Box Score IRVINE, Calif. - The 72nd-ranked University of Hawai'i men's tennis team (11-5, 4-2 Big West) came up short at UC Irvine (14-6, 4-2 Big West), 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Anteater Tennis Stadium. The score was not indicative of how close the match was as the Anteaters earned the doubles point with a couple of tough wins and in singles, UCI was able to outlast the Rainbow Warriors in three, three-set matches for the win. With the regular season now over for members of the Big West, Hawai'i finished in a tie for third with UC Irvine with 4-2 conference records. UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly sit atop the standings, but UCSB recently swept the Mustangs for the league lead. 

Although Hawai'i opened the match with a doubles win on the No. 1 court with UH's Karl Collins and Andre Ilagan defeating UCI's Emmanuel Coste and Noa Zamora, 6-3, the Anteaters fought to take the final two matches to earn the all important doubles point. The Anteaters No. 3 pair of Ali Amiri and Lawee Sherif held off Simao Telo Alves and Kilian Maitre by a break, 7-5 and UC Irvine's No. 2 duo of Riccardo Roberto and Matthew Sah then clinched the point by edgingout UH's Axel Labrunie and Blaz Seric in a tie-breaker, 7-6 (4).

Hawai'i's No. 4 in singles, Guillaume Tattevin  recorded a quick, straight-set win over Sherif, 6-3, 6-1 to tie the match at 1-1. Four of the other five singles matches saw UH take the opening set against their Anteater opponents. But UC Irvine then rallied to reel off three-straight wins to clinch the regular season finale, 4-1. UCI's Rithvik Krishna knocked off UH's Maitre, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and next, Roberto pulled away for a three-set win over UH's Labrunie, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2. UC Irvine's No. 5 Mike Mktchian then clinched the match by knocking off UH's Collins in a hard fought battle, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-4. Hawai'i 34th-ranked Ilagan and Seric both not finish their matches on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts.

Hawai'i will next head to San Diego's Barnes Tennis Center for the 2022 Big West Men's Tennis Championship tournament. The tourney begins on Friday, April 29, 2022. The No. 4 seed Hawai'i will take on No. 5 seed UC Riverside at 6:00 a.m. HT in Friday's first round. The winner of that match will then face No. 2 Cal Poly in the semifinal round on Saturday April 30. The Championship match will be played on Sunday, May 1 at 6:00 a.m. HT. For full interactive bracket CLICK HERE.

UC Irvine 4, #72 Hawai'i 1
Apr 24, 2022 at Irvine, CA
(Anteater Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition
1. #82 Emmanuel Coste (UCI) vs. #34 Andre Ilagan (UH) 2-6, 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
2. Riccardo Roberto (UCI) def. Axel Labunie (UH) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
3. Noah Zamora (UCI) vs. Blaz Seric (UH) 6-4, 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
4. Guillaume Tattevin (UH) def. Lawee Sherif (UCI) 6-3, 6-1
5. Mike Mkrtchian (UCI) def. Karl Collins (UH) 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-4
6. Rithvik Krishna (UCI) def. Kilian Maitre (UH) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Karl Collins/Andre Ilagan (UH) def. Emmanuel Coste/Noah Zamora (UCI) 6-3
2. Riccardo Roberto/Matthew Sah (UCI) def. Axel Labunie/Blaz Seric (UH) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Ali Amiri/Lawee Sherif (UCI) def. Simao Telo Alves/Kilian Maitre (UH) 7-5

Match Notes:
Hawai'i 11-5, 4-2 BWC; National ranking #72
UC Irvine 14-6, 4-2 BWC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,6,2,5)