After the morning round of the CCCAA Men's Tennis State Championships, all six of the Cerritos College singles players posted victories. However, in the Round of 16, all six were defeated, leaving only doubles still to compete. Three doubles pairs moved on to the second day, but of those, only the Falcons top team won both of their matches to advance to the quarterfinals.
The team's top doubles team, sophomores Sasha Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) and Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine) who reached the state championship match last season, won both of their matches to advance to the quarterfinals. The #1-seeded duo posted a 6-2, 6-2 in over unseeded Austin Reynolds and Gabe de Jesus of Grossmont College before defeating #11-seeded Cruz Thayne and Bill Whitaker of Ventura College, 7-6 (6), 7-5. On Saturday, they will take on #16-seeded Gertjan De Wilder and Nicholas Turner of Cypress at 2:30 p.m. at the Ojai Athletic Club.
A semifinalist in singles last year, #1-seeded Krasnov eliminated Johnny Barcohana of Los Angeles Pierce College, 6-0, 6-3 before an upset loss ended his singles season in the Round of 16. Facing #11-seeded Chris Politiek of Irvine Valley College, Krasnov was defeated in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6. As for Katsnelson, who was seeded #4, he posted a 6-3, 6-0 win over #14-seeded Eric De Romas of American River College in his first match of the day. In the Round of 16, Katsnelson was eliminated by defending singles state champion, Javi Velasco of Irvine Valley College, 3-6, 4-6.
The second of three doubles teams that advanced to the second day, #6-seeded sophomores Aleks Trifunovic (Katrinelund Gymnasiet, Sweden) and James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) swept past unseeded Fabian Cardenas and Chan Ul of Bakersfield College, 6-0, 6-0. That pitted them against #1-seeded Cody Doung and Tam Duong of American River College, where they were defeated, 5-7, 3-6. Singles play came to and end of the duo in the Round of 16 when Trifunovic lost, 0-6, 0-6 to #2-seeded Max Blancaneaux of Cypress College after he opened with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over unseeded Riku Goto of Saddleback College. Zhang was defeated in by #6-seeded Vincent Reynaud of Cypress College, 4-6, 4-6.
Also in doubles play in the Round of 32, freshmen unseeded Kwang-Eun Lee (Sunny Hills HS) and Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes, Brazil) were defeated by #8-seeded Jeff Gellman and Goto, 3-6, 3-6. The Falcons other two singles players were also defeated, with unseeded freshman Bruno Duarte (Centro Educacional Rogêdo, Brazil) advancing to the Round of 16 after upsetting #10-seeded Chris Pope of Glendale College, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. His run to the championships came to an end with a 1-6, 3-6 loss to #3-seeded Wyatt DeMulling of Irvine Valley College. Unseeded freshman Carlos Mendez (Instituto de Educación Secundaria Ies El Palo, Spain) extended #14-seeded Whitaker to a third set in the Round of 32 before falling, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.
April 30, 2017
M. Tennis: Doubles team falls in championship match
April 29, 2017
M. Tennis: Krasnov and Katsnelson advance to semifinals
April 28, 2017
M. Tennis: Doubles still alive; singles are eliminated
April 27, 2017
M. Tennis: All players post wins on first day
April 18, 2017
M. Tennis: #2 Falcons upset by Cypress in playoffs
April 11, 2017
M. Tennis: Playoff win advances Falcons
April 7, 2017
M. Tennis: Conference awards go to the Falcons
March 31, 2017
M. Tennis: Pair of wins concludes regular season
March 30, 2017
M. Tennis: Rare doubleheader nets pair of wins
March 28, 2017
M. Tennis: Falcons beat depleted Mt. SAC
March 24, 2017
M. Tennis: Falcons hold off Cypress for win
March 23, 2017
M. Tennis: Cerritos wins 11th straight match
March 18, 2017
M. Tennis: Cerritos dominates North/South Tournament
March 16, 2017
M. Tennis: Team stays undefeated in conference with win
March 14, 2017
M. Tennis: Fifth win of the season over NCAA DIII school
March 11, 2017
M. Tennis: Third win in as many days for the Falcons
March 10, 2017
M. Tennis: Road match nets 8-0 win over Ventura
March 9, 2017
M. Tennis: Week off still results in 8-1 win
March 2, 2017
M. Tennis: Team earns win over El Camino
February 28, 2017
M. Tennis: Falcons open conference with win
February 25, 2017
M. Tennis: Top two teams in the state battle to the end
February 24, 2017
M. Tennis: Win sets up showdown with Irvine Valley
February 23, 2017
M. Tennis: Win over Glendale moves team to 8-0
February 21, 2017
M. Tennis: Cerritos earns another sweeping victory
February 14, 2017
M. Tennis: Falcons sweep past Riverside to stay undefeated
February 11, 2017
M. Tennis: Win improves Falcons record to 5-0
February 9, 2017
M. Tennis: Shutout of Saddleback gives team fourth win
February 2, 2017
M. Tennis: Team beats second NCAA DIII school of the season
January 31, 2017
M. Tennis: Cerritos sweeps past LA Pierce
January 28, 2017
M. Tennis: Falcons open season with 8-1 win