IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis opened a four-match homestand with a 6-1 victory over VCU Wednesday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
UCI (4-5) has won four of its last five matches and improved to 4-0 when playing at Anteater Tennis Stadium.

The 'Eaters took the early lead as Sohrob Amiryavari and Alex Guajardo came through in the clutch to secure the doubles point. Max Fardanesh and Rohan Sachdev had set the tone with a 6-3 win over Nicolo Consonni/Gevorg Mnatsakanyan at No. 1.

VCU (4-8) fired back on court two with a 6-2 triumph. Amiryavari/Guajardo then delivered at the third position, defeating Kostiantyn Mantach/Leon Zaorski, 6-4, to give UC Irvine a 1-0 lead.
 
The momentum carried straight into singles play. Hiroki Sakagawa was the first off the court, dispatching Consonni, 6-3, 6-2, to put the Anteaters on top, 2-0. Tal Goodman kept the pressure on with a composed 6-3, 6-4 victory over Mnatsakanyan.
 
With a comfortable 3-0 advantage, Max Fardanesh was credited with the match-clinching win. After outlasting Erwann Bouchet in a tightly-contested first set, 7-6 (7-3), Fardanesh raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second before Bouchet was forced to retire.
 
Sohrob Amiryavari also won by retirement in a resilient effort at No. 4. Amiryavari bounced back from a first-set loss (3-6) to take the second, 6-2. He then went up 1-0 in the third before Zaorski retired. It was Amiryavari's fourth-straight victory.
 
On court six, Greg Gamal extended his win streak to five as he took down Mantach, 6-2, 4-6, 10-5. VCU was then able to get on the board in the final match at the fifth spot with Alfred Almasi rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 win over Ruining Huang.
 
UC Irvine will be back at Anteater Tennis Stadium for a doubleheader on Friday, March 13. The 'Eaters are set to face Navy at 10 a.m. and Army at 2:30 p.m.