Box Score IRVINE, Calif. — The weekend road trip got off to an unfortunate start for UC Davis, as UC Irvine (11-6, 4-0 Big West) defeated the Aggies (11-6, 4-1 Big West), 4-0, on Friday afternoon. The win is the 10th in a row for the Anteaters and gives last year's Big West tournament champions the number one seed in the conference moving forward. They face off with UC Santa Barbara in a match on Sunday that will largely determine how the top of the conference standings will shake out.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, taking the doubles point with 6-4 wins on both courts one and two.
Irvine's Rithvik Krishna defeated Ryan Torres in straight sets on court four to open singles competition. That result was mirrored on court three, where Noah Zamora took down Brett Brinkman to put the Anteaters one point away from clinching the match.
The wins for Krishna and Zamora are their ninth consecutive in singles play.
Thomas Smart buried the final nail with another straight set win on court five against Sam De Vries. Smart extended his singles winning streak to five.
When play was stopped, Constantinos Djakouris, Andrei Volgin and Lucas Bollinger were all ahead in their matches.
PLAYOFF IMPACT
If Irvine beats UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, UC Davis will be locked into the number two seed in the Big West, with Irvine controlling the top spot. If UC Santa Barbara beats UC Irvine, the Aggies, Gauchos and Anteaters will be in a three-way tie for the top spot. The remainder of Big West conference play will determine how that tiebreaker will be ruled. UC Davis can fall no lower than third.
UP NEXT
The Aggies are right back in action tomorrow to finish out regular season Big West conference play against UC Riverside (5-14, 0-4 Big West). The match will be streaming live on ESPN+ at 9 a.m.
UC Irvine vs UC Davis
Apr. 14, 2023
(Anteater Tennis Stadium)
UC Irvine 4, UC Davis 0
Doubles Competition
1. Noah Zamora/Brandon Park (UCI) def. Andrei Volgin/Mitchell Davis (UCD) 6-4
2. Lawee Sherif/Thomas Smart (UCI) def. Brett Brinkman/Sam De Vries (UCD) 6-4
3. Lucas Bollinger/Coleton Hootman (UCD) vs. Rithvik Krishna/Matthew Sah (UCI) 5-5 no result
Order of finish: 2, 1, UF
Singles Competition
1. Andrei Volgin (UCD) vs. Enrique Luque Rico (UCI) 6-2, 6-6 (3-3) no result
2. Constantinos Djakouris (UCD) vs. Brandon Park (UCI) 6-2, 5-2 no result
3. Noah Zamora (UCI) def. Brett Brinkman (UCD) 6-3, 7-5
4. Rithvik Krishna (UCI) def. Ryan Torres (UCD) 6-1, 6-4
5. Thomas Smart (UCI) def. Sam De Vries (UCD) 6-2, 6-3
6. Lucas Bollinger (UCD) vs. Ali Amiri (UCI) 7-5, 4-3 no result
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, UF, UF, UF
