COD Men’s Tennis Sends Four to Ojai Following IEAC Championships

The College of the Desert men's tennis team (0-11, 0-6 IEAC) will be represented by four student-athletes at the prestigious Ojai Tournament after competing at the Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) Championships, held April 2–3 at San Diego City College.

Men's Singles

Six Roadrunners qualified for the conference singles tournament, where players needed to win a feed-in match to reach the main draw and then either advance in the main draw or battle through the back draw to secure an Ojai berth.

Sophomore Chandra Amol Ishikawa (Kawagoe {JPN} Josai Kawagoe) and freshman Mario Mejia-Gonzalez (Cathedral City H.S.) were the only COD players to win their opening feed-in matches and advance to the main draw. Mejia-Gonzalez dominated his first match with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over an Imperial Valley opponent before falling to the tournament's top seed and eventual conference champion from San Diego City.

Ishikawa advanced to the Round of 32 via a disqualification and competed in a tightly contested match against a player from Mt. San Jacinto, ultimately falling 7-5, 6-3.

Despite strong efforts, no COD singles players qualified for the Ojai Tournament.

Men's Doubles

The Roadrunners found success in doubles play, where two teams secured Ojai berths.

COD's No. 1 doubles team of Ishikawa and Mejia-Gonzalez advanced after receiving a first-round disqualification win over a doubles team from Imperial Valley, clinching their spot at Ojai. The duo later fell to the tournament's top-seeded team from San Diego City in the quarterfinals.

In the back draw, COD's No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams battled each other for the final qualifying spot. The No. 2 team of sophomore Matthew Rubio (Palm Desert H.S.) and freshman Marcos Ramirez (Cathedral City H.S.) defeated the No. 3 team of freshman Daniel Vega Espinoza (Indio H.S.) and freshman Nickolas Ginn (Palm Desert H.S.) to secure the final berth.

Ishikawa, Mejia-Gonzalez, Rubio, and Ramirez will represent COD at the Ojai Tournament.

Up Next

The Roadrunners will next compete in the 3C2A State Championships, held across Ventura County beginning April 23. The tournament concludes April 26 with the state singles and doubles championships at Libbey Park in Ojai.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information, Photo & Story provided by COD Sports Information.