Facing the top-ranked team in Southern California, the Cerritos College men's tennis team was short on experience in their 8-1 loss at home on Thursday. The Falcons (2-1) had only two players with extended experience in the lineup, while the Lasers boasted five players who have competed in late-season tournaments at the collegiate level.

Despite the loss, Cerritos was poised to knock off Irvine Valley, but dropped three close singles matches and one in doubles action. The Falcons come right back on Friday at 2:00 p.m., as they host Palomar College in a non-conference match.

Earning the team's lone win on the day was freshman Nikita Katsnelson (Odessa Gymnasium No. 1, Ukraine), who earned a 6-4, 7-6 win against Flavien Raveua in the #2 position on the singles ladder. At the top, freshman Oleksandr Krasnov (School 106, Ukraine) dropped a close, 7-5 decision in the first set, and was unable to recover in the second set, losing 6-2. Sophomore Agustin Lombardi (E.S.D.S., Argentina) breezed to a 6-1 win in the first set against Javi Velasco in the #3 position. But was unable to secure the win, losing the second set, 7-6 and then the tie-breaker, 10-3.

Freshman Aleks Trifunovic (Katrinelunds Gymnasium, Sweden) suffered a close loss in the #4 postion, as he was defeated, 5-7, 4-6. In doubles play, Trifunovic and freshman James Zhang (Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language School, China) came up short in an 8-6 score.

SINGLES

Sam Cohen (IVC) def. Oleksandr Krasnov (CERR), 7-5, 6-2
Nikita Katsnelson (CERR) def. Flavien Raveua (IVC), 6-4, 7-6
Javi Velsaco (IVC) def. Agustin Lombardi (CERR), 1-6, 7-6, 10-3
Juan Puyana (IVC) def. Aleks Trifunovic (CERR), 7-5, 6-4
Octave Bellet (IVC) def. James Zhang (CERR), 6-2, 6-4
Scott Paz (IVC) def. Edgar Munoz (CERR), 6-2, 6-0

DOUBLES

Sam Cohen/Javi Velasco (IVC) def. Nikita Katsnelson/Oleksandr Krasnov (CERR), 8-3
Scott Paz/Flavien Raveua (IVC) def. James Zhang/Aleks Trifunovic (CERR), 8-6
Bruno Figlia/Juan Puyana (IVC) def. Mark Antoniuk/Agustin Lomabardi (CERR), 8-3

Photo by Elizabeth Aceves