For the fourth time this season, the Cerritos College men's tennis team turned in a dominant performance. The Falcons earned a 9-0 non-conference win at Saddleback College on Thursday afternoon and have only surrendered one team point all season. The team will now host NCAA Division III Whittier College at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
After sweeping doubles without their top duo, the Falcons continued their dominance in singles by recording straight set wins in each position. At the top of the singles ladder, sophomores Sasha Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) and Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine) combined to surrender just three total games, while freshman Bruno Duarte (Centro Educacional Rogêdo, Brazil) earned a 6-2, 6-2 win in the #3 spot.
Sophomore Aleks Trifunovic (Katrinelunds Gymnasium, Sweden) was extended in his first set against Andrew Tran, but came away with a 7-5, 6-2 win, while sophomore James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) quickly dispatched Mike Park, 6-1, 6-1. In the #6 spot, sophomore Henry Ayesiga (Malezi School, Kenya) earned a 6-0, 6-3 win.
Trifunovic and Zhang played in the #1 doubles position and pulled out a close 9-8 (8-6) win, with Duarte teaming with freshman Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes, Brazil) for an 8-2 win. Also picking up a win by the same score were freshmen Mukhammadjon Sanaev (Tashkent International School, Uzbekistan) and Kwang-Eun Lee (Sunny Hills HS).
SINGLES
Sasha Krasnov (CERR) def. Jeff Gelman (SADD), 6-1, 6-1
Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Riko Goto (SADD), 6-0, 6-1
Bruno Duarte (CERR) def. Kris Harris (SADD), 6-2, 6-2
Aleks Trifunovic (CERR) def. Andrew Tran (SADD), 7-5, 6-2
James Zhang (CERR) def. Mike Park (SADD), 6-1, 6-1
Henry Ayesiga (CERR) def. Tyler Bloom (SADD), 6-0 6-3
DOUBLES
Aleks Trifunovic/James Zhang (CERR) def. Jeff Gelman/Riko Goto (SADD), 9-8 (8-6)
Bruno Duarte/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Mike Park/Ryan Fabre (SADD), 8-2
Mukhammadjon Sanaev/Kwang-Eun Lee (CERR) def. Tyler Bloom/David Gustafson (SADD), 8-2