One of the major problems for the second straight year has the Warrior tennis team’s moving practices from EC to North Torrance High School because of construction on campus, which is expected to be finished by May.
“Everybody is staying positive and would like to be on campus and like to play on it, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Steve Van Kanegan, tennis coach said.
“I like it, the different atmosphere and I like playing on other colleges tennis courts,” Kacy Turner said.
With construction being done on the tennis courts for a second straight year, the EC tennis team’s are forced to play all its matches on the road.
The men tennis team is coming off a 6-3 win over Victor Valley and the women tennis team is coming off a 9-0 win over Long Beach City on February 26.
The next match for the Warriors is today, when the men travel to College of the Desert and women travel to Mt. San Antonio College.
The women’s team has two returning players in Kristle Davis and Kacy Turner and the men have four returning players in Tsuyoshi Nagaoka, Keith Boggero, Jon Duarte and Tim Kang.
Incoming freshmen making an impact on the women’s side of the net are Eunice Nau and Tatiana Steward.
Coming into the season, the Warriors tennis team is “excited,” according to Van Kanegan. Turner agrees with Coach Van Kanegan.
“I can see improvement on the women’s team,” Turner said
The February 26 match was the second match of South Coast Conference play, with the men and women (1-1) both earning conference victories. Overall, the men are (1-3) and the women are (2-2).
Turner and doubles teammate Kristle Davis won their double matches over Anna Arthur and Precious Labre from Long Beach City College 6-4 and 6-1.
Davis won her singles match against Arthur 6-3, 6-3.
Turner would go on to win her singles match against Labre from Long Beach 6-1, 6-0 in the women side. They women swept Long Beach, not allowing a Long Beach victory.
Tsuyoshi Nagaoka and Keith Boggero won their doubles matches over Jonathan Wicks and Daniel Smith from Victor Valley College, but scores were unavailable.
Nagaoka won his singles match against Wicks from Victor Valley e 6-2, 6-2.
Boggero won his singles match against Smith 6-0, 6-0.
Duarte and Kang lost their doubles matches to Donnie Wicks and M. Louge from Victor Valley 6-4, 1-6, 7-10.
Duarte would also go on to lose his singles match against Wicks 4-6, 2-6 and Kang would lose his singles match against Louge 4-6, 5-7 for the men.
The men won six out of nine matches against Victor Valley.
Teammates Steward and Nau won their doubles matches over Vanny Rouen and Megan Harmon from Long Beach 6-4, 6-0.
Steward won her singles match against Rouen 6-1, 6-1 and Nau won her single match against Harmon 6-1, 6-1.
This season, aside from not hosting a single home game, the Warriors don’t have any key issues coming into the season.
“Everybody is eligible and healthy. A few where ineligible early in the season, but now they have regained eligibility,” Van Kanegan said.
