In their first meeting, the Cerritos College men's tennis team handily defeated Mt. San Antonio College by a 7-2 score. But on Tuesday, the Falcons (7-5, 2-1) were upset by the Mounties, 5-4, as the team lost several close singles matches before sweeping doubles play. Cerritos will now travel to San Diego City College for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference match on Friday.
Freshman singles player Nathan Eshmade (Kings Baptist HS, Australia) continued to play well, as he posted a 6-0, 7-5 win over Marcelo Bautista at the top of the ladder. The the day started to unravel when four of the next five Cerritos players dropped their first set. Sophomore Todd Jenkins (Cabrillo HS) lost his first set in the #2 position, 6-7 (4) to Andrew Lieu, and followed that with a 3-6 loss. At the #5 position, freshman Julian Avila (Paramount HS) opened with a 6-4 win over Brendan Yu, but the lost the next two sets, 5-7, 5-10.
The Falcons maintained their dominance in doubles action, although two of the matches were won by 8-5 scores. Eshmade and freshman Mathew Espiritu (Long Beach Millikan HS), along with Jenkins and freshman Maurice Grijalva (Gardena HS) both pulled out wins, with the pairing of Avila and freshman Gianni Jeong (Cerritos HS) registering an 8-1 victory.
SINGLES
Nathan Eshmade (CERR) def. Marcelo Bautista (MSAC), 6-0, 7-5
Andrew Lieu (MSAC) def. Todd Jenkins (CERR), 7-6(4), 6-3
Kenny Simmons (MSAC) def. Mathew Espiritu (CERR), 6-2, 6-2
Cameron Webber (MSAC) def. Maurice Grijalva (CERR), 6-3, 7-5
Brendan Yu (MSAC) def. Julian Avila (CERR), 4-6, 7-5, 10-5
Devin Julien-Rohman (MSAC) def. Gianni Jeong (CERR), 6-2, 6-3
DOUBLES
Nathan Eshmade/Mathew Espiritu (CERR) def. Marcelo Bautista/Andrew Lieu (MSAC), 8-5
Todd Jenkins/Maurice Grijalva (CERR) def. Kenny Simmons/Cameron Webber (MSAC), 8-5
Julian Avila/Gianni Jeong (CERR) def. Brendan Yu/Devin Julien-Rohman (MSAC), 8-1
Photo by Daryl Peterson