SAN DIEGO - The second-seeded UC Irvine men's tennis team defeated No. 3 Cal Poly, 4-1, in the semifinals of the 2024 Big West Championship Saturday at Barnes Tennis Center.
 
The Anteaters (16-6) advance to the final where they will face top-seeded UC Santa Barbara for the third year in a row.
 
Cal Poly (10-10) got on the board first, winning the doubles point. The Mustangs jumped out to the early advantage with a 6-0 victory at the top of the lineup. The Anteaters' Andy Nguyen and Hiroki Sakagawa defeated Raz Haviv/Sean Kamyshev, 6-4, at No. 2, but Noah Berry/Joe Leather secured the point for CP with a 6-4 triumph on court three.
 
The 'Eaters responded in singles with Rahul Dhokia making quick work of Kamyshev, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 6. Nguyen followed with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Colter Smith at the fourth position to give UCI its first lead of the match.
 
Enrique Luque Rico was next off the court, taking down Noah Berry, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 1. It was his 10th dual-match win at the top of the lineup.
 
The remaining three singles matches went to a third set and it was Sakagawa who clinched the semifinal victory. Sakagawa rallied from a one-set deficit to top Leather, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2.
 
UCI returns to Barnes Tennis Center on Sunday, April 28, when it will face No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara in the Big West championship match starting at 10 a.m.