In leading up to the start of the 2016-17 athletics campaign at Irvine Valley, which starts Friday, Aug. 26 with women's soccer hosting a match, the Laser athletic department will count down the top 10 IVC sports stories from the 2015-16 school year.
The No. 1 story on the list is about the continued dominance of the Irvine Valley men's tennis team. The Lasers won their second straight California Community College Athletic Association state championship in late April in Ventura. Irvine Valley finished the year with a record of 21-2 overall. IVC playing in its third consecutive state final, won its final 16 matches of the season and completed a perfect season against community college opponents. Over the last three years, the Lasers have a record of 55-6 and have also won three Orange Empire Conference titles in a row.
Irvine Valley's men's tennis team handled another postseason opponent with ease and repeated as the California Community College Athletic Association state champion on Tuesday at Ventura College.
IVC, which won its first three playoff matches in the Southern California Regionals by the score of 5-0, defeated American River from Sacramento in the title match, 5-1.
American River's No. 1 doubles team of Joseph Capaul and Alex Meliuk gave the Beavers their only point on the day.
Irvine Valley won two of three doubles matches and the first three singles contests to earn another championship.
IVC finishes the season with a 21-2 record as ARC walks away 17-3.
The Lasers, playing in their third consecutive state final, won their last 16 matches of the season and completed a perfect season against community college competition (both defeats came to four-year universities).
The IVC No. 2 doubles team of sophomores Scott Paz and Bruno Figlia won, 8-4, and the No. 3 team of freshman Gavin Lynch and sophomore Kevin Pham won, 8-3, to give IVC a 2-1 lead in matches heading into the singles round.
Then Irvine Valley won easy at the third, fourth and fifth singles spots to take the match.
Freshman Javier Callejo defeated Capaul, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 3 singles.
Freshman Octave Bellet beat Sean McDaniel, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 4 spot.
And Figlia took down Dylan King, 6-1, 6-0, on the fifth court to give IVC the overall win.
Irvine Valley has a record of 38-5 over the last two seasons.
Irvine Valley ended up earning a Triple Crown of titles during the state championships with Callejo winning the program's first ever state singles title and the team of Figlia and Paz winning the doubles crown over teammates Sam Cohen and Callejo.
Cohen ended up being named the Orange Empire Conference player of the year and was also Irvine Valley's male scholar athlete of the year.
Paz and Flavien Raveau earned scholarships to Division 1 Eastern Washington and Figlia moved on to play at Hawaii Hilo.