The Riverside City College men’s tennis team lost its third matchup of the season following its 6-game win streak, falling 5-3 to the Irvine Valley Lasers.

Starting with the doubles matches, the Tigers displayed cohesive teamwork. Ronith Sreeram and Giovanne Recchia would lose 8-6, but Charalampos Plataniotis and Vinicius Magrin picked it up by winning their matchup 8-6, with Ethan Lee and Matias Almieda winning 8-5 to win the doubles overall 2-1.

 Following that were the singles matchups, where the team seemed to struggle out of the gate but worked to stay competitive in the matches.

 “I thought we did tremendous in doubles,” head coach Otis Vu said. “But then we came out a little flat in singles. But I’m proud of the guys for fighting.”

Unfortunately, the Tigers would lose 4 of the 6 singles matches. Sreeram (1-6, 0-6), Magrin (1-6, 4-6), and Almieda (3-6, 5-7) would all lose both sets to give the Lasers the lead. Recchia was able to push back and force a third set but ultimately lost (3-6, 7-6, 7-4).

Plataniotis came away with the only win in singles matchups for Riverside, winning both sets (7-5, 6-2). Lee endured a long battle, going to the 4th set in his match, but the match had to be stopped due to the court lights turning off; the overall win had already been secured for the Lasers.

 “I just focused on my game plan… and hopefully that helps me navigate through the chaos,” said Plataniotis.

With this loss, the team falls to 12-3 with just a few games left to go in the regular season. Following the match, coach Otis laid out the mindset towards the upcoming final stretch. 

 “It starts with a win Thursday. Then, we’ll finish out strong on our road swing, said coach Otis. “Then, hopefully, gain a little more momentum for the playoffs. We just got to win out and be ready.”

 The Tigers look to bounce back this Thursday, March 19, against Mt. San Antonio College to hopefully finish the season strong and potentially lock in the No. 2 seed.