IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine dug deep for a 4-2 victory in a tightly-contested match against Pacific Friday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
After a one-hour weather delay, the Tigers (2-3) got out to a quick start, taking a 2-0 lead as they won the doubles point and claimed the first singles match at No. 3.
 
The Anteaters (3-2) then got rolling, starting with sophomore Andy Nguyen, who dispatched Ran Amar, 6-2, 6-3, at the second position. Freshman Ruining Huang followed with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Vraj Patel at No. 4 to bring UCI even.
 
Graduate student Sohrob Amiryavari put the home team on top with another straight-set win, upending Nico Rating, 6-3, 6-3, on court six.
 
In the final two matches, both senior Noah Zamora and sophomore Max Fardanesh bounced back from a one-set deficit to force a decisive third. At the top of the lineup, Zamora, who is 52nd in the nation in singles, was pitted against No. 99 Tiago Silva, and the ranked battle lived up to the billing.
 
Zamora was down 6-5 in the opening frame before breaking serve to send it to a tiebreaker. After taking the early lead, Zamora was unable to hold on as Silva responded for the 7-6 (3) win.
 
Zamora regrouped for a 6-2 victory in the second and raced out to a 5-2 advantage in the third. Silva battled back, winning the next two games, but Zamora held steady and closed out the final set, 6-4, to clinch the match.
 
UC Irvine will have a couple weeks to prepare for its Northern California road trip where it is set to face Saint Mary's (Feb. 22) and No. 11 Stanford (Feb. 23.).