The Cerritos College men's tennis team continued their winning streak, as they extended it to four, with their 6-3 non-conference win at Los Angeles Pierce College on Thursday. The Falcons (5-2) will now host Saddleback College at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday in their final non-conference match before the start of South Coast Conference play.
In the win, the Falcons showed the ability to fight back, as they dropped the first set in singles at the top and bottom of the ladder before coming back to post wins. Sophomore Nathan Eshmade (Kings Baptist, Australia HS) lost his first set of the season as the team's #1 player, 6-4, and was down a break point in the second set before his comeback. He pulled out a 6-4 win over Richard Catabona in the second set and then recorded a 10-4 win in the tie-breaker.
As for freshman Simon Graff (Clements, TX HS), he dropped the first set to Corey Randall, 7-6, but regained control with a 6-2 win in the second set. Graf completed the comeback with a 10-6 win in the tie-breaker. Posting strong wins in singles player were freshman Amadi Kagoma (Malezi School, Kenya HS), who defeated Sergey Arushanyan, 6-1, 6-4, while freshman Sheldon Hseih (Long Beach Poly HS) handed Giancarlo Bertumen a 6-1, 6-0 setback.
Doubles action was just a competitive for the Falcons, who closed out the match with an 8-5 win for freshmen Edgar Munoz (Paramount HS) and Nicholas Simonelli (Long Beach Wilson HS), while Eshmade and Kagoma easily won their match, 8-1.
SINGLES
Nathan Eshmade (CERR) def. Richard Catabona (LAP), 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
Amadi Kagoma (CERR) def. Sergey Arushanyan (LAP), 6-1, 6-4
Thales Castro (LAP) def. Milos Zoric (CERR), 7-5, 6-1
Sheldon Hseih (CERR) def. Giancarlo Bertumen (LAP), 6-1, 6-0
David Arushanyan (LAP) def. Mark Herrera (CERR), 6-4, 7-5
Simon Graf (CERR) def. Corey Randall (LAP), 6-7, 6-2, 10-6
DOUBLES
Nathan Eshmade/Amadi Kagoma (CERR) def. Sergey Arushanyan/Thales Castro (LAP), 8-1
Richard Catabona/Giancarlo Bertumen (LAP) def. Milos Zoric/Mark Herrera (CERR), 8-6
Edgar Munoz/Nicholas Simonelli (CERR) def. David Arushanyan/Corey Randall (LAP), 8-5