On a milestone day at the VC Tennis Center, the Pirates shut out Fresno 9-0 Tuesday earning head coach Nelson Emery his 400th career men's tennis victory at Ventura College. Sophomore Rafael Matias won in No. 1 doubles with Yanis Guerrout and also prevailed in his No. 1 singles match to earn his 50th career victory in singles and doubles at Ventura College.
Max Beaudry and Manolo Vanbesien blanked their opponents in No. 3 doubles, 8-0 while Yusen Sato and Haru Nakayama won in the No. 2 slot, 8-1. Matias and Guerrout claimed Court 1 in doubles with an 8-2 victory.
Matias continued his milestone day with a love and love win in No. 1 singles and Ariitea Cotti-Helme also won Court 4, 6-0, 6-0. Nakayama claimed victory in No. 3 singles, 6-1, 6-1 while Leo Pham won in No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-2. Beaudry won on Court 6, 6-4, 6-2 and Sato completed the sweep with a hard-fought 6-7 (8-6), 6-0, (10-5) triumph in a super tiebreaker after falling in a tiebreaker in the first set.
For Emery, the victory was an accumulation of 29 years and 28 seasons guiding the Pirates' men's tennis team. The Pirate alumnus took over as the head coach of the program in 1997 and has guided VC to three state titles and 21 Western State Conference crowns, including this year's championship. He has an overall record of 400-98 for a winning percentage of .803. He has also posted a 224-20 mark in WSC play, winning nearly 92 percent of his conference matches.
The Pirates' season continues on Friday Mar. 28 as VC takes on American River college from Sacramento in a match in Bakersfield. Ventura then hosts NAIA school Hope International on Saturday Mar. 29 at 12:00 pm in their final regular season match of the year.
The WSC Singles and Doubles Championships will begin on Thursday Apr. 3 at the VC Tennis Center.
Ventura 9, Fresno 0
Doubles
1. Rafael Matias/Yanis Guerrout (VC) def. Jeremiah Cazares/Matthew McBride (FCC), 8-2
2. Yusen Sato/Haru Nakayama (VC) def. Robie Ellis/Jett Wattenbarger (FCC), 8-1
3. Max Beaudry/Manolo Vanbesien (VC) def. Ramyar /Jack Larmond (FCC), 8-0
Singles
1. Matias (VC) def. Ellis (FCC), 6-0, 6-0
2. Sato (VC) def. Cazares (FCC), 6-7 (8-6), 6-0, (10-5)
3. Nakayama (VC) def. McBride (FCC), 6-1, 6-1
4. Ariitea Cotti-Helme (VC) def. Wattenbarger (FCC), 6-0, 6-0
5. Leo Pham (VC) def. Alavi-Moghadda (FCC), 6-1, 6-2
6. Beaudry (VC) def. Larmond (FCC), 6-4, 6-2