For the fourth season in a row, the Cerritos College men's tennis team reached the 20-win plateau. The Falcons (20-2, 7-0) hit the mark with their 8-1 Western State Conference East Division win over host El Camino College on Wednesday. The team will now host American River College, the last remaining undefeated (11-0) team in the state, at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Continuing to give several players a break, the Falcons still won three of the singles matches in straight sets and earned victories in all three doubles matches. Freshmen Victor Castro (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) and Kent Hunter (Home Schooled) switched positions on the singles ladder, with Castro getting extended to a tie-breaker in the top spot. After dropping the first set, Castro went on to win, 6-3 in the second set and then 10-5 in the tie-breaker. Hunter was in the process of shutting out Riku Nonaka until his opponent retired, 6-0, 4-0.
In the middle of the lineup, sophomores Kwangeun Lee (Sunny Hills HS) and Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes of PMMG, Brazil) won in straight sets, as did freshman Nico De La Pena (Downey HS), 6-0, 6-3. In the team's #3 doubles match, De La Pena teamed with freshman Jacob Corleto (Warren HS) for an 8-4 win. Castro and Silvestre (8-1), as well as Hunter and Lee (8-2), also won handily.
SINGLES
Victor Castro (CERR) def. Connor Davis (ECC), 3-6 6-3, 10-5
Kent Hunter (CERR) def. Riku Nonaka (ECC), 6-0, 4-0, retired
Kwangeun Lee (CERR) def. Kyle Ou (ECC), 6-4, 6-2
Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Stephen Whitman (ECC), 6-1, 6-0
Nico De La Pena (CERR) def. Ricky Liu (ECC), 6-0, 6-3
Ernesto Del Rosario (ECC) def. Jacob Corleto (CERR), 6-3, retired
DOUBLES
Kent Hunter/Kwangeun Lee (CERR) def. Connor Davis/Kyle Ou (ECC), 8-2
Victor Castro/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Riku Nonaka/Stephen Whitman (ECC), 8-1
Nico De La Pena/Jacob Corleto (CERR) def. Jae Jun/Daniel Fisher (ECC), 8-4