Chargers Sting Hornets to Close Out Regular Season
 El Ali helped Cypress win a pivotal doubles match over Fullerton. |
Cypress earned clutch wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches to top Fullerton College 5-4.
April 5, 2011
Cypress, Calif. - Cypress beat Fullerton College 5-4 in its Orange Empire Conference regular season finale at home on Tuesday. With the victory, the Chargers (3-10, 2-8) moved ahead of Orange Coast in the conference standings, while matching the Hornets (8-8, 2-7) in OEC victories at two apiece.
The match proved to be a struggle for both squads from the onset. In singles play, Trish Tran quickly won the first point for Cypress with a victory over Fullerton's Jessie Wackerman in straight sets.
No. 1 Chelsea Logan, No. 3 Theresa Roque and No. 6 Sharnen Chorn all fell short in their singles matches to put Cypress in an early hole, trailing Fullerton 1-3.
The Chargers continued to battle, and got right back in the match when freshman Jamee Biadora pulled out a huge win in the No. 2 spot by beating Melanie Abella 6-2, 6-1. Gianelle Cruz tied up the match at 3-3 with a gutsy three-set victory in the No. 5 position that sent the two teams into doubles play all-tied up.
Logan and Biadora didn't have much luck in their No. 1 doubles match in an 8-3 loss. Nicole El-Ali and her partner Roque got the Chargers back to even again with a win in the No. 2 doubles spot. That made it 4-4 with one only match remaining. It was gut-check time for the Chargers, and Candie Aquino and Tran showed just how far this team has come since the beginning of the year when they dug-deep to win 9-8 in a tie breaker and clinch the 5-4 team over Fullerton.
The Hornets edged the Chargers 5-4 in their first meeting in Fullerton earlier in the year. Tuesday's win also put Cypress ahead of Orange Coast in the OEC standings. The Hornets face the Pirates at home next week in a match that will determine fourth place in the OEC. An win by OCC would put Cypress, Fullerton and Orange Coast in a tie for fourth place in the regular season with identical 2-8 records in OEC play.
Assistant coach Michelle Esquivel has done a great job turning Cypress' women's tennis program around this season, after not even fielding a squad in 2010. Despite a slow start, Cypress has gotten better-and-better each week, and hopes to continue to build on its solid play down the stretch heading into the OEC Tourney held at Cypress this year.
Cypress College will play host to the 2011 Orange Empire Conference Women's Tennis Championship this year, scheduled to take place April 14-15. Top players from every OEC team will converge in Cypress to square-off in a single elimination bracket-style tournament. Check back for additional details.
| Cypress College 5, Fullerton 4 |
| Singles: |
| 1. Tiffani Shaik (FC) def. Chelsea Logan (CC) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 2. Jamee Biadora (CC) def. Melanie Abella (FC) 6-2, 6-1 |
| 3. Doris Obih (FC) def. Theresa Roque (CC) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 4. Trish Tran (CC) def. Jessie Wackerman (FC) 6-0, 6-1 |
| 5. Gianelle Cruz (CC) def. Sophia Sargsyan (FC) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 |
| 6. Chelsea Gallegos (FC) def. Sharnen Corn (CC) 6-2, 6-2 |
Doubles: |
| 1. T. Shaik/ M. Abella (FC) def. J. Biadora / C. Logan (CC) 8-3 |
| 2. T. Roque/ Nicole El-Ali (CC) def. D.Obih/ C. Gallegos (FC) 8-6 |
| 3. T. Tran / C. Aquino (CC) def. 8-3 def. J. Wackerman/ S. Sargsyan (FC) 9-8 |
