Playing with their full compliment of players, the Cerritos College men's tennis team swept past host Riverside City College, 9-0 on Tuesday. The Falcons (2-0), who opened the season ranked #4 in Southern California, swept five of the six singles matches against the #7-ranked Tigers. Cerritos will now host #1-ranked Irvine Valley College at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Competing in his first match of the season, freshman Oleksandr Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) assumed the top spot on the singles ladder and fought back for a three-set victory over Samuel Paque. He was defeated 4-6 in the first set, but rebounded to post a 6-0 score in the second set. The tiebreaker came down to Krasnov outlasting Paque and posted a 10-6 win. He teamed with freshman Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine) for a convincing 8-2 doubles win in the #1 position.
In four of the other five singles matches, the Falcons handled the Tigers. In the #5 spot, freshman James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) fell behind 2-5 in both sets against Antoine Voisin, but fought back for a 7-5, 7-6 victory. Sophomore Edgar Munoz (Paramount HS) had a tough first set in the #6 position before coming away with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
In doubles action, Zhang and freshman Aleks Trifunovic (Katrinelunds Gymnasium, Sweden) recorded an 8-3 win, while Trifunovic earned a 6-3, 6-2 win in doubles play. Sophomores Agustin Lombardi (E.S.D.S., Argentina) and Mark Antoniuk (W. 124 School, Russia) finished off the day with an 8-2 doubles win. Lombardi also earned a 6-0, 6-0 sibles win.
SINGLES
Oleksandr Krasnov (CERR) def. Samuel Paque (RCC), 4-6, 6-0, 10-6
Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Tom Aksoyek (RCC), 6-3, 6-0
Agustin Lombardi (CERR) def. Trent Harris (RCC), 6-0, 6-0
Aleks Trifunovic (CERR) def. Stanislas Bedrune (RCC), 6-3, 6-2
James Zhang (CERR) def. Antoine Voisin (RCC), 7-5, 7-6
Edgar Munoz (CERR) def. Matthieu Tabanon (RCC), 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES
Oleksandr Krasnov/Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Stanislas Bedrune/Samuel Paque (RCC), 8-2
Aleks Trifunovic/James Zhang (CERR) def. Trent Harris/Antoine Voison (RCC), 8-3
Agustin Lombardi/Mark Antoniuk (CERR) def. Tom Aksoyek/Victor Iove (RCC), 8-2