The No. 44 UC Irvine Men’s Tennis team saw its season come to an end on May 3 after falling 4-2 to No. 7 University of San Diego in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The match took place at the Hogan Tennis Center in San Diego, with 575 fans in attendance.
This appearance marked a high point for the Anteaters (18-6, 5-1), who earned an automatic NCAA bid after capturing their second straight Big West Championship. UCI entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Big West Tournament following a 5-1 conference record.
The Anteaters opened postseason play with a dominant 4-0 sweep over UC Riverside on April 25. They followed up with a gritty 4-3 comeback win against UC Davis in the semifinals on April 26. After dropping the doubles point and two singles matches, UCI responded with four straight singles wins to take the match.
“I think what really got me through the match were my teammates—just playing for not only myself but for my team and for my coaches,” said sophomore Andy Nguyen after the Davis victory.
The defining moment of the season came in the Big West final on April 27. Facing No. 34 UC Santa Barbara, the Anteaters rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win 4-3. Senior Noah Zamora, ranked No. 70 nationally, secured the victory with a three-set singles win in the final match.
The win marked UC Irvine’s second consecutive Big West title and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. The NCAA bracket was announced on April 28, with both UCI and UCSB earning spots in the 64-team field.
Playing just miles from their Big West triumph, the Anteaters opened NCAA play against San Diego. In doubles, the Toreros took the early lead with victories on Courts 2 and 3. Adrien Berrut and Savriyan Danilov defeated Sohrob Amiryavari and Ruining Huang 6-3, while Blake Kasday and Nikhil Niranjan beat Rithvik Krishna and Max Fardanesh 6-2.
San Diego quickly added another point in singles when Stian Klaassen defeated Krishna 6-3, 6-0. But UCI answered back as Amiryavari earned a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kasday—marking the program’s first NCAA tournament point since 2011.
San Diego’s Neo Niedner added to the Toreros’ lead with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Huang. With their season on the line, Nguyen delivered a clutch performance, defeating No. 83 Danilov 7-5, 6-4 to narrow the gap to 3-2.
In the deciding match, Zamora faced No. 3-ranked Oliver Tarvet. After a tight 7-5 first set, Tarvet pulled away in the second 6-1, sealing the win for the Toreros and ending UCI’s postseason run.
Zamora, who reached the round of 32 in the NCAA individual championships last fall, capped off a standout career as one of the nation’s top players. Despite the loss, the Anteaters made their deepest postseason run since 1995 and were the first UC Irvine team this academic year to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
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