UCI Set to Host GCU at Racquet Club of Irvine

Saturday, January 31

Irvine, Calif. / Racquet Club of Irvine

1:00 PM

UC Irvine

Grand Canyon

UCI Set to Host GCU at Racquet Club of Irvine

January 29, 2026 | Men's Tennis

Grand Canyon (5-0) at
UC Irvine (0-1)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 31
Time: 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: Racquet Club of Irvine - Irvine, Calif.
Match Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis is back in action this weekend as it is set to host Grand Canyon at the Racquet Club of Irvine on Saturday, Jan. 31. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• The 'Eaters have won two-straight Big West Championships, and three in the last four seasons (2022, 2024, 2025).
• Mike Saunders took home his third Big West Coach of the Year award in 2025.
• The Anteaters have five returners from last year's squad that went 18-6, while they add five newcomers.
• Junior Max Fardanesh and graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa have both earned All-Big West honors in their careers.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine fell to No. 12 UCLA, 7-0, in its season opener at Los Angeles Tennis Center on Saturday, Jan. 17. It was a tough early test for the Anteaters who went up against a Bruins' lineup that featured three ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams. UCLA claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. The 'Eaters forced a third set in three of the six singles matches and were three points away from being up a set on four courts. At the third spot, Max Fardanesh took the opener against No. 20 Emon van Loben Sels, 6-3, but van Loben Sels regrouped for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 match-clinching victory. At the top of the lineup, Hiroki Sakagawa held a one-set lead over No. 75 Spencer Johnson. Johnson then pulled out a tiebreaker in the second frame before carrying the momentum to a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 10-5 triumph. At No. 4, Sohrob Amiryavari was unable to close out the first set after holding a 5-4 advantage against former Anteater Andy Nguyen. Amiryavari did bounce back for an impressive 6-1 win in the second, but Nguyen ultimately came out on top, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 13-11. On court six, freshman Greg Gamal was also up 5-4 (30-30) when his opponent, Cassius Chinlund, rallied for a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

SCOUTING THE LOPES
Grand Canyon is out to the best start of its Division I era at 5-0. The Lopes will be on the road for the first time this season as they travel to LMU on Friday, Jan. 30, before making their way to Irvine. Tristan Berard has paced GCU with a 5-0 record at No. 2 singles. Brice Patoux is also undefeated as he has been impressive at the bottom of the lineup where he is 3-0 at No. 5 and 2-0 at No. 6. Diordan Macababbad (11-3) and Patoux (10-7) are the team's top returners after both reached double figures in the win column last year. Macababbad was an All-WAC second-team selection in 2025.

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
UC Irvine is coming off its second-straight Big West Championship, and third in the last four years (2022, 2024, 2025). Since 2022, the Anteaters have compiled a 65-28 dual match record. During that stretch, they also produced six All-Big West doubles teams, and 16 all-conference selections in singles, with eight being first-team honorees. This season, UCI is hoping to continue its recent success with a slightly different look. Although they have five returners who played a big role in the 2025 title run, the 'Eaters graduated several members of the core group from the last four years, including Big West Player of the Year Noah Zamora.

HIROKI'S RETURN
Graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa led UCI to the 2024 Big West Championship as he delivered the match-clinching singles victory in both the semifinal and final. In 2025, Sakagawa was leading from the sideline as he missed the dual-match campaign with an injury. He is the only member of this year's squad that was on the team for each of the Anteaters' last two conference titles. The experience and maturity that he brings will be vital for the 'Eaters who have five underclassmen, including three true freshmen.

YEAR TWO
Graduate student Sohrob Amiryavari, junior Max Fardanesh, and sophomore Ruining Huang return for their second year with the Anteaters after playing a significant role in the team's 2025 Big West Championship. Fardanesh led the trio, earning All-Big West honorable mention recognition in singles. He went 12-3 in dual matches and 5-0 in conference. Fardanesh closed out the year on an eight-match win streak, including three straight-set victories at the conference tournament. Amiryavari finished his first campaign in the Blue & Gold with nine wins, capped by a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Blake Kasady of seventh-ranked San Diego in the NCAA tournament, while Huang had eight victories playing primarily at the fourth position as a true freshman.

BIG-TIME ADDITIONS
Graduate transfers have been key to UC Irvine's recent success, and this year will be no different as the Anteaters add depth and experience with Rohan Sachdev and Tal Goodman. Sachdev comes to UCI from Georgia Tech, which was ranked for a majority of his three seasons with the program. Sachdev was also a member of the Yellow Jackets' 2024 NCAA tournament team. Goodman spent the last four years at Penn where he was ranked as high as 74th in doubles. Last year, the Quakers went 21-9 and finished the season ranked 50th in the nation.

ENTERING THE MIX
The 'Eaters have four local underclassmen in sophomore Mason Bui, and true freshmen Nathaniel Suh, Alex Guajardo, and Greg Gamal. Suh and Guajardo are both five-star recruits, while Gamal was an all-Orange County selection at Villa Park High School, where he led the Spartans to the program's first appearance in the CIF-Southern Section final. Bui, who played in two dual matches last year, was a league champion and two-time CIF Ojai semifinalist at Yorba Linda High School.

FALL HIGHLIGHTS
Max Fardanesh led UC Irvine with six singles wins during the fall season. He advanced to the semifinals of the Big West Fall Invitational, finishing the tournament at 4-1, including a ranked victory over No. 68 Diogo Morais of UC Santa Barbara. He also teamed up with Ruining Huang for a semifinal appearance in the doubles draw. At the ITA Southwest Regional Championships, Mason Bui and Nathaniel Suh made it to the Round of 16 in doubles with impressive wins over their opponents from UC San Diego and Pepperdine.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine is back on the road to face two ranked opponents next weekend, traveling to No. 10 San Diego on Friday, Feb. 6, and No. 22 USC on Sunday, Feb. 8.