In their Southern California Team Playoff quarterfinal match against visiting San Diego City College on Tuesday, the Cerritos College men's tennis team posted a 5-0 win. The Falcons (25-2), seeded #1 for the playoffs, will now host #4-seeded College of the Desert (15-2) at 2:00 p.m. next Tuesday in the semifinals.
Cerritos took a quick 3-0 team lead after they swept doubles play. The top pairing of freshmen Kent Hunter (Home Schooled) and Victor Castro (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) posted an 8-1 win, while freshman Alex Prokopchuk (School 45, Ukraine) teamed with sophomore Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Colégio Tiradentes of PMMG, Brazil) for an 8-3 victory. The third win came when sophomore Kwangeun Lee (Sunny Hills HS) and freshman Dario Rico-Altozano (Colegio Cumbre, Spain) collected an 8-2 victory.
Needing only five team points to clinch the victory in post-season play. Hunter (6-1, 6-0) and Rico-Altozano (6-0, 6-2) sealed the win with straight set wins in singles. In each of the other four singles matches, Cerritos was already one set up and on their way to six straight set wins.
SINGLES
Kent Hunter (CERR) def. Manuel Cardona (SDCC), 6-1, 6-0
Victor Castro (CERR) led Shawn Tran (SDCC), 6-1, 3-2
Biel Roca Carreras (CERR) led Rafa Maniego (SDCC), 6-0, 4-1
Dario Rico-Altozano (CERR) def. Shane Griffin (SDCC), 6-0, 6-2
Kwangeun Lee (CERR) led Jose Ruiz (SDCC), 6-0, 5-0
Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) led Jonathan Verasquez (SDCC), 6-1, 3-0
DOUBLES
Kent Hunter/Victor Castro (CERR) def. Manuel Cardona/Jose Ruiz (SDCC), 8-1
Alex Prokopchuk/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (CERR) def. Shawn Tran/Rafa Maniego (SDCC), 8-3
Kwangeun Lee/Dario Rico-Altozano (CERR) def. Shane Griffin/Derek Corington (SDCC), 8-2
MEN'S TENNIS QUARTERFINAL SCORES
#1 Cerritos def. #8 San Diego City, 5-0
#4 College of the Desert def. #5 Irvine Valley, 5-2
#2 Ventura def. #6 Saddleback, 5-0
#3 Riverside City def. #7 Grossmont, 5-0
Photos by Daryl Peterson
