In their second match in as many days, the Cerritos College men's tennis team racked up another victory, as they defeated NCAA Division III Whittier College, 8-1 on the road Friday. The Falcons (3-0) will continue their busy week, as they travel to Irvine Saturday morning to take on NCAA Division II Concordia University. The win over the Poets was a homecoming for first-year coach Quinn Caldaron, who served as the head coach at Whittier College the last two seasons.
After three close doubles matches, with Cerritos escaping with a pair of 8-6 decisions, the team fought back from a pair of one-set deficits in singles play to come away with wins. In the #2 singles spot on the ladder, freshman Victor Castro (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) came back against former Falcon Agustin Lombardi to record a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8) win to cap off the day. Also suffering from a first set loss, sophomore Biel Roca Carreras (Iguolada, Spain) rebounded after losing the first set, 4-6 against Derek Okuhama in the #5 position and fought back to win the next two sets, 6-1, 6-0.
Not threatened in his match, freshman Kent Hunter (Home Schooled) earned a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory in the top spot on the ladder, while freshman Dario Rico-Altozano (Colegio Cumbre, Spain) earned a solid 6-2, 6-2 decision at #4. Avoiding a third set in the #3 match was freshman Alex Prokopchuk (School 45, Ukraine), who defeated Elmer Van Butselaar, 6-2, 7-5.
In doubles action, Hunter and Castro, as well as Rico-Altozano and sophomore Kwangeun Lee (Sunny Hills HS) earned 8-6 wins, with Prokopchuk and sophomore Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes of PMMG, Brazil) outlasting Lombardi and Hunter Kettering, 8-4.
SINGLES
Kent Hunter (CERR) def. Thomas Koszowski (WC), 6-1, 6-0
Victor Castro (CERR) def. Agustin Lombardi (WC), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8)
Alex Prokopchuk (CERR) def. Elmer Van Butselaar (WC), 6-2, 7-5
Dario Rico-Altozano (CERR) def. Hunter Kettering (WC), 6-2, 6-2
Biel Roca Carreras (CERR) def. Derek Okuhama (WC), 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
Tony Khao (WC) def. Kwangeun Lee (CERR), 7-6, 6-2
DOUBLES
Kent Hunter/Victor Castro (CERR) def. Thomas Koszowski/Elmer Van Butselaar (WC), 8-6
Alex Prokopchuk/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Agustin Lombardi/Hunter Kettering (WC), 8-4
Dario Rico-Altozano/Kwangeun Lee (CERR) def. Max Koszowski/Chris Palacio (WC), 8-6