Playing their second match in as many days, the Cerritos College men's tennis team posted an 8-0 non-conference win at Ventura College on Friday. The Falcons (12-1), ranked #2 in the state, will remain on the road and play a 2:00 p.m. match at Santa Barbara City College on Saturday.
Flipping their second and third doubles tandems, Cerritos got off to a great start by winning all three doubles matches. They carried that into singles, where four of the five completed matches were straight set wins. The sixth singles match was halted due to darkness with freshman Carlos Mendez (Instituto de Educación Secundaria Ies El Palo, Spain) holding a 7-6, 2-1 advantage.
At the top of the singles ladder, sophomores Sasha Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) and Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine) earned strong wins against the Pirates (8-2). The two also teamed up for an 8-4 doubles win for the Falcons. Sophomore Aleks Trifunovic (Katrinelunds Gymnasium, Sweden) played the only three-set singles match, but outlasted Manu Rowe, 6-2, 6-7, 10-6 to maintain the shutout win.
Freshman Bruno Duarte (Centro Educacional Rogêdo, Brazil) avoided a tie-breaker when he posted a 6-3, 7-6 (10-6) win in the #4 position and teamed with freshman Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes, Brazil) for an 8-6 doubles win. Sophomore James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) defeated Rdorigo Perdiago, 6-1, 6-4 in the #5 singles match and teamed with Trifunovic for an 8-4 doubles win.
SINGLES
Sasha Krasnov (CERR) def. Bill Whitaker (VC), 6-2, 6-3
Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Agustin Lestelle (VC), 6-4, 6-1
Aleks Trifunovic (CERR) def. Manu Rowe (VC), 6-2, 6-7, 10-6
Bruno Duarte (CERR) def. Cruz Thayne (VC), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
James Zhang (CERR) def. Rodrigo Perdigao (VC), 6-1, 6-4
Carlos Mendez (CERR) led Damon Mitchell (VC), 7-6, 2-1 (darkness)
DOUBLES
Sasha Krasnov/Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Bill Whitaker/Cruz Thayne (VC), 8-4
Bruno Duarte/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Agustin Lestelle/Damon Mitchell (VC), 8-6
Aleks Trifunovic/James Zhang (CERR) def. Manu Rowe/Rdorigo Perdiago (VC), 8-4
