The award-winning news site of Cosumnes River College

The Connection

The award-winning news site of Cosumnes River College

The Connection

The award-winning news site of Cosumnes River College

The Connection

Men’s tennis battles in last home matches of season, lose to Fresno City

Mens+tennis+battles+in+last+home+matches+of+season%2C+lose+to+Fresno+City
Stephan Starnes

The Cosumnes River College men’s tennis team took on the Fresno City College Rams at CRC Tuesday, but despite putting up a tough battle, the Hawks were unable to win a set against the Rams.

In their final duel match of the season, the Hawks put up a stiff competition, with several players winning several games throughout the day. However, Fresno City, state champions with several international players on their roster, eventually took victory in every set.

Head coach Scott Gradin sees the Rams as a very formidable opponent.

“Fresno is very skilled up and down the line,” Gradin said. “Their lowest player is probably the highest player in the rest of the conference. They have an international roster, so it’s very tough.”

The games began with doubles matches and ended with singles matches. Doubles ended quickly, as the Rams, such as Alessandro Moriano and Scott Gray, seemed to pair up more naturally than the Hawks players.

The Rams won each set of doubles, ending the first round of the day with three victories, two at 8-0, and one at 8-1. The Hawks seemed to find more comfort in playing individually, and performed better in the singles matches that followed.

Hawks’ sophomore Steven Le managed to take a point in his first singles set against Rams’ player Adam De Romas, eventually ending the set 6-1. In his second set, Le took an early lead on De Romas, winning a game, and then taking an additional point after an intense back and forth rally between the two players, bringing the score to 3-0, Hawks’ favor.

“When I was up 3-0 in the second set, it was a great moment, since I lost the first set” Le said. “It felt good, because I had a really slow start in the first set.”

In following games, De Romas came back swinging and pushed ahead to end the set with the score at 6-4, with the Rams in the lead.

Facing off against Moriano again after an initial doubles match with the Rams player, Hawks’ Freshman Anton Ulan fought hard in both his sets. The first set saw many close-calls for victories for both players, with one game ending with a score of 40-30, Rams’ favor. Ulan put the heat on Moriano in one play in particular.

“It was a long rally, and he (Moriano) was at the net and he hit a volley,” Ulan said. “I came running in and tried to fool him short across the court and he just barely brought it back.”

Moriano would eventually win the first set for the Rams at 6:2, as well as the second set at 6:0.

The Hawks couldn’t manage to pull ahead in their singles matches, and the games closed without a set win for CRC. Gradin was happy with his team’s overall performance against the Rams.

“We played pretty well today,” Gradin said. “Even though the scores might not

indicate it, we played some very competitive games, some very competitive points, and I saw improvement from most of the guys.”

Leave a Comment
About the Contributors
Kevin Frodahl, Former Staff
Serving two terms on the paper, Kevin was not only a staff writer but an avid cartoonist for the paper and eventually served as a copyeditor in his final semester on the paper. Levity and humor were the tools of Kevin's trade in the newsroom and beyond. Semesters on Staff: Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
Stephan Starnes, Former Staff
For seven semesters Stephan served on the staff of The Connection in various capacities, holding almost every title possible during that time. Everything from Editor in Chief to News Editor to Copyeditor and even Visual Editor were titles that were attached to his name at some point. As a veteran on the paper, Stephan shared his experience and skills with everyone that joined during his time there. Finishing his degrees in Journalism, Liberal Arts and Photography in spring 2014 he graduated from CRC and retired from the newspaper. Semesters on Staff: Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013 and Spring 2014

Comments (0)

All The Connection Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
Men’s tennis battles in last home matches of season, lose to Fresno City