Burbank’s Orellana falls in semifinals of league tennis tournament
Burbank High’s Kevin Orellana came up short in Wednesday’s Pacific League Tournament semifinals.
PASADENA — When Burbank High boys’ singles player Kevin Orellana was a freshman, he advanced to the semifinals of the Pacific League Tournament before winning his final match and placing third.
“When he made it last time that was in 2013 and the league wasn’t as stacked as it is now,” Burbank assistant coach Kenneth Banares said. “This year it is a lot tougher and the singles competition is very tough.”
Orellana found that out in the tournament semifinals Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs senior ran into a tough opponent in No. 1 Charles Deng of Arcadia and fell in the final-four match, 6-0, 6-0.
Deng, a junior, rolled to his second straight league singles championship, defeating teammate and No. 2 seed Jonathan Figueria in the pro-set final, 8-0.
Deng used a powerful serve and an efficient baseline game to defeat Orellana.
“He’s a very good player, very consistent and he’s very powerful,” Orellana said. “He just has a lot of top spin on his shots and he really kills a lot of the balls. Also, his wrist movement is so quick that his shots just come off so fast.
“I knew who I was going against and I knew he was going to be a tough person to beat. I just wanted to come in and play the best that I could, do my best and see where it goes. Just to be able to represent Burbank and get this far is an honor.”
In two previous meetings this season, Deng earned 6-3 wins against Orellana.
“It’s tough to play someone like Charles,” Banares said. “It’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing. But Charles is a good player all-around.”
Orellana had a chance to bounce back in the third-place match against No. 3 Jonathan Frink, a senior from Crescenta Valley. Orellana played well in the pro-set match, but fell against the Falcon, 8-6.
The top two finishers from the tournament earned spots in the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament. The third-place finishers are alternates.
In the doubles final, it was an all-Arcadia matchup, as the No. 2 team of Jun Nakmine and Nicholas Figueria defeated No. 1 Brian Kim and Sunham Dikhit, 6-0, 6-4.
Burbank, which placed third in the Pacific League, will take part in the CIF Southern Section team playoffs next week. The playoff parings will be released Monday, with wild-card contests Tuesday and first-round matches on Wednesday.