IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's tennis team came up clutch in singles to defeat Cal Poly, 4-3, in Big West action Saturday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
The 'Eaters improved to 12-5 overall and 2-0 in conference, while they are now 10-1 at home.
 
The Mustangs (7-7, 2-1 Big West) took the early lead with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Andy Nguyen and Hiroki Sakagawa were up 5-4 on court two when the point was clinched.
 
UCI took the momentum early in singles play, starting with Nguyen's 6-4, 6-3 victory over Bastiaan Weststrate at the fifth position. Rithvik Krishna followed with another straight-set win as he dispatched Colter Smith 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4.
 
Noah Zamora then put the Anteaters on top, 3-1, coming back from a one-set deficit to upend Fernando Fonseca, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, at the third spot. It was Zamora's team-leading 10th dual-match win.
 
Cal Poly would not go down quietly, however, as Sean Kamyshev outlasted Lawee Sherif in a pair of tiebreakers, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3), before Joe Leather brought the Mustangs even with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Sakagawa at No. 2.
 
The deciding point came down to the top of the lineup where Enrique Luque Rico was locked in a tight battle with Noah Berry. Luque Rico, who had not played since March 7 due to injury, showed no signs of rust as he delivered a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 triumph for the match-winner.
 
UC Irvine is right back in action on Monday, April 8, when it plays host to UC Riverside at 1 p.m.