IRVINE, Calif. - For the second time in the last three years, the UC Irvine men's tennis team won the Big West Championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters(17-7) closed out the 2024 campaign ranked 69th in the nation.
End of Season Notes (PDF)
• The 'Eaters finished second in The Big West regular-season standings as they went 5-1 in conference action.
• Their only loss came in a narrow 4-3 decision at then No. 49 UC Santa Barbara.
• UCI avenged that loss in the postseason, toppling the 45th-ranked Gauchos, 4-1, in The Big West championship match.
• Five of UC Irvine's seven losses this season came against ranked opponents, including three in the top-10.
• Noah Zamora went 6-0 in matches against Big West foes and registered a team-best 23 overall singles wins (15 dual).
• In his three years as an Anteater, Zamora is 18-1 in Big West regular season and postseason play.
• Five other 'Eaters reached double digits in the dual-match singles win column, including freshman Andy Nguyen at 12-4.
• Nguyen, who also had 10 doubles victories, was named the Big West Freshman of the Year.
• As a team, UCI was impressive in singles where they combined for an 86-34 (.717) record in 24 dual matches.
• In doubles, Zamora and Rahul Dhokia had a signature win, defeating UCSB's 38th-ranked duo of Brunkow/Masjuan, 7-6.
• Hiroki Sakagawa and Matthew Sah were named to the CSC Men's Tennis Academic All-District Team.
UC Irvine made the trek to Fort Worth, Texas, for its 13th NCAA Division I Championship appearance. The Anteaters fell to host and fourth-seeded TCU in the first round. The Horned Frogs, who were also ranked fourth in the nation, went on to win the whole thing, defeating Texas, 4-3, for the national championship. Prior to making the move to Division I back in 1978, UCI won six NCAA DII titles.
ALL-BIG WEST HONORS
Mike Saunders collected his second career Big West Coach of the Year award after leading the Anteaters to the conference championship.Andy Nguyen was also tabbed the Big West Freshman of the Year to highlight UC Irvine's postseason accolades. Graduate students Enrique Luque Rico and Hiroki Sakagawa were first-team all-conference singles selections, while juniors Rithvik Krishna and Noah Zamora earned second team honors. Nguyen was also an honorable mention pick. In doubles, Rahul Dhokia/Zamora garnered first-team accolades, Nguyen/Sakagawa made the second team and Brandon Park/Matthew Sah received honorable mention distinction.
Second-seeded UC Irvine defeated No. 3 Cal Poly, 4-1, in the semifinals before taking down No. 1 UC Santa Barbara, 4-1, in the final to bring home its second Big West Championship in the last three years. It was the third-straight meeting between the Anteaters and Gauchos for the title with UCI winning in 2022 and 2024, and UCSB hoisting the trophy in 2023. In the championship match, UC Santa Barbara came out on top at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, but the 'Eaters won the first four singles matches in straight sets to clinch the victory. Hiroki Sakagawa delivered the final point with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) triumph over Gianluca Brunkow on court two. Overall, the 'Eaters have claimed five conference tournament titles, while finishing first in the Big West standings 17 times.
OUR HIRO
First-team All-Big West selection Hiroki Sakagawa delivered UCI's match-clinching singles wins in both the semifinals and final of the Big West Championship. In the title match against the Gauchos, Sakagawa came back from 0-3 and 5-6 deficits in the second set to top Gianluca Brunkow, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to secure the victory. He closed out his first season as an Anteater with an 18-10 overall record and an 11-7 mark while playing at Nos. 1 and 2 in dual matches.
BIG WEST DOMINANCENoah Zamora owns an 18-1 career record against Big West opponents. He is unbeaten in his last 23 outings against conference foes (including postseason) where he is 17-0 with six matches that went unfinished. The only Big West loss of his three-year career came against Cal Poly on April 3, 2022. Zamora is a three-time all-conference selection in both singles and doubles, and was named the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year. In his time at UCI, the San Diego native is 39-12 (.765) in dual-match singles.
Graduate student Enrique Luque Rico transferred to UCI from Pepperdine prior to the 2022-23 campaign and was a steady force at the top of the singles lineup for the Anteaters since his arrival. This season, he went 11-6 at No. 1 with four of his losses coming against ranked opponents. He had one ranked win, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over No. 72 Pablo Masjuan of UC Santa Barbara in the Big West championship match. Luque Rico is a two-time first-team All-Big West singles selection. Over his collegiate career, he owns a 49-24 dual-match record.
In just his 26th decision in his collegiate dual-match career, junior Rithvik Krishna recorded his 20th win. This year, he went 10-5 while playing at Nos. 2-5. Krishna, who is in his third season at UCI, owns a .703 win percentage (26-11). He is a two-time All-Big West singles selection, earning second-team honors in 2024 and honorable mention recognition in 2023.
UCI had a veteran squad led by fifth-year seniors Ali Amiri and Matthew Sah. After seeing their freshman dual-match season canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amiri and Sah helped the Anteaters to a Big West tournament title in 2022 and 2024, as well as a share of the regular-season championship in 2023. During their prolific UCI careers, the 'Eaters went 62-31 in dual matches. Sah is tied for 26th in program history with 43 doubles wins.
Andy Nguyen, a blue-chip recruit from Millikan High School in Long Beach, was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, while also earning all-conference honors in both singles (honorable mention) and doubles alongside Hiroki Sakagawa (second team). Nguyen went 18-6 overall and 12-4 in dual match singles in his first collegiate season. At the high school level, he was the CIF-Southern Section individual champion in 2022, a year after he led the Rams to the 2021 CIF Division 4 team title. Nguyen was ranked eighth in California and 18th in the nation according to Tennis Recruiting.
Senior Brandon Park earned first-team All-Big West honors in doubles and was a second-team selection in singles last year. This season, he played primarily doubles where he registered 14 overall wins including 10 in dual matches to earn all-conference honorable mention recognition. Park transferred to UCI from Pacific prior to the 2023 campaign.
Graduate transfer Rahul Dhokia previously played at Texas A&M and Baylor, where he was a member of the Bears' 2021 NCAA Finalist team. He made his Anteater debut in doubles on Feb. 25 and in singles on March 5. At UC Irvine, Dhokia went 8-2 at Nos. 4-6.
Junior Lawee Sherif went 17-6 overall and 10-3 (.769) while playing at Nos. 4-6. He had more dual-match singles wins in 2024 than he did in his first two campaigns combined.
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