After playing their last six matches on the road, the Cerritos College men's tennis team returned home to defeat El Camino College, 8-1 in a South Coast Conference match. The Falcons (7-4, 2-0) will next host Mt. San Antonio College at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
In the win, El Camino was playing without their #1 and #3 singles players, but still gave Cerritos a scare early on. Of the six singles matches, the Warriors won the first set in four of them, with the Falcons fighting back to win three of them, The top two singles players, freshman Nathan Eshmade (Kings Baptist HS, Australia) and sophomore Todd Jenkins (Cabrillo HS) each won in straight sets to start the day.
But in the other four singles matches, the Falcons had to fight back. Freshman Mathew Espiritu (Long Beach Millikan HS) started the comeback with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 win over Eric Sanders in the #3 position, while freshman Maurice Grijalva (Gardena HS) followed suit with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 win in the #4 spot. Freshman Julian Avila (Paramount HS) clinched the team victory after his 5-7, 7-5, 11-9 win over Calvin Hoo, while freshman Gianni Jeong (Cerritos HS) lost in three sets.
In doubles action, Eshmade and Espiritu opened with a 6-3, 6-1 win, followed by Jenkins and Grijalva posting a 6-2, 6-3 victory. The sweep doubles was complete when Avila and Jeong finished off a 6-3, 7-5 win.
SINGLES
Nathan Eshmade (CERR) def. Anthony Ya (ECC), 6-1, 6-0
Todd Jenkins (CERR) def. Alan Tong (ECC), 6-3, 6-1
Mathew Espiritu (CERR) def. Eric Sanders (ECC), 4-6, 6-3, 10-4
Maurice Grijalva (CERR) def. Josh Legardy (ECC), 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Julian Avila (CERR) def. Calvin Hoo (ECC), 5-7, 7-5, 11-9
Taylor Neal (ECC) def. Gianni Jeong (CERR), 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-6
DOUBLES
Nathan Eshmade/Mathew Espiritu (CERR) def. Alan Tong/Eric Sanders (ECC), 6-1, 6-3
Todd Jenkins/Maurice Grijalva (CERR) def. Anthony Ya/Josh Legardy (ECC), 6-2, 63
Julian Avila/Gianni Jeong (CERR) def. Calvin Hoo/Colin Matthews (ECC), 6-3, 7-5
Photo by Daryl Peterson