The Pirates' men's tennis team had its playoff run come to a halt Saturday afternoon as the No. 2-seeded Pirates were swept by No. 1 Cerritos, 5-0. Although the Pirates won more games against the Falcons than they did in their March 9 meeting, Cerritos proved once again to be too much for the Ventura (14-2) one step shy of the state championship match.
In doubles play, the matches were close. At the No. 3 slot, Solal Cherqui and Rafael Dunan trailed 6-3 before coming back to close to within 7-6 before falling. VC's No. 2 doubles pair of Alexander Martin and Jakob Rinschen trailed by a slim 3-2 margin before dropping five of the final seven games. Priyank Soni and Adrien Etiemble were defeated in No. 1 doubles, 8-3.
In singles, the Falcons won at No. 5 before claiming the match with a victory at No. 3. Ventura was trailing in the four remaining singles matches, as well.
The Pirates now look forward to the CCCAA State Singles and Doubles Championships at The Ojai Tournament. Play begins on Thursday April 26 at sites around the Ventura/Oxnard/Ojai area before concluding on Sunday April 29.
Ventura 0, Cerritos 5
Doubles
1. Soni/Etiemble (VC) lost to Hunter/Castro (Cerr), 8-3
2. Alexander Martin/Jakob Rinschen (VC) lost to Prokopchuk/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Cerr), 8-4
3. Cherqui/Dunan (VC) lost to Rico-Altozano/Lee (Cerr), 8-6
Singles
1. Solal Cherqui (VC) trailed Kent Hunter (Cerr), 6-4, 3-0, DNF
2. Priyank Soni (VC) trailed Victor Castro (Cerr), 6-3, 5-2, DNF
3. Adrien Etiemble (VC) lost to Alex Prokopchuk (Cerr), 6-3, 7-5
4. Augustin Lestelle (VC) trailed Biel Roca Carreras (Cerr), 6-3, 4-3, DNF
5. Rafael Dunan (VC) lost to Dario Rico-Altozano (Cerr), 6-0, 6-1
6. Rodrigo Perdigao (VC) trailed Kwangeun Lee (Cerr), 6-2, 5-4, DNF