From the three doubles teams and two individuals that went to the Southern California Regionals, came one advancement to the state finals with the No. 1 doubles pairing of Michelle Morse and Michele McGarry.

Morse and McGarry advanced deep enough in the regional tournament to be one of the top eight teams from Southern California.

In the state finals today and tomorrow, these top eight will meet the top eight doubles teams from Northern California in the quest for the state championship.

“I think they have a chance to lose in the first round and they have a chance of winning it all,” coach Steve Van Kanegan said.

Regionals play leads to state

The team’s run to be crowned Southern California champion came to a screeching halt as they lost to the Orange Coast College Pirates doubles team, 3-6, 4-6.

“We just have to lessen our unforced errors next time,” McGarry said.

Before the showdown with the Pirates, Morse and McGarry competed in two other tough matches.

For their round of 16 match, the Warriors beat the Riverside doubles team 6-0, 6-2, which earned them a spot in the state finals.

“They were a good team, but we played solid,” McGarry said.

Morse and McGarry’s first match of the day was against Cuesta College in the round of 32 following a first round bye; they won 6-0, 6-0.

“We played solid and very confident, Morse said.”

Expectations and friendship

Heading into the state finals, the women will look to savor the moment and play to the best of their abilities.

“We’re both thrilled to be here and we are going to have fun,” McGarry said.

As a team, Morse and McGarry have been a great partnership this season.

“We respect what each other brings to the court,” McGarry said.

“We play well because we have the same name,” Morse said. “We play a similar game, have the same mentality and the same amount of court time together.”

The other two doubles teams and singles participants did not get past the first round, thus ending their season.

The women’s tennis team will not hang their heads despite not advancing past the first round in the regionals because they were part of an experienced team that placed second in the competitive South Coast Conference.

Men’s top player misses out

Losing one match in conference play, reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament and advancing to the round of 16 at the competitive Ojai Tournament were all precursors for the Southern California Regionals.

However, Tipton McMahon, a favorite to place well and possibly win in the challenging field, did not participate, eliminating his chances of making a run at the state finals and championship this week.

“It is unforutnate that I was denied the experience to compete in regionals and state,” McMahon said.

A mutual lack of communication between him and the coaching staff prevented McMahon from participating in his regional singles and doubles matches.

“Tipton defaulted both his singles and doubles matches,” Steve Van Kanegan, coach, said.

When asked for further comment on the situation, Van Kanegan said, “He’s no longer part of our group and we will leave it at that.”

Unfortunately, both sides lost out as McMahon could have made a name for himself in this tournament and the state finals, while Van Kanegan would have been responsible and credited for sending an athlete to the state competition.

“It was such a bummer to miss this event because I trained so hard for it,” McMahon said. “I take my tennis extremely serious and I lost my chance at state.”

Doubles play must continue

Since McMahon was unable to compete in regionals due to a lack of communication, the Warriors’ hopes for sending a singles player to the state finals had faded all too fast.

Despite no singles action for the men’s team, there was still hope for advancement to the state finals with the doubles pairing of Shawn Lee and Jun Espiritu.

Lee, who replaced McMahon, stepped in and partnered with Espiritu to compete in a tough regionals draw.

Lee and Espiritu, who teamed up for the first time this year, faltered in their first round.

Despite giving a valiant effort, the doubles team could not keep up and saw an early elimination from regional play.

“They played really well, but lost in the first round,” assistant coach Adam Von Arx said. “The other team was just really good.”

In recent years, men’s community college tennis has been on the rise, with the competition getting tougher and tougher each year.

“There is so much depth on the men’s side,” Van Kanegan said in comparison to the women’s draw. “We have only had one doubles team in the last fifteen years make it to state.”

The forfeit of McMahon couples with the Lee and Espiritu’s doubles team loss puts an official cap on the rollercoaster 2005 men’s tennis campaign.
In the end, the team was considered to have had a successful season despite tough scheduling and internal distractions.

The 2005 season saw a young team fight through a tough preseason schedule, midseason team casualties due to academics and beat the odds by placing second in the competitive South Coast Conference.