvine men's tennis program since fall 2019. The two have come a long way from seeing their freshman dual-match season canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to becoming Big West champions last year. During their collegiate careers, the 'Eaters own a 41-22 dual-match record. Sah is the Anteaters' active leader in doubles wins at 28.
 
RETURNING DEPTH
UCI received significant contributions from a pair of true freshmen in its 2022 championship season. Lawee Sherif, who joined the team last January, has been a staple in the lineup, playing 21 career matches at Nos. 3-6. Rithvik Krishna has also seen action at Nos. 3-6 where he owns a 14-5 career record. Last season, he went 5-1 in dual matches and won his last three decisions, including a 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory in the Big West Championship match.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will host UC Davis (April 14) and UC Santa Barbara (April 16) in Big West action next week.