After two weeks of rain-outs and postponements, the Pirates' men;'s tennis team made their 2025 home debut with an exciting 5-4 victory over Riverside at the VC Tennis Center. Haru Nakayama, Ariitea Cotti-Helme and Leo Pham produced wins in Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles, the latter two in super tiebreakers to bring VC back from a 4-2 deficit in the triumph. Yanis Guerrout also won in No. 3 singles while Max Beaudry and Manolo Vanbesien won their No. 3 doubles contest.
The Pirates fell behind early, dropping the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles matches. Beaudry and Vanbesien salvaged a point for VC with their 8-5 win in No. 3 doubles.
Guerrout evened the score with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph in No. 3 singles before RCC reasserted control winning Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, for a 4-2 advantage.
Wit the Pirates on the edge of defeat, Nakayama produced a 6-1, 6-3 victory in No. 4 singles to keep hope alive. Then Cotti-Helme rallied from a set down for a 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 decision at No. 5 singles to tie the match. Pham also rallied from a set down in No. 6 singles, falling 6-4 in the first only to win the second 6-3. He then clinched the Pirate victory with a 10-6 win in the super tiebreaker.
The victory avenges a regular season loss to the Tigers a year ago, Ventura's only setback against a California community college team in their 3C2A State Championship run. Last year's loss to RCC on Mar. 1 was also the Pirates' first regular-season loss to a CCC team in nearly five years.
Ventura begins Western State Conference play on Thursday Feb. 20 before hosting Mt. San Antonio on a non-conference contest on Friday Feb. 21. Both matches begin at 2:00 pm at the VC Tennis Center.
Ventura 5, Riverside 4
Doubles
1. Yusen Sato/Haru Nakayama (VC) lost to Lance Lao/Michael Chang (RCC), 8-3
2. Rafael Matias/Yanis Guerrout (VC) lost to Ronith Sreeram/Augustin Daubannay (RCC), 8-3
3. Max Beaudry/Manolo Vanbesien (VC) def. Giovanne Recchia/Harry Plataniotis (RC), 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Matias (VC) lost to Chang (RCC), 6-2, 6-1
2. Sato (VC) lost to Sreeram (RCC), 6-4, 6-0
3. Guerrout (VC) def. Daubannay (RCC), 6-2, 6-0
4. Nakayama (VC) def. Lao (RCC), 6-1, 6-3
5. Ariitea Cotti-Helme (VC) def. Recchia (RCC), 2-6, 6-3, 10-8
6. Pham (VC) def. Plataniotis (RCC), 4-6, 6-3, 10-6
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6