Playing their second NCAA DIII school this week, the Cerritos College men's tennis team suffered a 7-2 loss at the hands of #8 ranked Amherst (MA) College on Thursday. The Falcons (15-3), playing their third match this week, will continue this weekend with three more matches in two days at the North/South Tournament in Fresno. They play Foothill College tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 9:00 a.m. match on Saturday against the host Rams and conclude with a 2:00 p.m. match against American River College. In their four matches against NCAA DIII schools this season, Cerritos posted a 2-2 record.
After the schools played three tight doubles matches, with the Lord Jeffs (6-0) winning two of them by 8-6 scores, the Falcons looked to pull off the upset by winning the first set in four of the six singles matches. However, Amherst won the next two sets in three of those matches to post the win.
Sophomore Agustin Lombardi (E.S.D.S., Argentina) was the lone winner in singles play, recording a 6-4, 6-4 win in the #3 position. At the top of the ladder, freshman Oleksandr Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) won the first set, 6-3 against Jesse Levitin, but dropped the next two sets, 2-6, 2-6. It was a similar situation at the bottom of the ladder, as freshman James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) and sophomore Mark Antoniuk (W. 124 School, Russia) each won their first set, 6-2. Zhang (4-6, 8-10) and Antoniuk (2-6, 3-6) were unable to secure the victory in the #5 and #6 positions, respectively.
Picking up the only doubles win were Krasnov and freshman Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine), who earned an 8-6 victory.
SINGLES
Jesse Levitin (AMH) def. Oleksandr Krasnov (CERR), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Ben Birkenfeld (AMH) def. Nikita Katsnelson (CERR), 6-4, 6-1
Agustin Lombardi (CERR) def. Andrew Arnaboldi (AMH), 6-4, 6-4
Jon Heidenberg (AMH) def. Aleks Trifunovic (CERR), 6-3, 6-2
Sam Silver (AMH). def. James Zhang (CERR), 2-6, 6-4, 10-8
Carlos de Bracamonte (AMH) def. Mark Antoniuk (CERR), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
DOUBLES
Oleksandr Krasnov/Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Jesse Levitin/Ben Birkenfeld (AMH), 8-6
Andrew Arnaboldi/Jon Heidenber (AMH) def. Aleks Trifunovic/James Zhang (CERR), 8-6
Sam Silver/Cameron Raglin (AMH) def. Agustin Lombardi/Mark Antoniuk (CERR), 8-6