College Tennis : Irvine Sweeps Matches to Take Lead in PCAA Tennis Meet

UC Irvine men’s tennis team went undefeated Friday in singles to take the first-round lead in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. men’s tennis championships at Cal State Fullerton.

Irvine has 12 points to lead second-place Long Beach State by two. UC Santa Barbara and Fresno State are tied for third with eight points. Cal State Fullerton, New Mexico State and Utah State have no points.

A team earns two points for a singles or doubles win in the championship bracket. It earns a point for a win in the consolation bracket.

The Anteaters swept their six matches, led by No. 1 player Bruce Man Son Hing, who defeated Tony Green of Utah State, 6-4, 6-2. Man Son Hing is seeded No. 2 in the first singles division.

Irvine’s Ken Derr, seeded No. 1 in second singles, defeated Jim Craig of Nevada Las Vegas, 6-0, 6-0. Derr has won 36 consecutive games from Rebel players. The tournament’s second round singles begin at 8 this morning, with first-round doubles beginning at 2 in the afternoon.

Peter Smith of Cal State Long Beach, the top seed in first singles, defeated Eric Siegle of Fresno State, 6-2, 6-2.

Other Anteaters advancing to the second round were No. 3 Darren Yates, who defeated Joe Grief of New Mexico State, 6-2, 6-3; No. 4 Julian Barham defeated Alex Stamey of University of the Pacific, 6-3, 6-0; No. 5 Art Hernandez defeated Blake Plummer of Utah State, 6-2, 6-1; No. 6 Neil Amor defeated Bill Durham of Pacific, 6-2, 6-2.

Fullerton’s third doubles team of Steve Holland and Kevin Joe defeated James Gatza and Zohar Ben-Ray to qualify for Saturday’s first-round competition.