Chargers Gear-Up for Playoffs with Non-Conference Win
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Oliver Andrzejczuk won his final regular season home singles and doubles matches.Cypress got in one final regular season match before the postseason begins.
April 12, 2011
Cypress, Calif. - Cypress College welcomed Mt. San Jacinto College to the Cypress College Tennis Center in a pivotal match before the Regional Playoffs. The Chargers stayed tough and focused after a hard-fought match with Ventura College this past weekend, and finished off their regular season schedule with a victory over the Eagles 7-2 on Tuesday.
The Chargers (20-2, 10-0) looked energized and ready to go right out of the gate. Cypress struck first when freshman Dhanuk Withana scored a quick 6-0, 6-0 victory at the No. 5 position. The Eagles (11-5) were able to level the match by upending Cypress No. 2 Mark Mahan 6-3, 6-3.
Charger No. 1 Oliver Andrzejczuk was able to keep just ahead of Murilo Valadares to secure the second team point for the Chargers with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Fellow sophomore co-captain Torsten Keil-Long played an incredible match at No. 3 singles, where he kept his opponent off balance with his aggressive serve and ground stroke attacks to earn Cypress another point with a 6-2, 6-3 win.
The Eagles were able to score their only other point of the match when James Bragg was able to come-from-behind against Joakim Nordmar in the first set to win 7-5. Bragg went on to build up a lead in the second set to fend off Nordmar at the No. 4 spot, 7-5, 6-3.
With Cypress on top 3-2 overall, Gabriel Dias came through once again for the Chargers with his steady and tough play. Dias clinched the final singles point with a 6-4, 7-5 straight sets victory that gave Cypress a decisive 4-2 lead going into doubles competition.
Needing just one more point to secure the match, Cypress got just that and more when the fantastic freshman duo of Mahan and Nordmar dialed-it-home again for the Chargers by rebounding from a slow start to real off seven-straight games, and defeat their opponents 8-3. That win guaranteed Cypress the team win over Mt. San Jacinto.
The Chargers added icing on the cake when the No. 1 doubles pair of Andrzejczuk and Keil-Long closed out their match 8-3 as well. Then, the No. 2 doubles tandem of Dias and Withana held on to defeat their opponents 9-8 (7-3 in the tie-breaker). That match was the last one of the day, Dias and Withana had a lot of support from the rest of their fans and teammates who were gathered around court number two cheering them on to victory.
The Chargers will now prepare for the Orange Empire Individual Conference Tournament this Thursday at Saddleback College. Cypress will find out the seedings and pairings for the Regional Tournament this Sunday.
| Cypress College 7, Mt. San Jacinto 2 |
| Singles |
1) Oliver Andrzejczuk (Cyp) def. Murilo Valadares (MSJC) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 2) Victor Bittar (MSJC) def. Mark Mahan (Cyp) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 3) Torsten Keil-Long (Cyp) def. Mensford Owuso (MSJC) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 4) James Bragg (MSJC) def. Joakim Nordmar (Cyp) 7-5, 6-3 |
5) Dhanuk Withana (Cyp) def. Tayvn Libao (MSJC) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 6) Gabriel Dias (Cyp) def. Anderson Ribeiro (MSJC) 6-4, 7-5 |
| Order of Finish: 5, 2, 1, 3, 4, 6 |
Doubles |
| 1) Andrzejczuk/Keil-Long (Cyp) def. Owuso/Bittar (MSJC) 8-3 |
| 2) Dias/Withana (Cyp) def. Bragg/Valadares (MSJC) 9-8 |
| 3) Mahan/Nordmar (Cyp) def. ARibeiro/Libao (MSJC) 8-3 |
| Order of Finish: 3*, 1, 2 |
