With their convincing 9-0 South Coast Conference win over visiting College of the Desert on Thursday afternoon, the Cerritos College women's tennis team could be ranked #1 in Southern California when the next poll is released. The Falcons (12-1, 6-0), who were ranked #2 in the pre-season poll, won their fifth match in a row and secured sole possession of first place in the conference with their win over the Roadrunners. The next ITA ranking is scheduled to be released in two weeks.

In four of the five singles matches, Cerritos earned strong straight set sweeps, while the #1 single match went to a tie-breaker. In that match, sophomore Taylor Heath (Cerritos HS) dropped the first set, 3-6 against Linda Guerzize, but fought back in the second set to post a 7-6 (6-4). In the tie-breaker, Heath came away with a 10-8 victory.

The other singles matches were convincing wins against a Desert team that opened the season ranked #9 in Southern California. In the #2 spot, sophomore Anastasia Khomyachenko (Sochi, Russia) earned a 6-2, 6-2 win, with freshman Tiffany Sanchez (Long Beach Wilson HS) posting a 6-1, 6-3 win in the #3 spot.

The bottom half of the ladder was a trio of straight set wins, with freshman Valentina Polonyi (Altisa, Hungary) recording a 6-3, 6-2 win, while sophomore Jovana Milosevic (High School of Business and Law, Serbia/Hillsborough, FL CC) posted a strong 6-2, 6-1 win at #5. Freshman Danielle Pastor (Bishop Montgomery HS) remained undefeated with her 6-3, 6-4 win.

Doubles action saw closer matches played in all three positions, with Heath and Khomyachenko, along with Sanchez and Polonyi earning 8-5 wins. As for Milosevic and Pastor, they came away with an 8-4 victory.

SINGLES

Taylor Heath (CERR) def. Linda Guerzize (COD), 3-6, 7-6 (6-4), 10-8
Anastasia Khomyachenko (CERR) def. Yu Yamada (COD), 6-2, 6-2
Tiffany Sanchez (CERR) def. Lauren Joy (COD), 6-1, 6-3
Valentina Polonyi (CERR) def. Diana Cole (COD), 6-3, 6-2
Jovana Milosevic (CERR) def. Karen Rodas (COD), 6-2, 6-1
Danielle Pastor (CERR) def. Miyako Kinoshita (COD), 6-3, 6-4

DOUBLES

Taylor Heath/Anastasia Khomyachenko (CERR) def. Linda Guerzize/Yu Yamada (COD), 8-5
Tiffany Sanchez/Valentina Polonyi (CERR) def. Lauren Joy/Diana Cole (COD), 8-5
Jovana Milosevic/Danielle Pastor (CERR) def. Karen Rodas/Miyako Kinoshita (COD), 8-4

Photos by Daryl Peterson