Sunday, April 12
Santa Barbara, Calif.
12:00 PM
UC Irvine
2
at
4
#32 UC Santa Barbara
Anteaters Push No. 32 UCSB to the Brink in Narrow 4-2 Loss
April 12, 2026 | Men's Tennis
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -Β Hiroki Sakagawa earned his second ranked singles win of the season in UC Irvine's narrow 4-2 lossΒ at No. 32 UC Santa Barbara Sunday afternoon at Arnhold Tennis Center.
Β
The Anteaters (11-7, 3-1 Big West) saw a four-match win streak come to an end with their first conference loss, while UCSB won its eighth in a row to improve to 15-5 overall and 4-0 in Big West play.
Β
UCI trailed 3-0, but as they have done all season, the 'Eaters showed their resolve. Hiroki Sakagawa started the rally with a 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over No. 87 Lucca Liu at the top of the singles lineup. It was Sakagawa's team-leading 11th victory, and second over a ranked opponent as he previously defeated No. 103 Manvydas Balciunas of San Diego on Feb. 6.
Β
Greg Gamal followed suit, outlasting Conrad Brown, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, at the sixth spot to close the gap to 3-2. It was Gamal's 10th win of the dual match campaign.
Β
UC Irvine pushed the Gauchos to a third set on the two remaining courts. At No. 2, Max Fardanesh got out to a quick start with a 6-3 victory against No. 55 Dominique Rolland. Rolland then regrouped to take the second. In the final frame, Fardanesh was down a double break at 4-1 and 5-2, but fought back to tie it up at 5-5. Rolland answered with a break before winning deuce point for the 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 match-clincher.
Β
On court five, Ruining Huang was in the driver's seat as he recovered from a first-set loss to go up, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 4-1, when his match against Charlie Underwood was abandoned.
Β
Huang, Gamal, and Sakagawa are all 3-0 in Big West singles.
Β
UC Santa Barbara started doubles play with a 6-1 win at No. 3. Over on court one, Fardanesh and Rohan Sachdev erased a 15-40 deficit to save match point, but were unable to complete the comeback as No. 53 Miguel Avendeno/Lucca Liu secured the team point with a 6-3 victory.
Β
The Gauchos kept the momentum early in singles action with straight-set wins at Nos. 3 and 4.
Β
UC Irvine will host Hawai'i on Friday, April 17, before heading to UC San Diego on Saturday, April 18, in the final week of the regular season.
Β
Β
The Anteaters (11-7, 3-1 Big West) saw a four-match win streak come to an end with their first conference loss, while UCSB won its eighth in a row to improve to 15-5 overall and 4-0 in Big West play.
Β
UCI trailed 3-0, but as they have done all season, the 'Eaters showed their resolve. Hiroki Sakagawa started the rally with a 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over No. 87 Lucca Liu at the top of the singles lineup. It was Sakagawa's team-leading 11th victory, and second over a ranked opponent as he previously defeated No. 103 Manvydas Balciunas of San Diego on Feb. 6.
Β
Greg Gamal followed suit, outlasting Conrad Brown, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, at the sixth spot to close the gap to 3-2. It was Gamal's 10th win of the dual match campaign.
Β
UC Irvine pushed the Gauchos to a third set on the two remaining courts. At No. 2, Max Fardanesh got out to a quick start with a 6-3 victory against No. 55 Dominique Rolland. Rolland then regrouped to take the second. In the final frame, Fardanesh was down a double break at 4-1 and 5-2, but fought back to tie it up at 5-5. Rolland answered with a break before winning deuce point for the 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 match-clincher.
Β
On court five, Ruining Huang was in the driver's seat as he recovered from a first-set loss to go up, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 4-1, when his match against Charlie Underwood was abandoned.
Β
Huang, Gamal, and Sakagawa are all 3-0 in Big West singles.
Β
UC Santa Barbara started doubles play with a 6-1 win at No. 3. Over on court one, Fardanesh and Rohan Sachdev erased a 15-40 deficit to save match point, but were unable to complete the comeback as No. 53 Miguel Avendeno/Lucca Liu secured the team point with a 6-3 victory.
Β
The Gauchos kept the momentum early in singles action with straight-set wins at Nos. 3 and 4.
Β
UC Irvine will host Hawai'i on Friday, April 17, before heading to UC San Diego on Saturday, April 18, in the final week of the regular season.
Β
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
77
Lucca Liu / 0 (87/-) [UCSB-M]
65
#2 Singles Match
123
635
Dominique Rolland / 0 (55/-) [UCSB-M]
367
#3 Singles Match
12
42
Diogo Morais / 0 [UCSB-M]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
34
Miguel Avendano / 0 [UCSB-M]
66
#5 Singles Match
1234
5740
Charlie Underwood / 0 [UCSB-M]
761UF
#6 Singles Match
123
636
Conrad Brown / 0 [UCSB-M]
464
Order of Finish:
4,3,1,6,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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