2026 Men's Tennis Season Review
May 08, 2026 | Men's Tennis
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
β’ UC Irvine went 5-1 in conference to clinch a share of the Big West regular season championship.
β’ UCI has won either a conference tournament (2022, 2024, 2025) or regular season (2023, 2026) title in five-straight years.
β’ The Anteaters also made their fifth consecutive appearance in the Big West Championship final.
β’ The 'Eaters came in at No. 72 in the latest ITA Team Rankings released on April 30.
β’ UC Irvine went 14-8 overall, marking its eighth-straight full season with 10+ victories, and 10th consecutive winning campaign.
β’ Seven of the Anteaters' eight losses this season were against teams ranked among the top-65 in the nation.
β’ UCI went 11-0 at Anteater Tennis Stadium with its only home loss coming at the Racquet Club of Irvine on Jan. 31.
β’ The 'Eaters boasted an impressive 22-7 singles record in Big West regular season matches.
β’ Hiroki Sakagawa was named the 2026 Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Year and earned a first-team all-conference nod.
β’ Sakagawa went 14-3 (5-0 Big West) at the top of the singles lineup and won four Player of the Week awards this year.
β’ Max Fardanesh and Tal Goodman made the All-Big West Second Team.
β’ Greg Gamal, who went 13-4 in singles in his first collegiate season, garnered honorable mention recognition.
β’ Fardanesh/Rohan Sachdev (First Team) and Goodman/Sakagawa (Second Team) received All-Big West doubles honors.
CONFERENCE CONTENDERS
UC Irvine has won a conference championship in each of the last five years. The Anteaters hoisted the tournament trophy in 2022, 2024, and 2025, while they claimed the regular season title in 2023 and 2026. During that stretch, the 'Eaters are 24-6 in Big West play and 10-2 in Big West Championship dual matches. Overall, UCI has won six Big West titles in the current tournament format which started in 1994. Prior to 1994, UC Irvine was dominant with 11 team championships. The Anteaters have also won seven regular season titles since the Big West started recognizing a regular season champion in 2006.
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
Second-seeded and 75th-ranked UC Irvine defeated No. 3 seed and 72nd-ranked Cal Poly, 4-1, in the Big West semifinals on April 24. After UCI took the doubles point, Hiroki Sakagawa, Tal Goodman, and Greg Gamal all won their respective singles matches in three to seal the victory. The Anteaters advanced to the championship where they faced top-seeded and 36th-ranked UC Santa Barbara for the fifth year in a row. After UCI brought home the hardware in 2024 and 2025, it was the Gauchos who raised the trophy in 2026 with a 4-0 victory. Hiroki Sakagawa and Max Fardanesh both held a one-set lead against a ranked opponent when their matches were abandoned.Β
OUR HIRO
Graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa was named the 2026 Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Year. It was the second consecutive season and 11th time overall an Anteater took home the league's top honor. He was also a first-team all-conference selection in singles for the second time in his career. Sakagawa, who missed last season with an injury, made his presence felt in his return to the court, leading the squad with a 14-3 singles record (5-0 Big West), all at the top of the lineup. He had two ranked wins, defeating No. 87 Lucca Liu of UC Santa Barbara, 7-6 (4), 7-5, and No. 103 Manvydas Balciunas of 11th-ranked San Diego, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. He also clinched UCI's 4-3 Big West-opening win at UC Davis in dramatic fashion. After dropping a hard-fought first set to Lucas Bollinger, Sakagawa was trailing 5-3 in the second, but battled to save a match and Aggie team clinch point. 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. Sakagawa took home a conference-leading four Big West Player of the Week awards in 2026.Β
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. 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 tied for the team lead with eight doubles victories, while he also had eight singles wins, all of which came at the top two spots in the lineup. In his two years at UCI, Fardanesh is 10-3 against Big West opponents (including postseason). He is a two-time all-conference selection in singles, and garnered first-team honors in doubles this year.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
UC Irvine went 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 clinching win for the 'Eaters.Β
TRANSFER ADDITIONS
Graduate transfers have been key to UCI's recent success, and this year was no different with the addition of Rohan Sachdev and Tal Goodman. Sachdev, who spent three years at Georgia Tech, played a majority of the 2026 season at No. 1 doubles en route to first-team All-Big West honors. Goodman also garnered second-team recognition in both singles and doubles after transferring to UC Irvine from Penn where he was ranked as high as No. 74 in doubles.
ENTERING THE MIX
Freshman Greg Gamal was a steady force in the Anteaters' singles lineup. Gamal, who was an All-Big West honorable mention selection, ranked second on the team with a 13-4 record while playing at Nos. 5 and 6. The Villa Park native went 5-0 in Big West play. Freshman Alex Guajardo was also in the doubles lineup for all but one dual match this season, picking up six victories alongside Sohrob Amiryavari.
SINGLES SUCCESS
The Anteaters were dominant in singles during their Big West regular season championship run as they combined to go 22-7 against conference opponents. Hiroki Sakagawa and Greg Gamal both went a perfect 5-0, while Ruining Huang was 4-0 with one unfinished match.
DOUBLE DIGIT WINS
The 'Eaters recorded their 10th victory of the season with a 7-0 triumph over UC Riverside on April 6, marking the sixth consecutive year they reached double digits in the win column. Since 2021, the Anteaters own an 89-42 (29-7 Big West) dual-match record.
β’ UC Irvine went 5-1 in conference to clinch a share of the Big West regular season championship.
β’ UCI has won either a conference tournament (2022, 2024, 2025) or regular season (2023, 2026) title in five-straight years.
β’ The Anteaters also made their fifth consecutive appearance in the Big West Championship final.
β’ The 'Eaters came in at No. 72 in the latest ITA Team Rankings released on April 30.
β’ UC Irvine went 14-8 overall, marking its eighth-straight full season with 10+ victories, and 10th consecutive winning campaign.
β’ Seven of the Anteaters' eight losses this season were against teams ranked among the top-65 in the nation.
β’ UCI went 11-0 at Anteater Tennis Stadium with its only home loss coming at the Racquet Club of Irvine on Jan. 31.
β’ The 'Eaters boasted an impressive 22-7 singles record in Big West regular season matches.
β’ Hiroki Sakagawa was named the 2026 Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Year and earned a first-team all-conference nod.
β’ Sakagawa went 14-3 (5-0 Big West) at the top of the singles lineup and won four Player of the Week awards this year.
β’ Max Fardanesh and Tal Goodman made the All-Big West Second Team.
β’ Greg Gamal, who went 13-4 in singles in his first collegiate season, garnered honorable mention recognition.
β’ Fardanesh/Rohan Sachdev (First Team) and Goodman/Sakagawa (Second Team) received All-Big West doubles honors.
CONFERENCE CONTENDERS
UC Irvine has won a conference championship in each of the last five years. The Anteaters hoisted the tournament trophy in 2022, 2024, and 2025, while they claimed the regular season title in 2023 and 2026. During that stretch, the 'Eaters are 24-6 in Big West play and 10-2 in Big West Championship dual matches. Overall, UCI has won six Big West titles in the current tournament format which started in 1994. Prior to 1994, UC Irvine was dominant with 11 team championships. The Anteaters have also won seven regular season titles since the Big West started recognizing a regular season champion in 2006.
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
Second-seeded and 75th-ranked UC Irvine defeated No. 3 seed and 72nd-ranked Cal Poly, 4-1, in the Big West semifinals on April 24. After UCI took the doubles point, Hiroki Sakagawa, Tal Goodman, and Greg Gamal all won their respective singles matches in three to seal the victory. The Anteaters advanced to the championship where they faced top-seeded and 36th-ranked UC Santa Barbara for the fifth year in a row. After UCI brought home the hardware in 2024 and 2025, it was the Gauchos who raised the trophy in 2026 with a 4-0 victory. Hiroki Sakagawa and Max Fardanesh both held a one-set lead against a ranked opponent when their matches were abandoned.Β
OUR HIRO
Graduate student Hiroki Sakagawa was named the 2026 Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Year. It was the second consecutive season and 11th time overall an Anteater took home the league's top honor. He was also a first-team all-conference selection in singles for the second time in his career. Sakagawa, who missed last season with an injury, made his presence felt in his return to the court, leading the squad with a 14-3 singles record (5-0 Big West), all at the top of the lineup. He had two ranked wins, defeating No. 87 Lucca Liu of UC Santa Barbara, 7-6 (4), 7-5, and No. 103 Manvydas Balciunas of 11th-ranked San Diego, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. He also clinched UCI's 4-3 Big West-opening win at UC Davis in dramatic fashion. After dropping a hard-fought first set to Lucas Bollinger, Sakagawa was trailing 5-3 in the second, but battled to save a match and Aggie team clinch point. 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. Sakagawa took home a conference-leading four Big West Player of the Week awards in 2026.Β
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. 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 tied for the team lead with eight doubles victories, while he also had eight singles wins, all of which came at the top two spots in the lineup. In his two years at UCI, Fardanesh is 10-3 against Big West opponents (including postseason). He is a two-time all-conference selection in singles, and garnered first-team honors in doubles this year.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
UC Irvine went 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 clinching win for the 'Eaters.Β
TRANSFER ADDITIONS
Graduate transfers have been key to UCI's recent success, and this year was no different with the addition of Rohan Sachdev and Tal Goodman. Sachdev, who spent three years at Georgia Tech, played a majority of the 2026 season at No. 1 doubles en route to first-team All-Big West honors. Goodman also garnered second-team recognition in both singles and doubles after transferring to UC Irvine from Penn where he was ranked as high as No. 74 in doubles.
ENTERING THE MIX
Freshman Greg Gamal was a steady force in the Anteaters' singles lineup. Gamal, who was an All-Big West honorable mention selection, ranked second on the team with a 13-4 record while playing at Nos. 5 and 6. The Villa Park native went 5-0 in Big West play. Freshman Alex Guajardo was also in the doubles lineup for all but one dual match this season, picking up six victories alongside Sohrob Amiryavari.
SINGLES SUCCESS
The Anteaters were dominant in singles during their Big West regular season championship run as they combined to go 22-7 against conference opponents. Hiroki Sakagawa and Greg Gamal both went a perfect 5-0, while Ruining Huang was 4-0 with one unfinished match.
DOUBLE DIGIT WINS
The 'Eaters recorded their 10th victory of the season with a 7-0 triumph over UC Riverside on April 6, marking the sixth consecutive year they reached double digits in the win column. Since 2021, the Anteaters own an 89-42 (29-7 Big West) dual-match record.
Players Mentioned
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