IRVINE, Calif. - The Hawai`i men's tennis team suffered its ninth loss to a nationally ranked team this season after falling to No. 75 UC Irvine, 6-1, Sunday, at Anteater Tennis Stadium. The loss dropped the Rainbow Warriors to 6-12 as they enter their final homestand of the regular season.

The Anteaters (11-8) claimed the doubles point by winning all three tightly contested matches. UCI's top duo of Brian Morton and Rye Kashiwabara edged Dalibor Ptak and Derrick Lajola, 8-6 while Chad Faulk and Bryon Weinberg extended their match with Victor Lamm and Peter Surapol before falling 9-7 at No. 3.

In singles play, only junior Ryan Sceats was victorious in his match, rallying past Lamm, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) at No. 3 for his 11th victory in his last 12 matches. In Friday's shutout loss to San Diego State, Sceats had his career-best 10 match win streak snapped. The remaining five singles contests went to the Anteaters in straight sets including No. 115 Morton's 6-2, 6-2 win over Ptak in the featured match.

The Rainbow Warriors return to Honolulu to close out the regular season against NAIA's top-ranked Azusa Pacific, Tuesday, April 12 and Boise State, Wednesday, April 20. Both matches begin at 3:00 p.m. at the UH Tennis Complex.

Match Results
UC Irvine def. Hawai`i, 6-1
Singles (each match is worth one team point)
1. No. 115 Brian Morton (UCI) def. Dalibor Ptak, 6-2, 6-2
2. Rye Kashiwabara (UCI) def. Bryon Weinberg, 6-1, 6-2
3. Ryan Sceats def. Victor Lamm (UCI), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
4. Peter Surapol (UCI) def. Jarrod Diepraam, 6-4, 6-4
5. Olof Sjolund (UCI) def. Chad Faulk, 7-5, 6-4
6. Mustafa Ulukan (UCI) def. Derrick Lajola, 6-4, 6-3

Doubles (must win 2 of 3 matches for one team point)
1. Morton/Kashiwabara (UCI) def. Lajola/Ptak, 8-6
2. Sjolund/Ulukan (UCI) def. Diepraam/Sceats, 8-4
3. Lamm/Surapol (UCI) def. Faulk/Weinberg, 9-7

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