Crescenta Valley tennis breaks away late to top Burroughs
BURBANK — With two scheduled Pacific League matches between Crescenta Valley High and Burroughs set for the week, it created a chance for the squads to possibly create some separation in the standings.
Crescenta Valley and Burroughs met in the first match Tuesday at Burroughs.
Backed by a strong showing in doubles, Crescenta Valley moved into third place all alone with a 12-6 victory.
The Falcons (5-4, 4-2 in league) and Indians (4-4, 3-3) will meet again at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Crescenta Valley.
“We knew coming in that both of these matches would be very important,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Sam Hyun, whose team trails Arcadia and Burbank at the halfway point in league. “Before the match, I did some checking of Burroughs’ scores against the other teams in the league and it looked like our scores were just a bit better.
“We got some big efforts in doubles when we really needed them. It’s big to get the first one, but it will be another battle Thursday.”
Crescenta Valley received a sweep in doubles from Rachel Kim and Michelle Jung (7-5, 6-1, 6-0). A 7-5 victory by Shin and Jung over Burroughs’ Jenny Drechsler and Sandy LeMay gave Crescenta Valley a 7-5 lead entering the third round.
Elsewhere in doubles, the Falcons got victories from Ann Kim and Jenny Whang (6-0, 6-1), Marina Saroyan and Marie Arutyunyan (6-1), Camile Gibney and Kiran Hamkins (6-3) and Ala Zohouralen and Audrey Kim (6-0).
Crescenta Valley also fared well in singles, getting two wins from Polin Crete (6-4, 6-2).
“It was really stressful coming in,” Crete said. “There were some close scores in the first set and we came away [up, 4-2].
“We knew we just had to play more consistent the last two rounds and we were able to do that. We’re definitely proud of each other and the doubles team did so well. I think we’ve improved overall as a team .”
The Indians were led by freshman singles player Chloe Bookmyer, who swept, 6-1, 6-1, 6-0.
Burroughs received two wins in singles from Jackie Samsell (7-5(7-3), 6-3). The Indians also received a doubles win from Drechsler and LeMay (7-6(7-3)
Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt said the Indians, who are in fourth in league, need to be a bit sharper Thursday.
“We’re going to have to regroup,” Bernhardt said. “We might have to tweak some things in the lineup, probably in doubles.
“I thought we did pretty well in singles. It’s just in doubles, when your Nos. 2 and 3 teams are struggling, it puts a lot more pressure on the No. 1 team to do well.”
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Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
