IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis came all the way back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Dartmouth in a 4-3 thriller Thursday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium.
 
The Anteaters (8-6) secured the doubles point, but the Big Green rallied in singles where they took the first three matches. Despite the uphill battle, the 'Eaters continued to fight and met every challenge along the way as Max Fardanesh, Hiroki Sakagawa, and Sohrob Amiryavari all bounced back from a first-set loss to win their respective matches.
 
UCI got out to a strong start in doubles as the pairing of Tal Goodman and Hiroki Sakagawa dispatched Malhar Patel and Calvin Wang, 6-1, on court two. Sohrob Amiryavari and Alex Guajardo then took down Denny Bao and Kornel Halmos, 6-4, at No. 3 to give the home team the 1-0 lead. Max Fardanesh/Rohan Sachdev were up 2-1 in a tiebreaker against Miles Groom/Henry Ren when their match was abandoned.
 
Dartmouth (12-7) took the early momentum in singles, winning the first set on all six courts. The Big Green went on to close out straight-set victories at Nos. 6, 5, and 3 to go up, 3-1.
 
UC Irvine then mounted its comeback, starting with Max Fardanesh at the second position. After a tough first set, Fardanesh regrouped and was dominant the rest of the way in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Kornel Halmos.
 
Hiroki Sakagawa followed suit as he rebounded for an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Henry Ren at the top of the lineup. It was Sakagawa's fourth win in his last five matches as he now owns a team-leading 8-3 record at No. 1.
 
All eyes then turned to court four where Sohrob Amiryavari was locked in a three-set battle with Adrian Treacy. Treacy claimed a hard-fought 7-5 victory in the opener, but Amiryavari punched back with a 6-4 win in the second. Amiryavari continued to roll in the final frame, delivering a decisive 6-1 triumph to clinch the match for the 'Eaters.

UCI is a perfect 8-0 at Anteater Tennis Stadium this year. The team's only home loss came at the Racquet Club of Irvine.
 
UC Irvine will be back in action next Tuesday, March 31, when it travels to UC Davis for its Big West opener. First serve at Marya Welch Tennis Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.