UC Irvine
Cal Poly Falls to UC Irvine 4-1 in Penultimate Regular Season Matchup
4/10/2026 4:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
IRVINE, Calif. — Raz Haviv was the day’s only winner for Cal Poly, as the Mustangs (13-8, 4-1 Big West) labored through three three-set singles matches but were outmatched 4-1 by the back-to-back reigning Big West champion Anteaters (11-6, 3-0 Big West).
Doubles play went quickly, with Mustang pairs on court two (Sean Ferguson / Raz Haviv) and court three (Aaron Eliscu / Luc Hoeijmans) both falling 6-2 to their respective UC Irvine opponents. After Irvine clinched the doubles point, Jovan Lubbe and Leo Matthysen on court one abandoned their match down 5-4.
Only two singles matches finished without extra sets: Haviv won at No. 4 (6-3, 6-1), and Jack Cross dropped a closely contested match to his counterpart at No. 5 (5-7, 3-6).
Aaron Eliscu pushed one of the conference’s best players this season—and a former Big West Player of the Week—Max Fardanesh, to a tight third set, shocking the Anteater with a swift 6-1 first-set win. Fardanesh responded in kind and sealed a 6-4 third set for the victory at No. 2 singles.
The clincher came on court one, where three-time Big West Player of the Week and reigning honoree Hiroki Sakagawa struggled to a 7-6 tiebreaker first-set victory but closed out the match with a 6-1 second set.
The Mustangs return to Ronca Tennis Center for the final weekend of regular-season play, with just one match remaining: a Blue-Green clash against co-Big West leaders No. 32 UC Santa Barbara (14-5, 3-0 Big West) on Friday at 5 p.m., where hospitality will be available.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
4,2,5,1
