For Cerritos College men's tennis player Nathan Eshmade (Kings Baptist, Australia HS), his rise through the Southern California Tournament ended with a straight set loss in the semi-finals at the Oxnard Tennis Club on Saturday. Eshmade, who advanced to the semi-finals with a straight set win over College of the Desert's Justin Seller, was defeated by #1-seeded Sam Bertram of Fresno City College to end his shot at the championship.

Eshmade, who finishes his season with a 25-2 singles record, quickly dispatched Seller, 6-4, 6-1, which sent him into the semi-finals against Bertram, a player he hadn't faced this season. Bertram had just helped guide his Rams to the team championship several days earlier. For Eshmade, he had his hands full and dropped the first set, 6-2. In the second set, he gave Bertram a run for his money, but came up shy and lost, the second set, 6-4.

Photo by Daryl Peterson