The Pierce College tennis team was defeated by San Diego Mesa College in a faceoff where Pierce only won one of the nine matchups on Tuesday, March 24 at Pierce College.
In a 1-8 loss, the team extended its streak to four, the most consecutive matches the Brahmas have lost all season.
The only match the Brahmas were able to win was a doubles match played by Pierce freshmen Artiom Dimitriev and Kiran Devaraj.
Dimitriev and Devaraj almost let their lead slip, but went on to win the match 9-7.
“That’s just us losing focus,” Devaraj said. “We definitely need to just keep focus throughout the match. Even if we are up and one point away from winning, you just can’t lose focus.”
“I’m glad these guys that are playing on court one won their match,” head coach Rajeev Datt said.
Although the Brahmas were able to win the final match of the day, Datt couldn’t find many positives in his team’s overall performance. He explained his frustration with the players’ mentalities.
“These guys, I don’t think they believe,” Datt said. “They don’t believe that they belong here. At this point I’m doubting my abilities to coach because it doesn’t matter what I’m saying. Mentally, I’m not getting through to these guys.”
Dimitriev spoke on the team’s overall result.
“It’s a little bit of disappointment, but we still have a good feeling that we won our doubles match,” Dimitriev said. “We will prepare to win the next match 8-1 and not lose 1-8.”
Datt also shared his displeasure with the team’s season so far.
“I’ve worked with touring pros and players that are D-1,” Datt said. “Just last year I had Richard Catabona that got to the semifinals of state. He won the ITA Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award. So one year I have a result like that and then the very next year I have a crew that just seems like they’re lost.”
The team will play its final match of the season Thursday, March 26 at Pierce College.
