Pirates remain unbeaten with 5-2 win over L.A. Mission
COSTA MESA -- The magical 2023 season continues for the Orange Coast College women's tennis team as the Pirates knocked off L.A. Mission College, 5-2, in the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs on Tuesday at the OCC Tennis Complex.
With the win, the top-seeded Pirates (20-0) advance to the State Semifinals, where they will host College of the Desert (16-1) on Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m. for a spot at the CCCAA State Championship, which will be held on April 26 at Ventura College.
The Pirates kicked things off with doubles play and there, the visiting Eagles (12-4) looked to gain control of things early, winning one match and carrying a comfortable 6-2 lead in another match.
But in that No. 3 doubles contest, the OCC duo of Leanne Pascual and Camila Nelson regrouped and ripped off six games in a row to pull out an 8-6 win, putting the Pirates up 2-1 heading into singles play.
"The other team didn't have a bunch of weapons, but we began the match with some self-inflicted mistakes," OCC head coach Chris Ketcham said. "And, we had games were we were up 40-15 or 15-40 and couldn't finish. So, our girls did a great job of settling down and eliminating those mistakes and finishing when they had the opportunity."
In the race to five wins, Coast used its depth down the lineup to preserve the win as Sedona Smith (6-2, 6-1), Madeleine Veltri (6-1, 6-1) and Olivia Sipiora (6-0, 6-1) made quick work of their Eagle opponents, giving OCC the win and win No. 20 for the season.
In the other two matches that were stopped following the conclusion of OCC's fifth win, Nelson was even with Lia Sarjveladze (2-6, 5-3), while at No. 6 singles, it was Pascual up on Elizabeth Rodriguez, 6-3, 4-1.
