Intestinal fortitude is something that the Cerritos College men’s tennis team does not lack.

The team takes on the mentality of its head coach Alvin Kim.

Before the season the team admitted that the one team that everybody wanted to play was defending state champion Irvine Valley.

Kim stands by his team’s decision and encourages no change in mentality.

“We’re the No. 2 team in the state, [we] beat every top team in the North. They were better than us, but would you prefer we avoid them next year? Print the same damn thing in the 2017 preview, ” he said.

Sophomore standout Agustin Lombardi felt the team might have bit off more than it could chew.

“I personally think that it was definitely closer than the first match. Even though the final score was 5-0. But yes, we were not at that level,” he said.

Cerritos lost both meetings to Irvine Valley by a total score of 13-1.

Kim even admitted that the Lasers had more talent than his team both times they played even those Irvine Valley did nothing different in the two meetings.

However, one takeaway is the Lasers were the only community college team to beat the Falcons all season long.

“We won 24 matches in a single season with four losses. Two were to top-10 division III teams and the other two to the same team,” Kim said.

Cerritos lost matches to Case Western Reserve (OH) University and Amherst (MA) College by a combined eight points.

One thing that stands out in Kim’s mind and he can take into the next season is the fact that his team beat Ventura twice in the same season.

The men’s tennis team has never won a state championship but Kim does not let that lower his nor his team’s morale as it heads into the offseason.

“We’ve never gotten to the Soouthern California Championships before, the last time was probably 30 years ago. Next year, anything less than a state title will be a let down.