Harold Goldstein
There were no green pastures at the end of the road as the Pierce College tennis team lost at home to their tough competitor, Glendale Community College April 3.
The game was focused on two sets of matches: singles and doubles.
Six tennis players from both schools played on individual courts in the singles matches while two players from both schools played on three different courts in the doubles matches.
Things did not go well for Pierce in the singles.
Pierce player Rodrik Gharassemian struggled to gain a foothold, but suffered a 6-0, 6-0 loss.
“I need to train harder,” said Gharassemian. “I played a pretty good match…(but)…I knew my chances were really small.”
Mark Lewin, enthusiastic in his cause, had given his opponent something of a challenge but ultimately lost 2-6 in both sets.
Long Dao did his best trying to make a dent in his opponent’s forces but lost 2-6 in the first set.
However, Dao made a daring comeback, giving his opponent a run for his money but lost 4-6 in the second set.
Noushad Simno was barely able to keep up with his opponent as he suffered a 0-6 loss in both sets.
“Honestly, I wasn’t prepared,” said Simno. “I tried my best. I guess [today] is my bad day.”
Along with his teammates, Dani Ferdman suffered a 6-0 loss in the first set.
In the second set things were looking up but he eventually he fell 2-6 in the second set.
The last match was surprising as Enrique Lewin had a 6-0 loss in the first set but stood proud and tall in the second set as he fought the opponent hard showing determination to win.
But the opponent was too fast, leaving Lewin with a 6-7 loss.
Pierce did get back up on its feet at the doubles matches.
Dao and Simno had struggled to keep up with their opponents.
With every strategy they handled, both felt hesitant to put out the decisive blows, which made them suffer a 2-8 loss.
“I need to practice my serves,” said Simno. “I think one of the factors was that I wasn’t consistent.”
On the other hand, Mark Lewin and Gharassemian had dominated their opponents with an 8-1 win of the match. Enrique Lewin and Marvin Banks, a practice-match tennis player, did exceptionally well as they defined “teamwork” with an 8-3 win.
Though there were successes in doubles, the end result was a loss for Pierce.
“It was a reality check,” said Allen Dunn, assistant coach for the Pierce tennis team.
“Glendale’s number one in [the] conference so I knew it was a tough team. In comparison to our last game [with Glendale], we were playing better.”
In hopes of a better future, the coaches will be using the rest of the season for better tennis practices, better positions on the competitions and recruitment of new players, said Dunn.
The tennis team’s next match is in Bakersfield tomorrow at 2 p.m.