Run It Back: Irvine Valley and Foothill Clash Again for 3C2A Crown
Men's Tennis Championship Page
Ventura, Calif. - The rematch is set.
The 2026 3C2A Men's Dual Team State Championship, hosted on April 22 at Ventura College, features a highly anticipated rematch of last year's final, with SoCal No. 1 seed Irvine Valley College squaring off against NorCal No. 2 seed Foothill College.
In the 2025 version, Foothill jumped out to an early lead by taking two of the three doubles matches. However, the Lasers roared back during singles, capturing the next four points to secure a 5-2 victory and claim their fourth state title. IVC will look to defend its throne as Foothill seeks redemption and its first state title in nearly three decades.
No. 1 Irvine Valley College (13-1 Overall, 8-0 Orange Empire Conference)
The defending state champions arrive on the South Coast looking like a force to be reckoned with. Under the guidance of Orange Empire Conference Coach of the Year Ross Duncan, the Lasers cruised to an OEC title and have dropped just one match all season.
After spending the entire season No. 1 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)'s 3C2A Southern California rankings, IVC tore through a trio of Western State Conference opponents on its postseason path to the final, dismantling No. 8 Santa Barbara (5-0), No. 4 Ventura (5-0), and No. 7 Glendale (5-1).
"It's a pretty exciting that we've made it back and we've got a rematch against Foothill," said Duncan. "It would mean a lot to our entire program to repeat. As we've seen, anything can happen in this year's playoffs, so we're hoping to play our best tennis and let the chips fall where they may."
The Lasers are led by a plethora of young talent. Freshman Philip Neuman earned OEC Singles Player of the Year; he and fellow freshman Steven Anderson also formed the OEC's top doubles pairing.
A victory on Wednesday would give Irvine Valley its second consecutive title and fifth in program history, adding to its dominant three-peat from 2015-2017.
No. 2 Foothill College (9-3 Overall, 4-2 Coast Conference)
Fresh off a nail-biting victory over NorCal No. 1 Chabot College, the Owls are carrying considerable momentum into Wednesday's championship.
Having lost to Chabot twice during the regular season - most recently a 7-2 drubbing on April 2 - the Owls got the last laugh in Saturday's Regional Final, edging the Gladiators 5-4 in a thriller.
Foothill won No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to take an early lead, but Chabot rallied for an advantage in the singles. However, Foothill's Ian Darby eventually earned the deciding point by outlasting his opponent in the final pairing of the day.
"We're happy to be back with this group of local guys. We're going to just play and see how things shake out," said Foothill head coach Dixie Macias. "Irvine is a very strong program and is deserving of the success they've had. Our team knows what we can do and we're going to enjoy the week."
Foothill boasts a storied tennis history with 13 state championships, but the program is hungry for its first banner since 1997. The Owls will lean heavily on the experience of Abdala Quintero, Dany Yavir, and Nathan Nguyen, who all played in last year's matchup with IVC. Quintero and Yavir both won their respective doubles matches in the 2025 final.
A win by the Owls would bring the championship trophy back to the NorCal Region for the first time since 2014 (Fresno City College).
The Owls also beat No. 7 Sequoias (9-0) and No. 4 Cabrillo (5-0) on their way to the final.
Courtesy of Matt Berson, RealSID.com