Gauchos win again
The Saddleback men's tennis team improved to 4-2 with a 5-4 win at El Camino College on Tuesday in Torrance. The Gauchos battled back after a slow start in winning their second straight match.
Saddleback trailed 2-1 entering singles play, with only Brandon Ho and Richard Jayasaputra winning at No. 3 doubles, 8-3. The Gauchos received wins from Ho, Oliver Svensson, Max Svensson and Riley McCall in outlasting the Warriors in a match that lasted nearly 3.5 hours.
Despite falling behind 3-1 after dropping a match at No. 2 singles, Saddleback closed the gap to 3-2 after Oliver Svensson breezed past Andre Dinh 6-0, 6-1, at No. 4 singles.
Saddleback again found themselves in a big hole after losing at No. 1 singles and needing to win the remaining three matches to win the team match. The Gauchos did just that as Brandon Ho won his second match of the day at No. 5 singles, 6-2, 6-3, and Max Svensson cruised past his opponent, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 6 singles to tie the team match at 4-4.
The team match came down to a marathon match on court three where Riley McCall was facing Daniel Hermosisima. The match ended up going 2.5 hours, with McCall outlasting Hermosisima 7-6, 4-6, 9-5.
The win gives Saddleback a 4-2 overall record, with Orange Empire Conference play starting up this Thursday. The Gauchos will face Irvine Valley College in Irvine on Thursday at 2:00 PM to start OEC play.
DOUBLES:
D1: Jordan Alexander & Ignas Kirkila (ECC) def. Lucas Fortt & Oliver Svensson (SC) 8-1
D2: Daniel Hermosisima & Andre Dinh (ECC) def. Riley McCall & Max Svensson (SC) 8-2
D3: Brandon Ho & Richard Jayasaputra (SC) def. George Barinov & Jay Utech (ECC) 8-3
SINGLES:
S1: Jordan Alexander (ECC) def. Lucas Fortt (SC) 6-3, 6-1
S2: Ignas Kirkila (ECC) def. Richard Jayasaputra (SC) 6-0, 6-0
S3: Riley McCall (SC) def. Daniel Hermosisima (ECC) 7-6(10), 4-6, 9-5
S4: Oliver Svensson (SC) def. Andre Dinh (ECC) 6-0, 6-1
S5: Brandon Ho (SC) def. Eric Rothenberger (ECC) 6-2, 6-3
S6: Max Svensson (SC) def. Nolan Kawabata (ECC) 6-0, 6-3