UC Irvine Men’s Tennis recognized fourth-year Noah Zamora for his No. 31 ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) NCAA Division I Men’s Singles on Dec. 5. After becoming the first UCI player to compete in the NCAA Singles Tournament since 2011, Zamora finished the fall season with an 8-4 record.
With his recent accomplishment in the NCAA tournament — where Zamora pulled an upset win against his 13th-ranked Notre Dame opponent Sebastian Dominko — Zamora jumped from 121st on the preseason list to No. 31 in the country.
“I came in not really knowing how I would line up with all the players that got in,” Zamora told New University. “So once I finally got that first round in, the tension kind of just left and I knew that I could ball the best players in the country, and, I mean, I’ve done that before, but I just needed that reassurance that I could bring it during match day.”
Zamora began playing tennis at four years old — his parents played recreationally before he was born — but he didn’t start competing until he was around eight years old.
As his skills grew, so did Zamora’s enjoyment of the sport.
“It was always just fun once I started, you know, when you’re in tournaments and doing well, definitely you had a passion after that,” Zamora said. “So yeah, the passion for the sport grew and grew and grew at that time.”
At UCI, Zamora was the 2024 ITA regional finalist for the Southwest region, the All-Big West Player of the Week in 2022 and 2024, the first team recipient of the All-Big West for doubles three times and much more. In competing at a high level, Zamora said the greatest challenge at the beginning was having confidence in his own skill.
“It’s just like I said about NCAAs, I didn’t really know where my game lined up,” Zamora said. “And I put in all the work and I was kind of scared to go. I spent all these hours playing, and all this work I put in day in and day out. And what if it just doesn’t pan out? But once I got there, I started winning them. It started getting better and I was feeling it, sort of, not becoming an issue.”
Home court matches and team events often motivate him to play his best. In Zamora’s first year, his team played in the Big West finals in San Diego, where he helped bring his team to victory in his most memorable match.
“I didn’t really play that well, but I got down to 15-40 in the third set against a senior, like a pretty good senior [Victor Krustev] from UCSB. And I came back, saved around, I think, five match points to win that match and help our team win because I was a very crucial point in the match, or game, or match that helped us win the team match,” Zamora said. “You know, just the environment and seeing it was my home court, I was fighting as hard as I could.”
Before playing at UCI, Zamora lacked the motivation and methodology to improve his skills, but his coach and teammates helped shape up his game. His coach Mike Saunders received the 2024 Big West Coach of the Year award — the second one of his career.
“I spent my high school career kind of not the greatest tennis player, or the most disciplined at all,” Zamora said. “I really owe it to the people at UCI, the coaches and my teammates, that really help me see that and prosper from that.”
Saunders’ most memorable story with Zamora occurred during his quarterfinal match in the 2024 ITA Southwest Regionals, where Zamora won against Casper Christensen from Arizona to qualify for the NCAA individual singles championship. Like Zamora’s previously mentioned UCSB match, Saunders remembers a time of struggle and perseverance in his player’s game.
“This was a match where he played far from his best tennis,” Saunders told New University. “But he gutted it out and fought for every point with unwavering determination, mentally willing himself to victory. He proceeded to qualify for the NCAA’s, making the final of Regional and proving to himself that he was one of the best competitors in college tennis.”
Zamora’s journey through his tennis career is fueled by his parents’ influence. He often thinks of them during his matches to motivate himself to play to his best abilities.
“Playing in front of them is an absolute privilege every time,” Zamora said. “But I would say playing for them, they’re always in the back of my mind when I’m out on the court. If I’m ever feeling unmotivated or undisciplined, I think about all the sacrifices they’ve made to put me in this position, which has always been an easy way to fire me up and play to the best of my abilities.”
Zamora’s most anticipated matches of the 2024-25 season are against University of Pacific on Feb. 7, Yale on March 14, Harvard on March 23 and UC Santa Barbara on April 12. Those interested in following Zamora’s final games of the season can visit the UCI Men’s Tennis schedule.
Alyssa Villagonzalo is a Features Staff Writer for the Winter 2025 quarter. She can be reached at akvillag@uci.edu.
Edited by Kaelyn Kwon and Benjamin Flores.
