Posted: April 7, 2015 | Written by Alexis Naucler & Victor Gallegos
The Tigers’ men’s tennis team defeated Saddleback College Gauchos 6-3 on April 3, moving them up from eighth place in conference at the beginning of the season to second place.
The Tigers won five of the six singles matches and only one of the three doubles, one of which being left unfinished at 2-2, due to an injury.
Before defeating Saddleback, the Tigers achieved a 7-2 win over the very energetic Orange Coast Pirates on March 31. Freshman Antoine Voisin scored a perfect 6-0 singles match against OCC player Chris Chiu. The Tigers won all three of their doubles matches, with a consistent score of 8-3.
“They played the best I have ever seen them play all league long,” Carlos Vazquez, Riverside City College coach said. “I don’t think they played like that at the beginning of the season.”
RCC had a very close 5-4 win when they played the Pirates on March 10, showing the team has improved since then.
“They’re a good team and they almost beat us last time so we just gotta be prepared,” sophomore Patrick Stetco said.
Things got heated on OCC’s side, as Peter Hariri received a penalty from throwing his racket out of anger during his doubles match against Mathieu Willockx and Edward Riman.
Previously, the Tigers demonstrated their talent with a dominant 7-2 win at home against Palomar College on March 26.
Defeating Palomar wasn’t an easy task though. Aside from the very capable opposition, another obstacle the Tigers had to overcome was the scorching weather in Riverside.
On a day where temperatures reached highs of 94 degrees, the Tigers needed every ounce of Gatorade to dispose the pesky Palomar team. Among the highlights was a straight set 6-1, 6-0 win by Edward Riman, which he followed with an 8-1 win in doubles with teammate Mathieu Willockx.
The Tigers will host the Orange Empire Conference where community colleges from the area will play in Riverside from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on April 9-11.
RCC was scheduled to go against the Cerritos College Falcons in the first round of the Southern California Regional Chamionship on April 7, but was postponed due to rain to April 8 at 2 p.m..
