Pirates Sweep Past Saddleback in Playoff Opener

The Ventura College men's tennis team had little trouble with visiting Saddleback Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs, sweeping the Gauchos 5-0 at the VC Tennis Center. The No. 2-seeded Pirates swept through the three doubles matches before winning in Nos. 3 and 5 singles matches, respectively, to advance to the next round.

Priyank Soni and Adrien Etiemble earned the first point for VC (13-1) with an 8-0 shutout at No. 1 doubles, followed by 8-2 win by Solal Cherqui and Rafael Dunan at No. 3. Alexander Martin and Jakob Rinschen finished off the doubles sweep with an 8-6 victory at No. 2.

In singles, all six Pirates captured their first set before Etiemble completed the win at No. 3, 6-0, 6-1, and Dunan clinched the match with a triumph at No. 5, 6-1, 6-1. Both Solal and Rodrigo Perdigao were one game away from wins at Nos. 1 and 6 when the match was clinched.

Ventura moves on to the semifinal round in which they will host No. 3 Riverside on Tuesday April 17. The Tigers (19-2), the champions of the Orange Empire Conference, defeated Grossmont 5-0 to advance.  The semifinal match will be held at the VC Tennis Center beginning at 2:00 pm.