Playoff win advances Cerritos to semifinals

by Cerritos College Sports Information

With their 6-1 Southern California Regional Team Playoff win over Santa Barbara City College on Tuesday, the Cerritos College women's tennis team has advanced to the semifinals next week. The Falcons (22-1), seeded #1, will now take on South Coast Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College, who's seeded #5 and defeated Irvine Valley College. In their previous two meetings, Cerritos has earned a pair of wins (7-2, 5-4) over the Mounties. They will play next Tuesday at Cerritos at 2:00 p.m. in the SoCal semifinals. Prior to that playoff match, the Falcons will host the South Coast Conference Tournament this Thursday through Saturday.

Flipping their top two singles players to start the post-season, sophomore Taylor Heath (Cerritos HS) earned the Falcons a 6-4, 6-3 straight set win over Maddie Seeds in the #1 position, while sophomore Anastasia Khomyachenko (Sochi, Russia) split her first two sets, 6-1, 3-6 by the time Cerritos recorded enough team points to pick up the win. The duo also earned the team a point with their 8-3 doubles win.

Three more straight set singles wins, along with another doubles win clinched the victory for the Falcons. FreshmanTiffany Sanchez (Long Beach Wilson HS) posted a strong 6-2, 6-1 win in the #3 position, while sophomore Jovana Milosevic (High School of Business and Law, Serbia/Hillsborough, FL CC) made quick work of Gabrielle Goss, 6-2, 6-0 in the #5 match. Freshman Valentina Polonyi (Altisa, Hungary) finished off the singles wins with her 6-4, 6-1 straight set victory. Freshman Danielle Pastor (Bishop Montgomery HS) has won the first set in her match, 7-6 and was leading, 1-0 in the second set.

The team's other doubles win was a hard-fought 8-6 win by Sanchez and Polonyi.

SINGLES

Taylor Heath (CERR) def. Maddie Seeds (SBCC), 6-4, 6-3
Anastasia Khomyachenko (CERR) tied Tyler Bunderson (SBCC), 6-1, 3-6
Tiffany Sanchez (CERR) def. Lesly Zapata De Lira (SBCC), 6-2, 6-1
Valentina Polonyi (CERR) def. Julianna Adelman (SBCC), 6-4, 6-1
Jovana Milosevic (CERR) def. Gabrielle Goss (SBCC), 6-2, 6-0
Danielle Pastor (CERR) led Madison Ortiz (SBCC), 7-6 (7-4), 1-0

DOUBLES

Taylor Heath/Anastasia Khomyachenko (CERR) def/. Maddie Seeds/Lesly Zapata De Lira (SBCC), 8-3
Tiffany Sanchez/Valentina Polonyi (CERR) def. Julianna Adelman/Tyler Bunderson (SBCC), 8-6
Gabrielle Goss/Madison Ortiz (SBCC), def. Jovana Milosevic/Danielle Pastor (CERR), 8-2

Photos by Daryl Peterson