After a strong start, the men’s tennis team has dropped its last two conference matches, taking it out of contention for the South Coast Conference championship.
Inconsistent doubles play, being a man short and unfavorable weather are the three factors that led to the Warriors’ demise in their previous two matches.
The Warriors (6-4, 4-3) faced cold conditions in a tough 5-4 loss at the hands of the Marymount Mariners and played in strong winds in their 7-2 loss against the Cerritos Falcons.
“Wind is the worst thing you could play in and especially a tough cross breeze like today,” Adam Von Arx, assistant coach, said in reference to Tuesday’s match against the Falcons.
Playing a man short and the windy conditions proved to be too much for the Warriors to overcome, as they dropped their second consecutive conference match Tuesday against the No. 1 Falcons.
“I try not to pay attention to the wind,” Tipton McMahon, freshman, said. “You have to realize that your opponent is playing in the same conditions and just focus more.”
That focus paid off for McMahon; he won one of the two match points with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory over the No. 1 Falcons’ player.
“I played really well, more patiently and didn’t go for as many shots because I didn’t have to,” McMahon said.
The Warriors also got a strong individual performance from freshman Jun Espiritu, who won 6-1, 6-2, to win the only other point in the entire match.
Despite their strong individual play, McMahon, Espiritu and the rest of the Warriors continued to struggle in doubles matches, losing 8-4 in both against the Falcons.
“We played better this time considering everybody, with the exception of Tipton, played a spot above what they normally play,” Von Arx said. “We seemed more prepared.”
In the rematch against the Mariners last Thursday, the Warriors dropped one of the two doubles matches and ended up losing 5-4, a much different outcome than the 7-2 victory over the Mariners earlier in the season.
“I played well, but it was really cold and dark as if it was going to rain,” McMahon said, regarding his 6-2, 6-2 singles win.
In only his second match of the season, Cliff Breakfield stepped up and won a tough three-set match, 1-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Breakfield’s win gives him a two-game win streak and a boost of confidence for the Warriors; he has solidly replaced the two members who were suspended from the team for academic issues.
These two matches closed out conference play for the Warriors with the exception of a pending match with the Long Beach City College Vikings that was postponed due to rain.
The team was up 3-2 and in full control of the match when play was suspended, and is expected to close out the match with ease when play continues in the future.
The win would give the team a final record of (7-4, 5-3) and a second-place finish in the South Coast Conference.
“It is better than what we’ve done in the previous seasons, but could have been better if we hadn’t lost the two players,” Von Arx said.
With the conclusion of team play, tournaments will commence for the top singles and doubles players in both conference and state.
The South Coast Conference tournament will take place at Mt. San Antonio College on April 12-14 and will include athletes from all five teams, with top finishers advancing to Southern California Regionals.
No. 1 seed McMahon in singles, and the doubles team of McMahon and Espiritu, will most likely be representing the Warriors, with the possibility of other players being invited as well.
“Tipton has beaten everyone in our conference so he shouldn’t have a problem,” Von Arx said. “The doubles team will have a lot of good matches because all of its matches this year have been close, whether win or lose.”
Following the conference tournament, the Warriors will travel to compete in the annual Ojai Tournament, which takes place, April 21-24.
