The Ventura College men's tennis team demonstrated why they won the program's 13th Western State Conference title in the past 15 seasons with a dominating performance on the courts on the first day of the WSC singles and doubles Championships Friday at the VC Tennis Center. VC advanced all four doubles teams to the round of eight, while VC had three of the final eight in singles with another three still alive for a state berth in the back draw.
Singles top seed Corey Karen breezed through two matches love and one, and one and two while No. 3-seed and defending state champion Hironori Koyanagi did not drop a game in two matches, winning 6-0, 6-0 in both outings. Guenter Newman also had an easy time in singles, advancing to the final eight with 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-1 victories. All three qualified for the CCCAA State Championships at The Ojai Tournament in late April.
Michael Burr won his first match 6-0, 6-1 before falling in the round of 16 while Diego Rodrigues met the same fate, winning 6-1, 6-0 before bowing out. The two teammates will play Saturday morning for the right to advance to The Ojai. Meanwhile, Leonardo Santos and Evan Gazic each won their opening match, 6-1, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-0, respectively, before falling in the round of 16. They will play separate matches on Saturday with a state qualification on the line.
Even with all the success in singles on day one of the WSC Championships, VC thoroughly dominated doubles play. Top-seed Karen and Koyanagi advanced to the quarterfinals with a bye while Gazic and Rodrigues won 8-3. Burr and Newman won 8-0 and the team of Victor Ribeiro and Santos prevailed 8-4. Ventura has a team in each of the four quarterfinals to be played on Saturday, with all four teams qualifying for The Ojai.
Play continues Saturday April 2 at the Ventura College Tennis Center, with championships in singles and doubles to be held Friday April 8, also at VC.
See Updated 2016 WSC Tennis Championships Men's Singles Bracket
See Updated 2016 WSC Tennis Championships Men's Doubles Bracket