Cerritos sweeps its way to first men’s tennis state title; Falcons beat NorCal champion American River
By Robin Hester
Ventura College Athletics
VENTURA, Calif. – With the Cerritos men’s tennis team leading 4-0 and on the verge of a state title, a swarm of bees descended on the courts at the Ventura College Tennis Center, temporarily halting play. That seemed to be the only thing that was able to slow down the Falcons, the top seed from Southern California, on Wednesday afternoon.
Cerritos (28-2) rolled past NorCal No. 1 American River 5-0 to claim the program’s first CCCAA Men’s Tennis Dual Team State Championship on the first day of The Ojai Tournament. The Falcons’ Dario Rico-Altozano captured the No. 5 singles match 6-2, 6-4 to close out the victory.
Cerritos pulled away from American River (15-3) early in the doubles competition, moving ahead by a break by the fifth game in each of the three matches. Alex Prokopchuk and Marcos Paulo Silvestre earned the Falcons’ first point of the day with an 8-2 triumph over ARC’s Paul Bhatia and Pete Gibson in the No. 2 doubles match before Rico-Altozano and Kwangeun Lee defeated Andres Anderson and Robert Kendall 8-3 at No. 3. Kent Hunter and Victor Castro recorded their 20th win of the season with no setbacks when they finished off Mikey Vizcarra and Sam Hall 8-3 at No. 1 for a 3-0 Cerritos advantage.
Cerritos’ dominance continued in singles play as the Falcons took the first set in five of the six matches, with the sixth not reaching its culmination before the match was decided. Hunter continued his undefeated season with a 6-2, 6-2 win in No. 1 singles to put the Falcons on the cusp of the program’s highest team accomplishment.
Enter the bees. A large swarm of bees flew over the courts, sending participants and spectators scrambling momentarily.
After a brief delay, play resumed, and it was not long before Rico-Altozano closed out Anderson, 6-2, 6-4, to give the title to Cerritos. The Falcons were also leading in all four of the remaining singles matches when the championship was clinched.
“It’s exciting,” said first-year head coach Quinn Caldaron. “(The team) worked hard all year.
“(They) love tennis and continue to push themselves. I’m really proud of these guys.”
CCCAA State Men’s Tennis Dual Team Championship
Cerritos 5, American River 0
Doubles
1. Kent Hunter/Victor Castro (Cerr) def. Mikey Vizcarra/Sam Hall (ARC), 8-3
2. Alex Prokopchuk/Marcos Paulo Silvestre (Cerr) def. Paul Bhatia/Pete Gibson (ARC), 8-2
3. Dario Rico-Altozano/Kwangeun Lee (Cerr) def. Andres Anderson/Robert Kendall (ARC), 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Kent Hunter (Cerr) def. Paul Bhatia (ARC), 6-2, 6-2
2. Victor Castro (Cerr) vs. Mikey Vizcarra (ARC), 6-3, 4-2, DNF
3. Alex Prokopchuk (Cerr) vs. Pete Gibson (ARC), 6-4, 1-2, DNF
4. Biel Roca Carreras (Cerr) vs. Sam Hall (ARC), 6-4, 1-1, DNF
5. Dario Rico-Altozano (Cerr) def. Andres Anderson (ARC), 6-2, 6-4
6. Kwangeun Lee (Cerr) def. Robert Kendall (ARC), 6-5, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 5