Friday, February 7
Irvine, Calif.
2:00 PM
UC Irvine
vs
Pacific
UCI Hosts Pacific on Friday
February 06, 2025 | Men's Tennis
Pacific (2-2) at
UC Irvine (2-2)
Date:Β Friday, Feb. 7
Time:Β 1 p.m. (PST)
Location:Β Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Match Notes
IRVINE, Calif. -Β UC Irvine men's tennis is back in action this week, hosting Pacific on Friday, Feb. 7. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
ANTEATER TIDBITS
β’ The 'Eaters are 2-2 against some tough competition as they have played UCLA, Pepperdine, USC and San Diego State.
β’ One of UCI's wins came at Pepperdine, which is now ranked 25th in the nation.
β’ Senior Noah Zamora is 52nd in the latest ITA national singles rankings released on February 5.
β’ Zamora and sophomore Andy Nguyen also came in at No. 74 in the doubles rankings.
β’ In the fall, Zamora advanced to the Round of 32 after upsetting No. 13 Sebastian Dominko in the NCAA Singles first round.
β’ UCI returns five letterwinners and four all-conference performers from last year's Big West Championship squad.
β’ Nguyen was the 2024 Big West Freshman of the Year.
β’ Nguyen, Zamora and Hiroki Sakagawa also garnered all-conference distinction in both singles and doubles.
β’ In addition, Rithvik Krishna made the All-Big West Second Team in singles.
β’ Mike Saunders earned his second career Big West Coach of the Year award.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
Senior Noah Zamora is ranked 52nd in the nation in singles. In the fall, Zamora became the first Anteater to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship since 2011, and the first to advance in the tournament since 1989 as he upset No. 13 Sebastian Dominko of Notre Dame in the Round of 64. Zamora qualified for the NCAA singles tournament by advancing to the final of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships. He finished the fall campaign with three ranked wins, while sophomore Andy Nguyen also had a pair of ranked singles victories. As a duo, Nguyen/Zamora entered the latest ITA doubles rankings at No. 74. They teamed up for a big win over No. 10 Alexander Hoogmartens/Aadarsh Tripathi of UCLA, 6-3.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was last in action on Jan. 25, when it took down San Diego State, 4-3, at Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU won the doubles point but the Anteaters didn't trail for long as Rithvik Krishna was first off the court in singles, dispatching Louis Chusseau, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3. Noah Zamora followed suit with an impressive 6-3, 6-4 victory at the top of the lineup. Andy Nguyen then gave UCI a 3-1 advantage with a 6-1, 7-5 triumph at No. 2. The Aztecs stayed alive with a straight-set win at No. 4, but Max Fardanesh, who was in the singles lineup for the first time in dual play, clinched the match for the 'Eaters. After splitting the first two sets, Fardanesh was dominant in the third for the decisive 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory on court six.
BIG ROAD WIN
UC Irvine was trailing 3-2 when Rithvik Krishna and Hiroki Sakagawa came up clutch for a 4-3 victory over Pepperdine at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Jan. 18. The Anteaters ended a 23-match drought in the all-time series with their first win over the Waves since 1992. Pepperdine, which came in at No. 25 in the latest ITA rankings, has made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and boasts the second-ranked recruiting class according to Tennis Recruiting Network. UCI bounced back from a 2-0 deficit with singles victories from Ruining Huang and Andy Nguyen. The Waves went back on top with a three-set triumph at the top of the lineup, but Krishna kept the 'Eaters alive as he outlasted Lasse Poertner, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, at the fourth spot. Sakagawa then delivered the match-clincher, taking down Aleksa Pisanic, 7-6 (6), 6-4, at No. 3.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Pacific (2-2) traveled to Texas for its first four matches of the season. The Tigers defeated Prairie View A&M twice on Jan. 23. They then fell to TCU (Jan. 25) and Liberty (Jan. 26). Pacific welcomes back six letterwinners from last year's squad that went 19-6 and claimed runner-up honors at the NIT Championship. Returners Justas Trainauskas (doubles) and Tiago Silva (singles) earned All-West Coast Conference honors, while Robin Goodman was named the WCC Coach of the Year.
LAST TIME WE MET
UC Irvine and Pacific last met two years ago in Stockton on Feb. 19, 2023. The Anteaters defeated the Tigers, 4-2, for their fourth-straight win in the all-time series, which they lead 21-12 (since 1993).Β
LEAVING A LEGACY
Fourth-year seniors Noah Zamora, Rithvik Krishna and Lawee Sherif will be looking to add to their legacy in 2025. The trio has helped the Anteaters to a pair of Big West Championships (2022, 2024) and a co-Big West regular-season title (2023) in their time at UCI. Since their arrival in 2021-22, the 'Eaters have boasted a 49-24 dual match record. Individually, all three have at least 25 overall singles wins. Zamora leads the way at 59-28 (40-15 dual), while Krishna is 44-23 (28-12 dual). Sherif, who had a career-high 17 victories last season, rounds out the group with 25 wins (17 dual).
BIG WEST DOMINANCE
Noah Zamora has been even better in Big West play with an 18-1 career record. He is unbeaten in his last 23 outings against conference foes (including postseason) where he is 17-0 with six matches that went unfinished. The only Big West loss of his career came against Cal Poly on April 3, 2022. Zamora is a three-time all-conference selection in both singles and doubles, and he was named the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year.Β
NGUYEN WINS
Andy Nguyen returns after an impressive 2023-24 campaign in which he was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, earned second-team all-conference honors in doubles and was an honorable mention pick in singles. Nguyen went 18-6 overall and 12-4 in dual match singles in his first collegiate season. He was a blue-chip recruit out of Millikan High School where he was the 2022 CIF Southern Section individual champion.
OUR HIRO
Graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa is back for his second season with the Anteaters after transferring from Arizona. Sakagawa was a key member of the 2024 Big West Championship squad as he clinched UCI's wins in both the semifinals and finals. He garnered first-team all-conference honors in singles and second-team recognition in doubles. Sakagawa has continued his clutch performances in 2025 as he secured the decisive point in the Anteaters' first win over Pepperdine since 1992.
ENTERING THE MIX
UC Irvine brings in four newcomers with two transfers and a pair of true freshmen. Mason Bui is a four-star recruit out of Yorba Linda High School. He was a two-time Crestview League singles champion and four-time all-league performer. Ruining Huang is a freshman from Hangzhou, Zhejuang, China. Huang was a U14 national singles champion and won the 2020 Senior High School singles championship. Sohrob Amiryavari is a graduate transfer from UNLV, while Max Fardanesh comes to UCI with three years of eligibility after competing one season at UC Davis. Fardanesh also attended UCLA for one year but was not a member of the tennis program. He was a five-star recruit and ranked as high as No. 8 nationally for the 2021 class on TennisRecruiting.net.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine is back on the road in two weeks, traveling to Northern California for dual matches at Saint Mary's (Feb. 22) and No. 11 Stanford (Feb. 23).
UC Irvine (2-2)
Date:Β Friday, Feb. 7
Time:Β 1 p.m. (PST)
Location:Β Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Match Notes
IRVINE, Calif. -Β UC Irvine men's tennis is back in action this week, hosting Pacific on Friday, Feb. 7. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
ANTEATER TIDBITS
β’ The 'Eaters are 2-2 against some tough competition as they have played UCLA, Pepperdine, USC and San Diego State.
β’ One of UCI's wins came at Pepperdine, which is now ranked 25th in the nation.
β’ Senior Noah Zamora is 52nd in the latest ITA national singles rankings released on February 5.
β’ Zamora and sophomore Andy Nguyen also came in at No. 74 in the doubles rankings.
β’ In the fall, Zamora advanced to the Round of 32 after upsetting No. 13 Sebastian Dominko in the NCAA Singles first round.
β’ UCI returns five letterwinners and four all-conference performers from last year's Big West Championship squad.
β’ Nguyen was the 2024 Big West Freshman of the Year.
β’ Nguyen, Zamora and Hiroki Sakagawa also garnered all-conference distinction in both singles and doubles.
β’ In addition, Rithvik Krishna made the All-Big West Second Team in singles.
β’ Mike Saunders earned his second career Big West Coach of the Year award.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
Senior Noah Zamora is ranked 52nd in the nation in singles. In the fall, Zamora became the first Anteater to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship since 2011, and the first to advance in the tournament since 1989 as he upset No. 13 Sebastian Dominko of Notre Dame in the Round of 64. Zamora qualified for the NCAA singles tournament by advancing to the final of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships. He finished the fall campaign with three ranked wins, while sophomore Andy Nguyen also had a pair of ranked singles victories. As a duo, Nguyen/Zamora entered the latest ITA doubles rankings at No. 74. They teamed up for a big win over No. 10 Alexander Hoogmartens/Aadarsh Tripathi of UCLA, 6-3.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was last in action on Jan. 25, when it took down San Diego State, 4-3, at Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU won the doubles point but the Anteaters didn't trail for long as Rithvik Krishna was first off the court in singles, dispatching Louis Chusseau, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3. Noah Zamora followed suit with an impressive 6-3, 6-4 victory at the top of the lineup. Andy Nguyen then gave UCI a 3-1 advantage with a 6-1, 7-5 triumph at No. 2. The Aztecs stayed alive with a straight-set win at No. 4, but Max Fardanesh, who was in the singles lineup for the first time in dual play, clinched the match for the 'Eaters. After splitting the first two sets, Fardanesh was dominant in the third for the decisive 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory on court six.
BIG ROAD WIN
UC Irvine was trailing 3-2 when Rithvik Krishna and Hiroki Sakagawa came up clutch for a 4-3 victory over Pepperdine at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Jan. 18. The Anteaters ended a 23-match drought in the all-time series with their first win over the Waves since 1992. Pepperdine, which came in at No. 25 in the latest ITA rankings, has made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and boasts the second-ranked recruiting class according to Tennis Recruiting Network. UCI bounced back from a 2-0 deficit with singles victories from Ruining Huang and Andy Nguyen. The Waves went back on top with a three-set triumph at the top of the lineup, but Krishna kept the 'Eaters alive as he outlasted Lasse Poertner, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, at the fourth spot. Sakagawa then delivered the match-clincher, taking down Aleksa Pisanic, 7-6 (6), 6-4, at No. 3.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Pacific (2-2) traveled to Texas for its first four matches of the season. The Tigers defeated Prairie View A&M twice on Jan. 23. They then fell to TCU (Jan. 25) and Liberty (Jan. 26). Pacific welcomes back six letterwinners from last year's squad that went 19-6 and claimed runner-up honors at the NIT Championship. Returners Justas Trainauskas (doubles) and Tiago Silva (singles) earned All-West Coast Conference honors, while Robin Goodman was named the WCC Coach of the Year.
LAST TIME WE MET
UC Irvine and Pacific last met two years ago in Stockton on Feb. 19, 2023. The Anteaters defeated the Tigers, 4-2, for their fourth-straight win in the all-time series, which they lead 21-12 (since 1993).Β
LEAVING A LEGACY
Fourth-year seniors Noah Zamora, Rithvik Krishna and Lawee Sherif will be looking to add to their legacy in 2025. The trio has helped the Anteaters to a pair of Big West Championships (2022, 2024) and a co-Big West regular-season title (2023) in their time at UCI. Since their arrival in 2021-22, the 'Eaters have boasted a 49-24 dual match record. Individually, all three have at least 25 overall singles wins. Zamora leads the way at 59-28 (40-15 dual), while Krishna is 44-23 (28-12 dual). Sherif, who had a career-high 17 victories last season, rounds out the group with 25 wins (17 dual).
BIG WEST DOMINANCE
Noah Zamora has been even better in Big West play with an 18-1 career record. He is unbeaten in his last 23 outings against conference foes (including postseason) where he is 17-0 with six matches that went unfinished. The only Big West loss of his career came against Cal Poly on April 3, 2022. Zamora is a three-time all-conference selection in both singles and doubles, and he was named the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year.Β
NGUYEN WINS
Andy Nguyen returns after an impressive 2023-24 campaign in which he was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, earned second-team all-conference honors in doubles and was an honorable mention pick in singles. Nguyen went 18-6 overall and 12-4 in dual match singles in his first collegiate season. He was a blue-chip recruit out of Millikan High School where he was the 2022 CIF Southern Section individual champion.
OUR HIRO
Graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa is back for his second season with the Anteaters after transferring from Arizona. Sakagawa was a key member of the 2024 Big West Championship squad as he clinched UCI's wins in both the semifinals and finals. He garnered first-team all-conference honors in singles and second-team recognition in doubles. Sakagawa has continued his clutch performances in 2025 as he secured the decisive point in the Anteaters' first win over Pepperdine since 1992.
ENTERING THE MIX
UC Irvine brings in four newcomers with two transfers and a pair of true freshmen. Mason Bui is a four-star recruit out of Yorba Linda High School. He was a two-time Crestview League singles champion and four-time all-league performer. Ruining Huang is a freshman from Hangzhou, Zhejuang, China. Huang was a U14 national singles champion and won the 2020 Senior High School singles championship. Sohrob Amiryavari is a graduate transfer from UNLV, while Max Fardanesh comes to UCI with three years of eligibility after competing one season at UC Davis. Fardanesh also attended UCLA for one year but was not a member of the tennis program. He was a five-star recruit and ranked as high as No. 8 nationally for the 2021 class on TennisRecruiting.net.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine is back on the road in two weeks, traveling to Northern California for dual matches at Saint Mary's (Feb. 22) and No. 11 Stanford (Feb. 23).
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
UCI Men's Tennis tiebreaks...π€«
Wednesday, April 15
Anteater Spotlights | Ep. 10 | Max Fardanesh
Tuesday, March 31
ππ¨ π¬πππ₯ ππ‘π π ππ¦π...
Monday, February 23
UCI Athletics 2026 Hall of Fame Ceremony - Jim Snyder
Tuesday, February 17
