For the third season in a row, the Cerritos College men's tennis team hit the 20-win plateau in team dual matches, as they posted a 6-3 win over NAIA school McPherson (KS) University on Thursday. The Falcons (20-1), winners of 11 matches in a row, will now travel to Cypress College for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference match on Friday. The team also improved to 12-0 at home this season and have won their last 16 matches on their home courts.
Giving most of their singles players a rest in preparation for their match against the Chargers the following day, the Falcons won four of the six matches, including all three at the bottom half of the ladder. Sophomore Henry Ayesiga (Malezi School, Kenya) contributed in the win with his tie-breaker set win in the #5 position, 6-4, 6-7, 10-2, while the duo of freshmen Kwang-Eun Lee (Sunny Hills HS) and Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes, Brazil) posted straight set wins.
The top of the ladder was assumed by freshman Bruno Duarte (Centro Educacional Rogêdo, Brazil), who came away with a tough 6-3, 7-5 win over Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez.
In doubles action, Cerritos played their top two tandems and they each earned wins. Sophomores Sasha Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) and Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine) posted an 8-5 win, with sophomore Aleks Trifunovic (Katrinelunds Gymnasium, Sweden) and James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) earning an 8-2 decision. The Falcons inserted freshmen Carlos Mendez (Instituto de Educación Secundaria Ies El Palo, Spain) and Biel Roca Carreras (Iguolada, Spain) into the #3 doubles position and they played a tough match, but came up short in an 8-5 decision.
SINGLES
Bruno Duarte (CERR) def. Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez (McPh), 6-3, 7-5
Hector Carrillo (McPh) def. Biel Roca Carreras (CERR), 6-1, 6-2
Ahmed Lahlou (McPh) def. Mukhammadjon Sanaev (CERR), 6-4, 6-7, 10-7
Kwang-Eun Lee (CERR) def. Nicholas Wahl (McPh), 6-2, 6-3
Henry Ayesiga (CERR) def. Timo Hoelzmann (McPh), 6-4, 6-7, 10-2
Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Twan Osorio (McPh), 6-2, 7-5
DOUBLES
Sasha Krasnov/Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez/Hector Carrillo (McPh), 8-5
Aleks Trifunovic/James Zhang (CERR) def. Ahmed Lahlou/Nicholas Wahl (McPh), 8-2
Timo Hoelzmann/Twan Osorio (McPh) def. Carlos Mendez/Biel Roca Carreras (CERR), 8-5
Photos by Daryl Peterson
