The Cosumnes River College men’s tennis team may have ended its season on March 20 with a 9-0 loss to Fresno City College, but four individual players from the team have advanced to the playoffs.

By competing in the Big 8 Conference Tournament on April 17, sophomores Brandon McCarthy, Ronnie Cabanayan and Andy Vo, as well as freshman Jake Mireles, qualified for postseason play. McCarthy, the team’s number one ranked player, qualified for singles play as well as doubles play with Cabanayan. Vo and Mireles will also represent the team in doubles play. The players will compete against the top players from Northern California at Mission College in San Jose on May 2 .

“I expect to go out there focused, ready to play,” McCarthy said. “I expect to play my hardest and I definitely expect myself to win. Anything below that isn’t really acceptable for me.”

McCarthy, who was the team’s number six ranked player last season, said he was unsure if he could be the team’s number one player at the beginning of the season. A win against Shasta College in the first match of the season changed that, and McCarthy said it was the most fulfilling victory he’s had while on the team.

“I really focused,” McCarthy said.  “I came out here to have fun, but I really came out here with goals everyday. Not necessarily just goals to do good on the forehand and good on the backhand, but mentally, to always just stay positive.”

“Staying positive is all the motivation I need,” he added.

The men’s tennis team finished in fourth place in the Big 8 Southern Conference with a 2-6 record in league play. Head coach Scott Gradin emphasized how the team lost five of its six top players at the end of last season and how experience would help the team improve this season.