Cerritos College freshman men's tennis player Nathan Eshmade (Kings Baptist, Australia HS) has had a very memorable first season so far. On Friday, he completed a sweep of the South Coast Conference Tournament championships by winning the singles title and teaming with freshman Mathew Espiritu (Long Beach Millikan HS) for the doubles championship. Heading into the Southern California Regional Tournament at the Oxnard Tennis Center, the Falcons will be represented by five singles players and three doubles teams.

For Eshmade, who improved to 21-1 in singles play on the year, he defeated sophomore teammate Todd Jenkins (Cabrillo HS), 6-4, 6-3 for the championship. The only loss for Eshmade in singles has been a 6-2, 6-2 setback to fellow Aussie Josh Banks of College of the Desert. For the regional tournament, Banks is the top-seeded player, while Eshmade is seeded #2.

In doubles play, Eshmade and Espiritu finished off Jenkins and freshman Maurice Grijalva (Gardena HS) by a 6-4, 6-3 score for the championship. The all-Cerritos finals completed a conference sweep, as the Falcons also won the conference championship as a team.

Joining Eshmade in the regional tournament seeding are Jenkins (#19), Grijalva (#31) and Espiritu (#33) in singles play, while Eshmade and Espiritu are seeded #7 in doubles. Jenkins and Grijalva are seeded #15 for the tournament.

Photos courtesy of Alvin Kim
(Inside) - (L-R) Nathan Eshmade and Mat Espiritu captured the SCC Tournament doubles championship