For the first time since 1983, the Cerritos College women's tennis team will be playing for the CCCAA Team State Championship. On Saturday, the #1-seeded Falcons (24-1), who won the state title in 1983, defeated South Coast Conference opponent College of the Desert, 5-3 to earn a trip to the championship match on Ojai on Wednesday and will face De Anza College, who defeated Canada College, 5-4 to win the Northern California championship. 

Cerritos took a 2-1 team lead after opening with doubles and then was able to pick up three more singles wins to secure the victory. There were a couple of deciding factors in the team's win, with the first being the 8-6 doubles win by freshman Tiffany Sanchez (Long Beach Wilson HS) and Valentina Polonyi (Altisa, Hungary). They opened up an early lead and then had to hold off the Roadrunners and their late comeback.

Clinching the team win was freshman Danielle Pastor (Bishop Montgomery HS) in the #6 singles match. She opened the day with a convincing 8-1 doubles win with partner Jovana Milosevic (High School of Business and Law, Serbia/Hillsborough, FL CC) and followed with a 6-4, 7-5 win. After winning the first set, Pastor trailed 5-4 in the second set and was on the verge of being forced to a third set. She tied the match up by holding serve and then broke Miyako Kinoshita to pull ahead, 6-5. Serving for the win, Pastor finished off Kinoshita with a hard serve that was unreturnable.

Also picking up singles wins in the day were Milosevic (6-0, 6-1), as well as sophomore Anastasia Khomyachenko (Sochi, Russia) with a 6-1, 6-0 victory in the #2 singles match.

SINGLES

Linda Guerzize (COD) def. Taylor Heath (CERR), 6-4, 6-4
Anastasia Khomyachenko (CERR) def. Yu Yamada (COD), 6-1, 6-0
Lauren Joy (COD) def. Tiffany Sanchez (CERR), 6-3, 6-4
Valentina Polonyi (CERR) vs. Diana Cole (COD), 6-7 (3-7), 3-1 (unfinished)
Jovana Milosevic (CERR) def. Karen Rodas (COD), 6-0, 6-1
Danielle Pastor (CERR) def. Miyako Kinoshita (COD), 6-4, 7-5

DOUBLES

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

Photos by Daryl Peterson