Looking to match their accomplishments from the 2016 season, the Cerritos College women's tennis team defeated Irvine Valley College, 6-0 on Tuesday in the Southern California Regional Team Semifinals. Two seasons ago, the Falcons won the CCCAA Team State Championship. Cerritos (23-1), ranked #1 in the state and seeded #1 for the SoCal Team Playoffs, will host the regional championship game on Saturday against Glendale College, who upset #2-seeded Orange Coast College, 5-4. Earlier in the season, Cerritos defeated the Vaqueros, 9-0.

After posting three wins in doubles play, Cerritos needed only two wins in singles play to secure the victory. They got that in the middle of the ladder, as freshmen Kseniia Prokopchuk (School 45, Ukraine) and Moa Lindstrom (Dragonskolans Elitidrottgymnasium, Sweden) combined to surrender just one game in their straight set victories. The Falcons were winning three of the other four singles matches at the time the team victory was secured.

Prokopchuk teamed with sophomore Lisa Suzuki (Fujimigaoka, Japan/Seward County (KS) CC) for an 8-1 doubles win in the #1 position, while Lindstrom paired with sophomore Petra Such (Illyes Gyula, Hungary) for an 8-4 win. It was the same score for sophomores Itzi Torres (ITESM CEM, Mexico/Kansas Wesleyan University) and Diviana Bravo (Rosa de Jesus Cordero, Ecuador) in the third doubles match.

DOUBLES
Lisa Suzuki/Kseniia Prokopchuk (CERR) def. Halla Alajeely/Fiorella Dreux (IVC), 8-1
Petra Such/Moa Lindstrom (CERR) def. Abigail Perez/Ariana Hedayati (IVC), 8-4
Itzi Torres/Diviana Bravo (CERR) def. Anna Kretchetova/Lauren McDonnell (IVC), 8-4 

SINGLES
Halla Alajeely (IVC) led Lisa Suzuki (CERR), 4-3
Petra Such (CERR) led Fiorella Dreux (IVC), 6-0, 5-0
Kseniia Prokopchuk (CERR) def. Ariana Hedayati (IVC), 6-0, 6-0
Moa Lindstrom (CERR) def. Anna Kretchetova (IVC), 6-1, 6-0
Itzi Torres (CERR) led Abigail Perez (IVC), 6-2
Diviana Bravo (CERR) led Lauren McDonnell (IVC), 6-1, 1-0

Photos by Daryl Peterson