Ventura’s Koyanagi captures Men’s State title

Hironori Koyanagi lived up to his nickname of "Hero" on Sunday, using a solid all-around game to beat Carentin Haener of San Diego Mesa for the CCCAA State Men's tennis title at Libbey Park in Ojai.

Koyanagi, the No. 1 seed from the South, was practically playing at home in the 115th Ojai Tournament with Ventura College just 14 miles away. He beat the fifth-seeded Haener 6-2, 6-3 after rallying from a 2-1 deficit in the second set. 

"He played tough and he played smart when he needed to," said Ventura's veteran coach Nelson Emery. "He made some big shots when he needed to make them."

Koyanagi, a freshman from Japan, went unbeaten in singles this year (23-0) and didn't lose a set. He's the third State singles champion in Ventura history and the first in 10 years since Jeroen Van Ruller in 2005.

"He's the first guy to ever win State for us without losing a set," noted Emery. "That's pretty tough to go all year long without losing one set. The only one he lost all year was to our No. 2 guy (Corey Karen) in practice."

Koyanagi was up 3-2 in the first set when he slammed a ball at the net to take a 4-2 lead. He hit laser-like groundstrokes that moved his opponent from side-to-side and came to the net when he saw an opening. He broke Haener's serve to win the fifth game, then held his own to complete the 6-2 win.

Trailing 2-1 and losing in the second game of the second set, Koyanagi stormed back for the victory. He won a long rally to break Haener again and hit a winner down the line for a 4-2 advantage.

He broke Haener for the fourth time to cap his 6-3 second-set win, firing a winner up the line and then passing him on match point.

Irvine Valley had three of the four teams in the doubles semifinals. Valentin Baize and Maxime Rumeau, the No. 8 seed and the No. 2 Laser duo, upset top-seeded Koyanagi and Karen in the morning semifinal 6-2, 6-2, then beat their second-seeded teammates Simon Guillin-Guillermo Ucelay 6-4, 6-1 for the title.

It was the first State doubles crown for the Lasers, who also won their first State Team title earlier in the week.