Pirates start strong with a pair of wins
SAN DIEGO -- The Orange Coast College men's tennis team kicked off the 2015 season in style, posting a 9-0 win over Victor Valley College and a 7-2 win over San Diego City College.
In the opener against Victor Valley, the Pirates cruised to five straight-set wins, highlighted by Elmer Van Butselaar (6-0, 6-2), Chris Chiu (6-1, 6-1), Darren Dinh (6-0, 6-0), Peter Hariri (6-0, 6-1) and Ross Ewart (6-0, 6-0).
In doubles, the wins continued, led by the teams of Van Butselaar/Justin Nevins (8-4) and Dinh/Phil Vu, 8-0. Coast also picked up a pair of wins by default.
Against the Knights on Tuesday, Coast dropped a pair of tiebreakers, but still managed to control things the rest of the way. Van Butselaar again cruised, 6-0, 6-2, while Dinh (6-3, 6-0) and Hariri (6-4, 6-1) each earned straight-set wins. Ewart notched a 4-6, 6-2, (10-7) win with a tiebreaker victory.
In doubles, it was a straight sweep, led by John Lieu/Dinh (8-2), Van Butselaar/Chiu (8-0) and Hariri/Phillip Vu (8-5).
The Pirates will return to action on Thursday at home against Palomar, beginning at 2 p.m.
