MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE – MAY 7, 2022 – CCCAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Nicole West, the number one seed from Southern California in the CCCAA State Championships, battled her way to the finals to face off against the number one seed from Northern California, Zoe Olmos of Chabot College.   En route to the finals of the state championship, West, who had not lost a match in two years and raised her a SMC career record to 27 wins and 0 losses.  In the singles final, West lost a hard-fought match to Zoe Olmos of Chabot College, finishing the past two seasons with a cumulative singles record of 27-1. 

West’s singles match results for the 2022 CCCAA State Championships:

Round of 16 – West defeats the No. 8 seed from the North, Zeynep Aynaci (West Valley College) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals – West defeats the No. 4 seed from the North, Bailey Greenwell (Sierra College) 6-1, 6-1

Semifinals - West defeats the No. 2 ranked player from the North, Makayla Chassion (Monterrey Peninsula College) 6-2, 6-2

Finals – West loses to the No. 1 ranked player from the North, Zoe Olmos (Chabot College) 6-3, 7-6(5)

Coach Richard Goldenson commented “This was the most exciting singles final I have seen in my 22 years of coaching at SMC.  Nicole played incredibly well and we are all very proud of how she played and how she conducted herself with poise and represented SMC.”

After singles play at the 2022 State Championships, West and Kai Nikchevich, the number one seeded doubles team from the South, played for the State Doubles title of the of the California State Championships where they lost to Zoe Olmos and Julie Santiago, the No. 1 seeded team from the North.  Nikchevich and West finished the season with a 19-1 record.  West’s cumulative doubles record for the past two years is 25-1.

Kai Nikchevich & Nicole West’s doubles match results for the 2022 CCCAA State Championships:

Round of 16 – Nikchevich/West defeat the No. 8 seed from the North, Escalante/Savage (American River College) 6-1, 6-1

Quarterfinals – Nikchevich/West defeat the No. 5 seed from the South, Berrondo/Daffon (College of the Desert) 6-3, 6-3

Semifinals - Nikchevich/West defeat the No. 4 seed from the South, Busani/Zheng (Grossmont College) 6-3, 6-3

Finals – Nikchevich/West lose to the No. 1 ranked team from the North, Julie Santiago/Zoe Olmos (Chabot College) 6-2, 6-1

“To make the finals of both the singles and doubles state championships is an incredible accomplishment and something that has only been done two other times in school history,” said Coach Goldenson. 

SMC made it to both the finals of the singles and doubles state championship finals in 2011 and 2015.  In 2015, Mayra Jovic won the singles title and the doubles title with Izabel Nazdracheva.  In 2011, SMC won the singles and doubles state titles with Katarina Mozolyuk capturing the singles title and  Krystal Hansard and Criss Rodriguez teaming up to win the doubles crown.

Coach Goldenson summed up the 2022 season, “Nicole and Kai both gave it all they had and left it on the court and that is the ultimate a player can aspire to do.”