For the better part of the season, the men’s tennis team has played like an orchestra in disarray.

On any given day, some members play well while others play off-key. But for the final game of the season, the Warriors were able to come together and finish their season on a high note.

Against Cerritos, the Warriors won, 6-3, and finished the season with a record of 3-8 (3-5).

Team finishes with win against Cerritos

“With all the lumps we took over the year, it’s great to finish the season on a high note,” Jeff Lew said.

The victory over Cerritos came just after a bad loss to Marymount, 7-2. The loss was the team’s lowest point in a trying season.

Lew says he is happy that his team won, especially after the loss to Marymount.

“Marymount was just too strong for us and they kind of embarrassed us,” Lew said. “So it was great to play Cerritos afterward, because I don’t think we could have taken another loss like that.”

EC sends four to Ojai Tournament

The season continues today, though for Jay Sakolsatayatorn, Sean Packwood, Jason Olson and Lew, the season hasn’t finished quite yet.

The four will travel to Ojai to compete in the Ojai Tournament, which ends Sunday.

The Ojai Tournament is in its 104th year and invites all the universities and junior colleges in California. Each college selects a few players to participate in the annual event.

“It’s nice to see that some of our players get to enjoy the tournament because they all love to play tennis and that is what the Ojai Tournament is all about,” coach Steve Van Kanegan said.

Team unprepared for SCC regionals

Due to “mixed communication,” the Southern Coast Conference tournament was held over the break. The Warriors fell short of qualifying for the Southern California regionals. Lew said lack of notice hurt them preparation-wise.

“We did pretty well for the amount of time that we had to prepare, but I am happy with the intensity our team played with,” Lew said. “It shows that we’ve matured as a team.”

While the season is over for most of the team, it knows that despite finishing with a losing record, the team is better than when it started.

“As the season went along, we improved as a team and as individuals,” Olsen said. “But the competition was just too tough for us to show our improvements.”

Warriors avoid basement with win

The Warriors did avoid finishing last with the win over Cerritos, who got the final spot in the conference.

The Southern Coast Conference championship went to Marymount with Mt. SAC and Long Beach City finishing second and third respectively.

Olson says that enjoyed competing on the men’s tennis team this year.

“I wish I could play again next year because I had so much fun, from the matches to the practices,” Olson said, who ended his tennis career at EC after his two years of eligibility. “I’m going to miss it,”