4/15/11: Gauchos stun conference with doubles teams
 Saddleback College qualified three doubles teams for the Southern California regional tournament May 5-7 in Palm Desert by reaching the quarterfinal round of the Orange Empire Conference individual tournament hosted by the college April 14-15.
Eemaun Latifi will be Saddleback's lone representative in singles as he won his quarterfinal match over Jesse Chen of Orange Coast (2-6, 6-4, retired). He had beaten Dhanuk Withana of Cypress (6-4, 4-6, 6-3) in the Round of 16 to qualify for the Southern California regional tournament and also earn all-conference honors in singles.
Saddleback's success at the conference tournament in doubles was astounding. Brothers Eemaun and Omeed Latifi won three straight matches, including a default win over a Riversider City College pair, to earn all-conference honors in doubles. They will be Saddleback's highest seeded duo at the regional event. Also qualifying for the regional event was the tandem of Eric Barnard and Will McKinney, a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Orange Coast's Jesse Chen and Gregory Villacana in the Round of 16. Joining the regional tournament will be the Saddleback duo of Jake Barnard and Travis McClellan who upended Orange Coast's Patrick Wright and Felix Demiro by a 6-4, 6-3 score.
4/1/11: Men’s tennis snaps losing streak with win over IVC
 The Saddleback men’s tennis team entered the match with Irvine Valley on Thursday looking to snap a two-game losing streak and keep their hopes alive for a playoff spot. The Gauchos responded nicely with hard-fought 5-4 win over the Lasers.
Saddleback and Irvine Valley battled all the way until the end when brothers Eemaun Latifi and Omeed Latifi battled for an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles. Omeed Latifi had previously dominated at No. 6 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ryan Sleiman before pairing with his brother to secure the team win.
Saddleback improved to 8-6 overall and 4-5 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win. They will finish up conference play when they host Riverside College on Tuesday. Match time is set for 2:00 PM.
Singles:
1. J. Thompson (IVC) def. Eemaun Latifi (SC) 6-0, 6-1
2. T. Truong (IVC) def. Eric Barnard (SC) 6-7, 6-2, 6-0
3. Sina Sharifi (SC) def. C. Naamani (IVC) 6-1, 6-4
4. Jake Barnard (SC) def. M. Sharp (IVC) 6-3, 6-1
5. M. Zampigla (IVC) def. Jon Tran (SC) 6-0, 6-2
6. Omeed Latifi (SC) def. R. Sleiman (IVC) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles:
1. J. Barnard & S. Sharifi (SC) def. Troung & Sharp (IVC) 8-6
2. Thompson & Naamani (IVC) def. E. Barnard & Will McKinney (SC) 8-6
3. E. Latifi & O. Latifi (SC) def. Zampiglia & Sleiman (IVC) 8-3
3/23/11: Men’s tennis cruises past Fullerton
 The men’s tennis team picked up its seventh win of the season on Tuesday with a 6-3 win over Fullerton College at the Saddleback tennis courts. The win keeps the Gauchos in the hunt in the Orange Empire Conference race with key matches coming up on the schedule.
Eemaun Latifi picked up wins in both singles and doubles play in leading Saddleback to its third straight win over community college programs. The only loss since early March for the Gauchos was against Amherst College, an NCAA DIII program in Massachusetts.
Latifi dominated at No. 1 singles, winning 6-0, 6-1 before teaming up with Austin Ward at No. 3 singles for an 8-0 win. Other solid wins in singles were turned in by Sina Sharifi, Jake Barnard and Omeed Latifi.
Saddleback will play again at home against Orange Coast College on Thursday. Match time is set for 2:00 PM.
Singles:
1. Eemaun Latifi (SC) def. J. Nguyen (FC) 6-0, 6-1
2. K. Reifler (FC) def. Travis McClellan (SC) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. P. Fajardo (FC) def. Eric Barnard (SC) 0-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Sina Sharifi (SC) def. D. Pham (FC) 6-0, 6-1
5. Jake Barnard (SC) def. S. Ngo (FC) 6-2, 6-2
6. Omeed Latifi (SC) def. I. Cahuana (FC) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles:
1. Reifler & Nguyen (FC) def. McClellan & J. Barnard (SC) 8-6
2. E. Barnard & Will McKinney (SC) def. Pham & Fajardo (FC) 8-2
3. E. Latifi & Austen Ward (SC) def. Ngo & Cahuana (FC) 8-0
3/16/11: Men’s tennis cruises past Grossmont College
The Saddleback men’s tennis team has already doubled its win total from a year ago as they head into the second half of the 2011 season. The latest win was a 6-3 win over Grossmont College on Tuesday, propelling the Gauchos to their sixth win of the season.
Saddleback dominated at singles, winning five of six matches in closing out the team match before it ever reached doubles play. Brothers Eemaun Latifi and Omeed Latifi scored identical 6-2, 6-2 wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles respectively before taking the rest of the day off. Travis McClellan, Eric Barnard and Jake Barnard were also winners in singles play as the Gauchos defeated Grossmont 67-43 in total games at singles play.
Saddleback then won one of three doubles matches as Sina Sharifi and Will McKinney combined for an 8-6 win at no. 2 doubles.
Men’s tennis will take to the courts again next Tuesday at home when they host Fullerton College. Match time is set for 2:00 PM.
Singles:
1. Eemaun Latifi (SC) def. Cristian Ceparu (GC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Travis McClellan (SC) def. Eddie Covera (GC) 6-4, 7-5
3. Kaptan Kaster (GC) def. Austen Ward (SC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Eric Barnard (SC) def. Matthew Mims (GC) 6-2, 6-4
5. Jake Barnard (SC) def. Benajmin Roy (GC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Omeed Latifi (SC) def. Charlie Twohey (GC) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles:
1. Covera & Roy (GC) def. McClellan & J. Barnard (SC) 8-6
2. Sina Sharifi & Will McKinney (SC) def. Kaster & Mims (GC) 8-6
3. Ceparu & Twohey (GC) def. Allen Darmawan & Charley Thompson (SC) 8-6
3/2/11: Men’s tennis bounces back with dominating win
 Five days after surrendering its first defeat of the season the men’s tennis team bounced back with a dominating win over Fullerton College, 9-0. The Gauchos showed great depth, as the final three singles players dropped just nine games total in six sets of tennis.
From top to bottom Saddleback was a dominating force on Tuesday. Eleven different players contributed to the win as Saddleback ran its record to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in Orange Empire Conference play.
Travis McClellan won at both singles and doubles, scoring a 6-4, 7-5 win over Jason Nguyen in singles before pairing with Jake Barnard for a default win in doubles play. Omeed Latifi, Austen Ward and Will McKinney showed great depth in the Saddleback lineup when they combined to win 36-of-45 games at numbers 4-6 singles.
Saddleback will be in action again on Thursday when they travel to Orange Coast College to take on the Pirates. Match time is set for 2:00 PM.
Singles:
1. Eemaun Latifi (SC) def. Kevin Reifler (FC) 6-4, 6-2
2. Travis McClellan (SC) def. Jason Nguyen (FC) 6-4, 7-5
3. Eric Barnard (SC) def. Pablo Fajardo (FC) 7-6, 6-3
4. Omeed Latifi (SC) def. Sam Ngo (FC) 6-2, 6-1
5. Austen Ward (SC) def. David Pham (FC) 6-0, 6-2
6. Will McKinney (SC) def. Ivan Cahvana (FC) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles:
1. T. McClellan & Jake Barnard (SC) def. K Reifler & Fajardo (FC) default
2. Sina Sharifi & Chris Poole (SC) def. Ngo & Nguyen (FC) 9-7
3. Jon Tran & Allen Darmawan (SC) def. Pham & Cahvana (FC) 8-6
2/15/11: Men’s tennis hammers Long Beach City to start 3-0
The Saddleback men’s tennis team is off to a quick start to the 2011 campaign, improving to 3-0 on Tuesday after a 9-0 win over Long Beach City College in Long Beach. Brothers Latifi both scored singles wins and then teamed up to win at doubles in leading the Gauchos to a rout over the Vikings.
Eemaun Latifi was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Alex Neckelman at No. 1 singles while brother Omeed Latifi scored a 6-4, 6-0 win over Richie Prum at No. 3 singles as the Gauchos beat Long Beach in 73 of 95 singles games on the afternoon. The two brothers then teamed up for an 8-6 win over Neckelman and Matt Taggert in what would be the most contested match of the day.
The 3-0 start by Saddleback equals the number of wins for the entire season in 2010 and is a dramatic improvement for a program that has gone just 8-23 over the past two seasons.
“It is a really encouraging start for our team,” head coach Bud Davis said. “Hopefully we can use these wins to build up some momentum heading into conference play.
Saddleback opens up Orange Empire Conference play next Thursday when they travel to Riverside to take on the Tigers. Match time is set for 2:00 PM.
Singles:
1. Eemaun Latifi (SC) def. Alex Neckelman (LBCC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Jake Barnard (SC) def. Matt Taggart (LBCC) 6-2, 6-2
3. Omeed Latifi (SC) def. Richie Prum (LBCC) 6-4, 6-0
4. Jon Tran (SC) def. Adrian Ternora (LBCC) 7-5, 6-3
5. Austen Ward (SC) def. Anthony Hean (LBCC) 6-1, 6-0
6. Chris Poole (SC) def. Anthony Herrera (LBCC) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles:
1. E. latifi & O. Latifi (SC) def. Neckelman & Taggart (LBCC) 8-6
2. Eric Barnard & Allen Darmawan (SC) def. Prum & Ternora (LBCC) 8-3
3. Sina Sharifi & Charley Thompson (SC) def. Hean & Herrera (LBCC) 8-0
2/9/11: Men’s tennis still unbeaten after thrilling win
 The men’s tennis team remained unbeaten on Tuesday after a 5-4 win over Glendale College. The Gauchos rallied from a 2-0 deficit to start the season 2-0.
Saddleback displayed some depth on Tuesday after dropping matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Sina Sharifi got the Gauchos on track with a 6-4, 2-6, 10-4 win over Stephan Mamann at No. 3 singles before Eric Barnard rallied from one set down to defeat Andre Ratavousian, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7, to get Saddleback back to even.
Trailing 4-3 heading into the final two doubles matches, Barnard would team up with Will McKinney for a dominating 8-1 win to send things into the final match at No. 3 doubles. Sharifi would then team up with Eemaun Latifi to defeat Eric Khanlarian and Mamann, 8-1, giving the Gauchos an exciting 5-4 win at Glendale College.
Saddleback will play again next Tuesday at Long Beach City College.
Singles:
1. Alex Sarkissian (GC) def. Eemaun Latifi (SC) 6-0, 6-0
2. Trevor Campbell (GC) def. Travis mcClellan (SC) 6-0, 6-4
3. Sina Sharifi (SC) def. Stephan Mamann (GC) 6-4, 2-6, 10-4
4. Eric Barnard (SC) def. Andre Ratavousian (GC) 4-6, 6-3, 10-7
5. Dro Mahmoujd (GC) def. Jake Barnard (SC) 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
6. Austen Ward (SC) def. Mike Astorian (GC) 7-5, 6-0
Doubles:
1. Sarkissian & Campbell (GC) def. McClellan & Ward (SC) 8-2
2. E. Barnard & Will McKinney (SC) def. Astorian & Ratavousian (GC) 8-1
3. E. Latifi & S. Sharifi (SC) def. Eric Khanlarian & Mamann (GC) 8-1
2/3/11: Men's tennis shoots down Comets
 The Saddleback men's tennis team blanked the Palomar Comets by a 9-0 score on Thursday, the opening day of the 2011 tennis season.
Eemaun Latifi defeated his Palomar counterpart at No. 1 singles by a 6-3, 6-3 count and Travis McClellan added a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles to set the pace for the rest of the team. The Gauchos won the match as Sina Sharifi-Hosseini won at No. 3, Eric Barnard won at No. 4, Jake Barnard won at No. 5, and Austen Ward won at No. 6.
The Gauchos also swept the doubles competition as Travis McClellan and Jake Barnard teamed up at No. 1 doubles for an 8-1 pro-set victory.
1/27/11: Gauchos fall to Falcons in scrimmage
 Saddleback's men's tennis team fell to Cerritos College Falcons in a preseason scrimmage on the home courts Thursday afternoon, absorbing a 7-2 setback to a team coach Bud Davis thinks will be a contender for the South Coast Conference title.
"Cerritos was a good team but I thought we would outlast them with our depth. We made a couple of mistakes and got out of our game plan, but that's partly expected in our first match. It's something for us to work on," Davis said.
Saddleback's Travis McClellan won his singles match at No. 4 with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Nick Johnson. Sina Sharifi-Hosseini lost a three-set match at No. 5 singles (6-3, 2-6, 7-5) and Austen Ward fought hard for three hours at No. 6 singles but finally fell 6-4, 6-4. McClellan and Jake Barnard teamed up for a 9-7 victory at No. 3 doubles for Saddleback's other point.
"Cerritos' top doubles team was better than I expected. In fact, if they play like that for the rest of the season they could be state champions," Davis said.
Davis said he was happy with the way his team battled and hopes that the younger players see what it will take to be competitive this season. Saddleback will travel to L.A. Pierce on Tuesday and will return home to host Palomar on Thursday (Feb. 3) at 2:00 p.m.
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