Tennis Dual Team State Championships To Be Played Today
The 2015 CCCAA Men's and Women's Dual Team State Championships are being held Wednesday afternoon. For the women, the No.3 North seed Modesto Junior College (16-0) takes on No.1S Mt. San Antonio College (23-1), 12pm at Ventura College. For the men, the top seed in the North, Foothill College (20-0), will face the top seed in the South, Irvine Valley College (17-1) for the State title at 1pm today at Pierpont Racquet Club.
Round 3 Results [Men][Women]
Round 2 Results [Men][Women]
Round 1 Results [Men][Women]
By Dave Loveton, SBCC Sports Information
Irvine Valley seeks redemption vs. powerhouse Foothill
Irvine Valley will be making its second straight appearance in the CCCAA Men's Tennis Dual Team final while Foothill is trying to complete a perfect season. The top seeds from the South and North will square off for the championship on Wednesday at the Pierpont Racquet Club in Ventura, starting at 1 p.m.
Irvine Valley (17-1) downed No. 2 College of the Desert 5-0 in the Southern Cal Regional final. The Lasers beat the Roadrunners in the final for the second straight year. A year ago, Irvine advanced to the State final in its first-ever playoff appearance before falling to Fresno City, which won its third straight title with a 5-2 decision.
Third-year coach Ross Duncan missed last year's State final because he was playing for the United States in the ITA Senior World Team Championship. The former UC Santa Barbara standout will be at Pierpont to coach the Lasers this year.
"We have more well-rounded doubles play," said Duncan on the IVC athletic website. "We have three really strong doubles teams. Another key is our depth. Our depth is just incredible. We have so many guys that can step up."
Sophomores Guillermo Ucelay and Simon Guillin are the only returners from last year's IVC squad. They posted the first win in doubles over Desert 8-1 and Guillin got the fourth point with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles.
Irvine Valley won the Orange Empire League, going 10-0 for the second straight year. The Lasers are 134-17 in individual matches this season. IVC has won seven straight since suffering its only loss to Concordia, a four-year NAIA school.
Foothill, located in Los Altos Hills, is a 10-time State champion in men's tennis with the most recent titles coming in 1994 and 1997.
The Owls blanked No. 2 American River 5-0 in the Northern Cal final on April 18. Foothill is the only unbeaten team in the state.
Dixie Macias is in his 13th year as head coach and he guided the Owls to an 8-0 record in the Coast Conference. All eight wins were by 9-0 scores. Foothill has a 148-19 won-loss record in individual matches.
The Owls are led by Rihards Feldmanis, Brenden Lum and Felipe Resende. Braden Holt and Daniel Kim secured the Northern Cal title with straight-set wins at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively.
Mt. SAC, Modesto seeking first state title
On Wednesday afternoon, Mt. San Antonio or Modesto will be celebrating something they've never experienced – a CCCAA Women's Tennis Dual Team title. The Mounties (23-1) and Pirates (16-0) will square off for the championship on Wednesday at Ventura College with the first serve at noon.
Mt. SAC, the No. 1 seed from the South, has won 62 state titles but this is the first trip to a women's team tennis final. The Mounties topped No. 2 Glendale 5-2 in the Southern Cal Regional final. Coach Sophie Salvador's team swept the three doubles sets and were up 3-2 before Judy Ung and Pyper Brown recorded straight-set wins at No. 4 and 2 singles to secure the win.
The Mounties claimed the South Coast Conference title with a perfect 12-0 record. They've posted 13 shutouts and have a 177-28 record in individual matches. Mt. SAC has won five in a row since suffering its only loss to a talented New Mexico Military Institute squad.
Modesto, the No. 3 seed in the North, beat No. 6 Santa Rosa, No. 2 Foothill and 3-time defending state champ No. 4 Fresno City to win the Northern Cal Regional. After sweeping the doubles vs. Fresno, the Pirates needed two singles wins to move into the state final for the first time since 1988.
Parker Pilati, a member of the Pirates' Nor Cal-champion golf team last fall, downed Macy Elliott 6-4, 6-4 in No. 3 singles for the winning point.
Modesto has only dropped one doubles set all season. In the Fresno match, Rebekah Johnson/Kristi Van Diver rallied from a 7-2 deficit to win the No. 3 doubles 9-7.
Coach Milan Motroni guided the Rams to a perfect 8-0 record in the Big 8 South Division. Modesto is 122-15 in individual matches this year.