The Ventura College men's tennis season came to an end Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the CCCAA State Singles and Doubles Championships at The Ojai Tournament. Priyank Soni dropped his quarterfinal match against the No. 1 seed in the draw in the morning while Solal Cherqui and Rafael Dunan lost their quarterfinal match in the afternoon.
Soni, the Western State Conference champion who somehow came into the tournament unseeded, marched through to the quarterfinals before running into a buzzsaw. He faced undefeated and top-seeded Kent Hunter from Cerritos College. Soni was unable to put a blemish on Hunter's record, falling 6-1, 6-0. Later in the day, Hunter continued his dominance advancing to Sunday's state championship match.
In doubles play, the No. 9-seeded Cherqui and Dunan battled No. 6 Michael Bott and Thallys Santos from Irvine Valley. The Lasers' team, fresh of their upset of the NorCal No. 1 duo on Friday, were too much for the Pirate team to handle as Cherqui and Dunan dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision.
With the quarterfinal setbacks, the Pirates' 2018 season came to a close. During the year, VC posted a 14-2 dual record, advancing to the SoCal Regional Finals. VC also won the Western State Conference title for the fourth straight year, and for the 15th time since 2001.