The Western State Conference champion Ventura College men's tennis team is headed to the playoffs. The Pirates (10-3) received the No. 5 seed in the CCCAA Southern California Regionals and will travel to No. 3 San Diego Mesa College (17-6) on Tuesday April 7 for a 2:00 pm match.
The Pirates fell to the Olympians 5-4 on February 5 in a match that was closer than the tight score indicated. VC swept doubles competition and won in No. 1 singles before dropping the Nos. 2-6 singles matches, two in close third-set super tiebreakers. The match was in San Diego, the site of Tuesday's regional quarterfinal.
Looking forward, Ventura's line-up has changed considerably since the first meeting, and VC had won nine of 11 matches since then, including a 6-0 sweep through the WSC. Ventura's only three dual losses this season have all come by 5-4 margins. Meanwhile, Mesa comes into the match with a 17-6 record, and posted a 13-1 mark in the Pacific Coast Conference as co-champions.
The winner of Tuesday's match will face the winner of No. 1 Irvine Valley College and No. 6 Grossmont College on Tuesday April 14. Other quarterfinals matches pit No. 2 Desert against No. 8 Saddleback and No. 4 Cerritos against No. 7 Riverside.
