Irvine Valley pulls off rare triple crown of titles at state

Irvine Valley freshman Javier Callejo continued to be the slayer of high-seeded players on Sunday at The Ojai as he upset No. 1 Hiro Koyanagi of Ventura 7-5, 6-2 in the California Community College Athletic Association Men's Tennis singles championship.

Callejo, the No. 10 seed from Irvine Valley, knocked off the Nos. 8, 4, 7 and 2 seeds on his way to the final at Libbey Park in Ojai. He rallied to beat teammate Sam Cohen, the Lasers' No. 1 player and the 2nd seed in the South, in Saturday's semifinals, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-0.

Koyanagi, who fell to 19-2, was trying to become the first repeat men's State champion since Dan Omaboe of Marymount in 1995-96.

Callejo jumped out to early leads of 2-0 and 5-2 in the first set. Koyanagi won his serve with a slam at the net and took the next two games to tie it at 5. Callejo held serve and then broke Koyanagi to take the set 7-5.

Callejo broke the serve of the Pirate star six times in the match and never trailed. He built a commanding 5-0 lead in the second set on an overhead smash at 40-30. Koyanagi won the next two games before Callejo broke him again and won the title when Koyanagi hit into the net.

Callejo played a doubles semifinal at 8 a.m. on Sunday, teaming with Cohen to knock off the No. 2 team of Alex Meliuk and Cody Duong of American River in a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (12-10) marathon.

"I was a little tired from my doubles semifinal but I didn't feel any pressure because I didn't have anything to lose," said Callejo, a freshman from Madrid, Spain who went 15-0 in singles this year. "I don't have a good serve and he doesn't have a good serve, so I wasn't sure what to do with it. I just tried to stay aggressive."

Irvine Valley pulled off the Triple Crown, winning State titles in the dual-team men's competition, the State singles and State doubles. IVC also earned the Ojai team trophy for the team that won the most community college matches in individual events.

Callejo's victory was the first State singles title in school history.

"I can't believe I won the State right now," said Callejo. "It's awesome."

The Triple Crown by IVC was the first at a State championship since College of the Desert in 2006. It was the 13th time that the same school has won all three titles.

IVC assistant coach Zoran Korac was a State Community College finalist for Orange Coast in 2002 and also won a CIF State title in 1999.

"Javi came out firing and it was a little surprising because in the semis and quarters, he started slower," said Korac. "He was focused and determined today. He has a strong mind and a strong game to counter Hiro's firepower. Hiro has a great forehand but Javi wasn't letting him win a lot of points."

The doubles final was an all-IVC affair with the fourth-seeded team of sophomores Bruno Figlia of Brazil and Scott Paz outlasting teammates and the top-seeded team of Cohen and Callejo, 5-7, 6-4; 10-4 in the super tiebreaker.

It was the second straight year that Irvine Valley teams met each other in the state doubles final.

Figlia and Paz capped two-year Irvine Valley careers that saw them help Irvine Valley go 20-0 in the Orange Empire Conference, win two conference team titles, capture two team state titles as well as claim the doubles state championship. 

CCCAA State Tennis Championship Results 

Men's Singles Semifinals

 Javiier Callejo (10) def. Sam Cohen (2) 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-0

 Hiro Koyanagi (1) def. Sasha Krasnov (3) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

 Finals

 Javier Callejo (10) def. Hiro Koyanagi (1) 7-5, 6-2 

Men's Doubles Semifinals

 Figlia/Paz (4) def. Katsnelson/Krasnov (2) 6-3, 6-2

 Cohen/Callejo (1) def. Duong/Meliuk (2) 6-4, 5-7, 12-10

 Finals

 Figlia/Paz (4) def. Cohen/Callejo (1) 5-7, 6-4, 10-4

Information courtesy of Dave Loveton, SBCC Sports Information and Men's Tennis State Championship SID representative