Pirate ladies doubles play deep into State Tournament

OJAI -- The wins piled up for the Orange Coast College women's doubles team of Michelle Cyrus and Mai Hashimoto at the 2013 California Community College Athletic Association Women's Tennis State Championships, held at the Ojai Tennis Center this past weekend.

Not among the favorites at the event, Cyrus and Hashimoto began things with a solid 6-2, 6-3 win over Community College of San Francisco's Marianna Baguio and Elsie Woo in the Round of 64.

The upsets began in the Round of 32 when Coast's dynamic duo defeated Saddleback's Kiana Hein and Kelsey Markle (ranked No. 5 in the bracket), 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 (super tiebreaker).

The fun continued for Cyrus and Hashimoto in the Round of 16 when they again fell behind early, then rallied back to defeat No. 2 seeded Arlesha Samuda and Namrata Sher of Chabot, 5-7, 6-3, 10-8.

In the state quarterfinals, it was more of the same story as Cyrus/Hashimoto outlasted Glendale's Alexandra Amor and Sofia Tavitan, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-8 to earn a trip to the semifinals.

"It was an amazing run for these girls," OCC head coach Janice Maran said. "To fall behind in three straight matches, then come back and win in a super tiebreaker three straight times ... it was an incredible run."

The run came to an end in the state semifinals, however, as Cyrus/Hashimoto lost to Santa Monica City College's Juliana Nelkin and Kaori Tsuda, 6-2, 6-3.

Another Pirate duo -- Krystal Hernandez and Maddie Koehly -- also used a couple of strong wins to advance to the Sweet 16 of the State Tournament.

In the Round of 64, they cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Modesto's Valerie Munoz and Angela Rosa before topping DeAnza's Katherine Kasprow and Ghia Mahta, 6-4, 6-0 in the Round of 32.

But as kind as the super tiebreaker was to Cyrus/Hashimoto, the fates didn't smile well on Hoehly/Hernandez as the fell in the Sweet 16 to Mt. San Antonio's Elaine Chan and Alvenna Lee, 4-6, 7-5, 10-6, ending their solid run up the tournament bracket.

For complete results on the CCCAA State Championships, click HERE.