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SMC Tennis Serves Up Big Playoff Win

The Corsairs cruised past Rio Hondo in the first round of the Southern California Regionals on Tuesday.

It was nothing more than a walk in the park—, that is.

The women's tennis team showed why it is the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Tuesday afternoon at the courts on the corner of Lincoln and Wilshire.

It took the Corsairs only an hour and a half to earn the five points they needed to move on to the second round as they dispatched No. 8-seeded Rio Hondo, 5-1, in singles. The three doubles sets were unnecessary, since SMC had already clinched.

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"This is the way I like it—everyone can get out of here early, rest up and get ready for the next one," said 11-year SMC head coach Richard Goldenson, whose team lost to Saddleback 5-4 in the regional finals last spring. "This is only the first step towards getting where we want to be."

SMC (15-1 overall, 10-0 in conference) has gone 20-0 in the Western State Conference over the last two seasons and wrapped up the No. 1 seed by beating Saddleback 5-4 in a nonconference showdown last week. The Corsairs' only blemish was a 5-2 loss to Cal State Los Angeles, an NCAA Division II school. 

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"One of our girls had to leave early, and three of the matches went to tiebreaks," said Goldenson, who earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia in 1988 and a master's degree at Cal State Northridge in 2009. "Otherwise, we might've won. We haven't lost to a community-college team yet."

Criss Rodriguez and Krystal Hansard got the Corsairs off to a quick start. Rodriguez, a freshman from Taft High in Woodland Hills, swept Rio Hondo freshman Elizabeth Vega, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2 singles. Hansard, a freshman from Calabasas High, blanked Roadrunners sophomore Maggie Lei, 6-0, 6-0. 

"This is a very talented group. I just hope they don't get too tired," said Michael O'Hara, the Corsairs' assistant coach for the last two seasons. "Last year, we had to play so much tennis in a such a short time that it caught up to us."

O'Hara's connection to SMC goes back decades. He earned his associates degree there in 1952, before going on to earn his bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1954 and his MBA at the University of Southern California in 1963.

Next to finish was No. 1 player Katerina Mozolyuk, who kept her perfect singles record intact with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Rio Hondo sophomore Maggie Vasquez. 

"We're pretty confident we can win [the state title]," said Mozolyuk, who played her freshman and senior years at . Despite suffering back and hamstring injuries as a sophomore and junior, she was ranked in the Top 40 in SoCal in the 16s and in the Top 80 in the 18s.

Hanna Sacher, a transfer from Cuesta, trailed 5-2 in the first set of her match at No. 6 singles before retiring due to sickness.

Jutta Collet, who is from the Ivory Coast but attended Samohi prior to SMC, beat Rio Hondo freshman Thuy Ta, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4 singles. Gwendolyn Kauffmann, a sophomore from France, notched the decisive point with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 spot. 

"Everyone has qualified [for individuals], so we're already doing better than last year," said Jutta, who plays doubles with Mozolyuk and will do so at next week's Ojai Tournament. "We are very strong in singles and doubles." 

Tiana Lauritzen partnered with Anastasia Eliseeva to win last year's Community College doubles division at Ojai, but it might have weakened the Corsairs' lineup for the regional team finals—a scenario Goldenson intends to avoid this time.

"It's actually not going to be as bad this year because of the [Easter] holiday, but ours was the last match of [last year], and we were the last ones to check out of our hotel," he said. "We had one day off, then two playoff matches back-to-back, and the girls that won Ojai were so exhausted they couldn't play."

Goldenson is anxious to see an Ojai doubles final between his top two tandems—Mozolyuk/Collet and Rodriguez/Hansard, who like to serve and volley. 

"It could happen, because both are very good teams," he said. "That would be an entertaining match."

Having taken the first step on the road to the state championship, the Corsairs will host either No. 4 Mt. San Antonio or No. 6 Riverside in the second round on Tuesday at .

Should SMC prevails, it would return to Reed Park to host the regional finals May 4. The state final is Thursday, May 12, at the Sierra Sport & Racquet Club in Fresno. Dual scoring is a best-of-nine format, with six singles and three doubles matches each worth one point. The first team to five points wins.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL PLAYOFFS

First Round @ Reed Park

Santa Monica College 5, Rio Hondo College 1

Singles

1. Katerina Mozolyuk, SMC, d. Maggie Vasquez, 6-0, 6-2 
2. Criss Rodriguez, SMC, d. Elizabeth Vega, 6-1, 6-0
3. Krystal Hansard, SMC, d. Maggie Lei, 6-0, 6-0
4. Jutta Collet, SMC, d. Thuy Ta, 6-3, 6-1
5. Gwendolyn Kauffmann, SMC, d. Chloe Guillen, 6-1, 6-2 
6. Vanessa Del Villar, RH, d. Hanna Sacher, 5-2, retired

Doubles

Not played 

Records: Rio Hondo 9-6; Santa Monica 15-1

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