The UC Irvine Men’s tennis team (0-3) were defeated in the match 6-1, by the No. 11 University of San Diego (USD) (5-2) at the Hogan Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. on Feb 6.
UC Irvine doubles faced a difficult match against the Toreros. UCI graduate Hiroki Sakagawa and graduate Sohrob Amiryavari played against redshirt senior Stian Klaassen and sophomore Manvydas Balciunas. They were the first to finish their sets and the USD doubles finished off the game with a score of 6-3.
Followed by this loss for the Anteaters, the second doubles match was played by freshman Nathaniel Suh and freshman Alex Guajardo against freshman Luc Wieland and freshman Vincent Marysko. The Anteaters lost the match with a score of 6-4, earning the victory for USD and getting the team ahead with an overall score of 1-0.
The third doubles match was played by graduate Tal Goodman and junior Max Fardanesh from UC Irvine against sophomore Adrien Berrut and redshirt junior Lambert Ruland. The match was left unfinished.
The second singles match was played by Fardanesh playing against Marysko. While Fardanesh played very strongly, the Anteater ultimately fell to USD, with the set scores 6-2, 6-3. USD remained in the lead, with a score of 2-0.
On the neighboring courts was graduate Rohan Sachdev playing against sophomore Berrut. The Toreros dominated the Anteaters in this match as well, with Berrut taking the lead, winning straight sets 6-1, 6-3, making the Toreros’ overall score of 3-0.
Additionally, Goodman played against redshirt senior Klaassan. The Toreros once again scored yet another win, with the single set scoring 6-4, 6-2.
The matches grew intense for the Anteaters as they fell behind. Graduate Sakagawa, who missed last season due to an injury and started off the season with a great start, played strongly against sophomore Balciunas. Sakagawa came back from a one-set deficit to defeat Balciunas in a 10 point tie break. Although the open was dropped, 6-4, Sakwagwa was in the lead with a victory of 6-3 in the second frame. He carried his strong game into the third set where he defeated Balciunas with a score of 10-6, bringing the first point of the day for the Anteaters.
Graduate Amiryavari fell just short to Torero senior Neo Niedner. The two played a very tight match against one another on the fourth court. Neidner took the first set with a score of 7-5 and was leading 5-4 in the second. Amiryavari held onto the game, forcing a tiebreaker, but Niedner was able to catch up to score a 7-5, 6-7 (7-5) victory.
The last match of the day was played by sophomore Ruining Huang against redshirt junior Ruland. Huang was down a set and was trailing 5-4 in the second match before leading into a tie breaker. The tie breaker was intense with Huang pushing to a third frame but was immediately defeated by Ruland, taking another win for the Toreros.
The Anteaters played a tough match but ultimately lost to the Toreros. The Anteaters played their next away match against the No. 21 University of Southern California on Feb 8 and fell 0-4. UC Irvine will now head home to play their first true home game against Saint Mary’s on Feb. 21.
Melissa Hernandez is a Sports Intern for the winter 2026 quarter. She can be reached at melih12@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Annabelle Aguirre.
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