California Irvine Athletics

Cal Poly (12-7, 3-0 Big West) at
UC Irvine (10-6, 2-0 Big West) 
Date: Friday, April 10
Time: 12 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Anteater Tennis Stadium - Irvine, Calif.

UC Irvine (10-6, 2-0 Big West) at
#32 UC Santa Barbara (14-5, 3-0 Big West) 
Date: Sunday, April 12
Time: 12 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Arnhold Tennis Center - Santa Barbara, Calif.

Match Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's tennis has a pair of big conference matches this weekend, starting on Friday, April 10, when the Anteaters host Cal Poly at 12 p.m. The 'Eaters then make their way to No. 32 UC Santa Barbara for another 12 p.m. Big West showdown.

ANTEATER TIDBITS
• UCI (2-0), Cal Poly (3-0), and UC Santa Barbara (3-0) are all undefeated in Big West play.
• Since 2021, the 'Eaters are 26-6 in regular-season conference matches.
• UC Irvine is a perfect 9-0 at Anteater Tennis Stadium with its lone home loss coming at the Racquet Club of Irvine on Jan. 31.
• Five of UCI's six losses this season were against teams ranked among the top-65 in the nation.
• Hiroki Sakagawa and Max Fardanesh have combined for four Big West Player of the Week awards this year.
• In 2025, the Anteaters won their second-straight Big West Championship, and third in the last four seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine defeated UC Riverside, 7-0, in Big West action Monday at Anteater Tennis Stadium. UCI got out to a quick start in doubles as Max Fardanesh and Rohan Sachdev took a 5-0 lead at No. 1. The Highlanders' duo of Lucas Ibarrando Suarez/Lucas Mszyca then got on the board before the 'Eaters closed out the 6-1 victory. Mason Bui and Ruining Huang followed suit, upending Owen Pearson/Jovan Pedroza, 6-4, on court three to secure the doubles point. The Anteaters continued to roll through singles play without dropping a set. Sachdev was first off the court as he blanked Pedroza, 6-0, 6-0, at the sixth position. Tal Goodman then dispatched Ibarrado Suarez, 6-0, 6-1, in his first career match at the top of the lineup. Sohrob Amiryavari clinched the team win with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Ivaylo Simeonov at No. 4. Huang (6-1, 6-2), Greg Gamal (6-3, 6-2), and Fardanesh (6-4, 6-3) played out their matches, completing the sweep.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Cal Poly (12-7, 3-0 Big West) is coming off a 4-1 win over UC San Diego. The Mustangs will head to UC Riverside (April 9) before making their way to Irvine. Jovan Lubbe is tops on the squad with 11 singles wins, including nine victories at No. 1. UCI has won its last five meetings against Cal Poly.

No. 32 UC Santa Barbara (14-5, 3-0 Big West) took down UC San Diego and UC Davis at home last weekend. The Gauchos are idle until they welcome UC Irvine to Arnhold Tennis Center on Sunday. Lucca Liu is tops on the squad with an 11-1 singles record. He is ranked 87th, while Dominique Rolland (10-4) is 55th. Liu and Miguel Avendano Cadena are also 53rd in the ITA Doubles Rankings. UCSB has won the last four regular-season meetings in the all-time series, but UCI defeated the Gauchos in each of the last two Big West Championship matches.

OUR HIRO
Graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa, who missed last season with an injury, has made his presence felt in his return to the court. Sakagawa is tied for the team lead with a 9-3 singles record, all at the top of the lineup, and has won three Big West Player of the Week awards. He most recently earned the conference honor on April 7, following a resilient three-set victory that clinched UCI's 4-3 Big West-opening win at UC Davis. After dropping a hard-fought first set to Lucas Bollinger at No. 1 singles, Sakagawa found himself trailing 5-3 in the second, but continued to fight, saving a match and Aggie team clinch point at 40-40. He rode that momentum all the way to a 7-5 triumph and pulled ahead 4-2 in the decisive third frame when rain halted play, delaying the match until the next morning. The break in action didn't faze the Chiba, Japan, native as he picked up right where he left off, finishing the gutsy 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 match-clinching win. Earlier in the season, Sakagawa defeated No. 103 Manvydas Balciunas of 11th-ranked San Diego, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. He was rewarded for that effort with his first career Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week honor on Feb. 11. Sakagawa claimed the award again two weeks later after going 2-0 against Saint Mary's and San Diego State.

MAX EFFORT
Max Fardanesh was named the Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week on March 18. Fardanesh was recognized after leading UC Irvine to four wins in four days as he went 3-1 in singles and 3-0 in doubles from March 11-14. He was one of only two Anteaters to be in both the singles and doubles lineup for every match. In the back end of a doubleheader, Fardanesh teamed up with Rohan Sachdev for a 6-3 win at No. 1 to secure the crucial doubles point against Army. UCI pulled ahead 3-0 in singles before the Black Knights rallied to tie it up. It came down to the top of the lineup where Fardanesh, who was playing his fourth match and was well into his fifth hour on the court for the day, was in a third set against Jackson Armistead. Fardanesh fought through the fatigue, claiming a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win for the 'Eaters. On the season, he is tops on the squad with six doubles victories, while he also has six singles wins, all of which have come at Nos. 1 and 2. 

DOWN TO THE WIRE
UC Irvine is 5-1 in 4-3 matches this year. Five days before their thrilling 4-3 win at UC Davis, the Anteaters also came from behind to top Dartmouth in their non-conference finale on March 26. UCI claimed the doubles point, but the Big Green took the early momentum in singles, winning the first set on all six courts. Dartmouth went on to close out three straight-set victories to go up, 3-1. Hiroki Sakagawa and Max Fardanesh then rebounded to upend their respective opponents in three to even the match. All eyes turned to court four where Sohrob Amiryavari delivered a clutch 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win. 

ENTERING THE MIX
Freshman Greg Gamal has been a steady force in the Anteaters' singles lineup. Gamal is tied for the team lead with a 9-3 record while playing at Nos. 5 and 6. The Villa Park native has won nine of his last 10 decisions. Freshman Alex Guajardo has played in 15 doubles matches where he has won three of his last five alongside Sohrob Amiryavari. 

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
Last year, UC Irvine won its second-straight Big West Championship, and third in the last four seasons (2022, 2024, 2025). Since 2022, the Anteaters have compiled a 74-34 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. 

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
Two years ago, Hiroki Sakagawa led UCI to the 2024 Big West Championship, delivering the match-clinching singles victory in both the semifinal and final. He earned first-team All-Big West honors in singles and second-team recognition in doubles. In 2025, Sakagawa led from the sideline while missing 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. Graduate student Sohrob Amiryavari, junior Max Fardanesh, and sophomore Ruining Huang also played a significant role in the team's 2025 Big West Championship in their first year as Anteaters. Fardanesh led the trio, garnering All-Big West honorable mention distinction in singles. He went 12-3 in dual matches, 5-0 in conference, and 3-0 at the Big West Championships. 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. Huang added eight victories playing primarily at the fourth position as a true freshman.

BIG TIME ADDITIONS
Graduate transfers have been key to UCI's recent success, and this year is no different as the Anteaters added depth and experience with Rohan Sachdev and Tal Goodman. Sachdev came to Irvine 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.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will close out the Big West regular season next weekend with a home match against Hawai'i (April 17) and a road contest at UC San Diego (April 18).