If the crown fits, keep it.
A year after staging a comeback en route to the state title, Irvine Valley's men's tennis team left no doubt during the 2026 3C2A Men's Dual Team Championship, sweeping Foothill College, 5-0, in a rematch of the 2025 version Wednesdayat Ventura College.
The win marks IVC's fifth state championship, all of which have come since 2015.
"Going back-to-back means everything. When players come to IVC, we want them to know they have an opportunity to win State," said IVC head coach Ross Duncan.
"This is a really special group. They were extremely coachable and their team spirit and energy were unmatched."
IVC sprinted out of the gates at No. 2 doubles with freshman Humam Alajeely and sophomore Nevin McCann breaking Foothill three times en route to a 6-0 lead.
The Laser duo prevailed 8-2 for the first point of the day.
With No. 1 doubles, the Orange Empire Conference's pair of the year, freshmen Philip Neuman and Steven Anderson, held off a mid-set rally from Foothill's Abdala Quintero and Danyl Yavir.
Trailing 4-1, Quintero and Yavir broke the IVC duo and pulled within one.
But, Neuman and Anderson responded by breaking serve and adding another game to make it 6-3 on their way to an 8-5 win.
Sophomore Jonathan Hinkel and freshman Richard Petery came up big for IVC on court three, rallying off three straight games twice within the dual on their way to an 8-3 victory over Devin Bergman and Santi Montgomery.
For McCann, who fell in his doubles pairing in 2025 and was the only returning IVC player from last year's lineup, getting the first point on the board was critical.
"It's important to get off to a fast start in doubles," he said. "Just staying present and getting what needs to get done in the moment really helped us to the start we wanted."
In singles, Anderson continued his stellar play, overpowering Yavir, 6-1, 6-1, on court two.
Anderson's victory was quickly followed by sophomore Bradley Yung's, 6-4, 6-0, solid triumph over Devin Bergman, which sent the Lasers into chants and celebrations out on the sixth court to take another title.
"Getting the final point was super cool. I haven't been able to finish a match in these playoffs because other people have clinched before me," said Yung. "I felt the energy from my teammates who really helped me along. To go back-to-back is unbelievable."
The Lasers had won the first set of all four singles matches that did not finish the day.
Foothill's Ian Darby gave the Owls a bright spot, picking off the second set from Petery in No. 3 singles.
Foothill ended the season 9-4 overall with an upset win over conference rival and NorCal No. 1 seed Chabot on its posseason resume.
IVC finished the season 14-1 overall with the only loss coming to a four-year college.
The Lasers earned the OEC conference title, a No. 1 SoCal Region seed, and defeated No. 8 Santa Barbara, No. 4 Ventura, and No. 7 Glendale on its postseason journey.
"We've worked so hard all season and it led to this moment," said Anderson. "It all paid off today."
Irvine Valley College 5, Foothill College 0
Doubles
1. Philip Neuman/Steven Anderson (IVC) def. Abdala Quintero/Danyl Yavir (FC), 8-5
2. Humam Alajeely/Nevin McCann (IVC) def. Nathan Nguyen/Ian Darby (FC), 8-2
3. Jonathan Hinkel/Richard Petery (IVC) def. Devin Bergman/Santi Montgomery (FC), 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. Philip Neuman (IVC) led Abdala Quintero (FC), 6-3, 2-2 DNF
2. Steven Anderson (IVC) def. Danyl Yavir (FC), 6-1, 6-1
3. Richard Petery (IVC) vs Ian Darby (FC), 6-1, 3-6, 0-0 DNF
4. Humam Alajeely (IVC) led Nathan Nguyen (FC), 6-4, 4-0 DNF
5. Nevin McCann (IVC) led Santi Montgomery (FC), 6-4, 1-0 DNF
6. Bradley Yung (IVC) def. Devin Bergman (FC), 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2, 6
Courtesy of Matt Berson
And thank you to the ITA, wearecollegetennis.com for the coverage and the 3C2A for the additional pictures by Richard Quinton
