The Pirates' men's tennis team had their storybook season come to an early end Tuesday as they dropped a 5-3 decision to visiting Irvine Valley in the second round of the 3C2A Southern California Regional Playoffs. Max Beaudry and Manolo Vanbesien won their doubles match while Yanis Guerrout and Yusen Sato each won singles matches for the Pirates.
Ventura (14-4), seeded No. 1 in the regional draw, dropped two of three doubles matches to the No. 4-ranked Lasers. Beaudry and Vanbesien kept VC in the match with a tight 9-8 victory on Court 3.
The Lasers added to their lead with a win in No. 1 singles before Guerrout claimed a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win in No. 2 singles. Sato tied the match with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 win on Court 3, but a narrow loss on Court 6 put IVC back on top. Haru Nakayama fought the good fight in No. 4 singles, but ultimately fell in three sets as the Lasers clinched the victory.
The loss ends the Pirates team season with an overall record of 14-3, including a 12-1 mark against 3C2A teams. VC also won the program's fourth straight Western State Conference title, its 19th in the past 22 seasons, as it extended its conference winning streak to 31 matches dating back to 2019.
Several Pirates, including Rafael Matias, Guerrout, Sato and Nakayama, will next take the court in the 3C2A Championships at The Ojai Tournament beginning April 24. Additionally, the doubles pairs of Matias and Guerrout, Sato and Nakayama, and Beaudry and Vanbesien will also compete in the 3C2A State Championships at The Ojai.
Ventura 3, Irvine Valley 5
Doubles
1. Rafael Matias/Yanis Guerrout (VC) lost to Nick Grove/Luciano Pardo (IVC), 8-4
2. Yusen Sato/Haru Nakayama (VC) lost to Luis Moros/Nevin McCann (IVC), 8-3
3. Max Beaudry/Manolo Vanbesien (VC) def. Nicholas Villar/Jonathan Hinkel (IVC), 9-8 (-)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Matias (VC) lost to Grove (IVC), 6-2, 6-3
2. Guerrout (VC) def. Moros (IVC), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
3. Sato (VC) def. Sufyan Ashraf (IVC), 7-6 (-), 4-6, 6-4
4. Nakayama (VC) lost to Lucas Diaz (IVC), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Ariitea Cotti-Helme (VC) down to Pardo (IVC), 6-2, 6-7 (-), 4-3, DNF
6. Leo Pham (VC) lost to McCann (IVC), 6-3, 7-6 (-)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 6, 4