IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis head coach Mike Saunders was named The Big West Coach of the Year and Andy Nguyen was tabbed the Freshman of the Year to highlight the Anteaters' postseason accolades that were announced Thursday afternoon.
 
Graduate students Enrique Luque Rico and Hiroki Sakagawa were also first-team All-Big West singles selections, while juniors Rithvik Krishna and Noah Zamora earned second-team honors. In addition, Nguyen was an honorable mention selection.
 
In doubles, Rahul Dhokia/Zamora garnered first-team accolades, Nguyen/Sakagawa made the second team and Brandon Park/Matthew Sah received honorable mention distinction.
 
Mike Saunders, who is in his ninth year at the helm, collected his second career Big West Coach of the Year award. He led the 'Eaters to their fifth Big West tournament title and second in the last three years. As the No. 2 seed, UCI defeated No. 3 Cal Poly in the semifinals before taking down top-seeded and 45th-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 4-1, in the championship match. Saunders has led the Anteaters (17-6) to their seventh-straight winning season. They also entered the ITA Top-75, coming in at No. 67 in the latest rankings released earlier today.
 
Andy Nguyen is UC Irvine's sixth Big West Freshman of the Year. He is 12-3 while playing at Nos. 2-5 in the singles lineup. Nguyen went 3-0 in Big West regular-season play, while also defeating his opponents from Cal Poly and UCSB in straight sets at the conference championship. In doubles, Nguyen ranks second on the team with 11 wins during the spring season.
 
Enrique Luque Rico has been a steady force at the top of the singles lineup where he is 11-5. He earned his first ranked win of the season in the Big West championship match where he was nearly flawless, taking down No. 72 Pablo Masjuan of UC Santa Barbara, 6-2, 6-1. He also had a clutch three-set win over Noah Berry to clinch UCI's 4-3 regular-season victory over Cal Poly on April 6. This is Luque Rico's second career All-Big West award as he was also named to the first team in 2023.
 
Hiroki Sakagawa earned his first career postseason honor after going 11-6 during the dual campaign. He played primarily at No. 2 where he was 9-5, while also adding two wins on court one. At the Big West Championships, Sakagawa delivered UC Irvine's match-clinching singles victories in both the semifinals and final. In the title match against the Gauchos, he came back from 0-3 and 5-6 deficits in the second set to top Gianluca Brunkow, 6-2, 7-6 (5) for the 4-1 win.
 
Noah Zamora is tops on the squad with 15 dual-match singles wins, playing primarily at No. 3. He went 6-0 against Big West opponents this season, extending his conference unbeaten streak to 23 matches. Since April 7, 2022, the San Diego native is 17-0 with six unfinished matches against league foes (including postseason). In the 2024 Big West final vs. UCSB, Zamora gave the 'Eaters a 3-1 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Luka Mrsic. This is his third All-Big West honor after earning first-team recognition in 2022 and 2023.
 
Rithvik Krishna is 10-5 in dual-match singles and went 3-1 against Big West opponents. He played primarily at No. 4 where he owns a 5-2 record. This is Krishna's second career All-Big West nod after earning honorable mention recognition last year.
 
In doubles, Dhokia and Zamora took over at No. 1 on March 3 where they notched six of their seven victories. The duo had a marquee win at UC Santa Barbara during the regular season as they upended 38th-ranked Gianluca Brunkow/Pablo Masjuan, 7-6 (9-7).
 
Nguyen/Sakagawa played primarily at No. 2 and finished with a team-leading 10 wins. Park/Sah also went 8-5 at No. 3.

UC Irvine will be making its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday, May 3, when it takes on fourth-ranked TCU in Forth Worth, Texas. First serve is set for 5 p.m. (CT)/3 p.m. (PT).