Three-Set Thrillers Decide Tennis Corsairs’ Loss to Ventura College
Santa Monica College women’s tennis team fell to the Ventura College Pirates 3-6, breaking its winning streak from the last two Western State Conference matches on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at Ocean Park View Tennis Courts in Santa Monica.
Corsairs Zoe Allias and Helene Lambret won SMC’s No.3 doubles match against Pirates Ella Morgan and Sherry Bonilla, 8-4. Both Corsairs captains, Yulia Klokova and Allias, won their singles matches. Klokova defeated Pirate Kira Branson in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and Allias beat Pirate Chandra Padua, 6-3, 6-4.
Klokova joined Sarah Ashby for their No.1 doubles match, but were defeated by Branson and Padua, taking the first doubles loss for the Corsairs. Sofia Magdaleno and Samantha Karns lost their No.2 doubles match against Pirates Dulce Contreras and Isabella DeRosa, 8-9 (3-7). Corsairs trailed the Pirates 1-2 after doubles play.
After Klokova and Allias both earned points for their singles matches, Corsair Lambret lost her No.6 singles match against Pirate Bonilla, 6-3, 6-1. Contreras continued the Pirates momentum, defeating Ashby, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), in the No.3 singles match.
While Magdaleno evened her No.4 singles match with a 6-2 second set win, DeRosa clinched the victory for the Pirates in the third set, 7-5, after winning the first set 6-1. Karns finished last in her No.5 singles match. She led the first set 6-3, but fell in another 3-set match against Morgan, losing the final two sets 6-0, 7-5.
The Corsairs lost 2-7 in their opening match against Ventura in January. “It happens when we go up there, we turn not to play well,” said Corsairs head coach, Richard Goldenson. Reflecting on the current standings, he said, “We played 3-4 overall, and we are in contention for the playoffs. We kind of got to win today.”
According to Goldenson, the conference match was closer than the score suggested and was decided by multiple three-set matches and tiebreakers. Goldenson said, “It was super close. Many three-setters.”
Corsairs co-captain Allias, a sophomore and biochemistry major, was injured with a dislocated shoulder last season but returned to play in SMC’s No.2 singles position. “The season is going well. We are a lot of freshmen, only Yulia and I are sophomores,” she said. “The more matches, the better we’re gonna get. It’s all about experience. … It seems that the conference is pretty much at the same level, and we have really good players. It’s the level of experience that matters.”
The Western State Conference Championship qualifying schedule has changed from the regular match days of Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting Wednesday, April 1, 2026 this season. Goldenson said he spoke with the organizer and raised concerns about athletes missing classes. “So, there’s a little bit of a problem. I don’t know how many players we will bring, or will be able to participate,” Goldenson said.
Santa Monica College will play at home against LA Mission on Tuesday, March 10, at 1 p.m. at Ocean View Park tennis courts in Santa Monica.