All-Area Girls’ Doubles Team of the Year: Falcons duo enjoys historic campaign
There were plenty of times when Rachel Shin and Michelle Jung thought alike.
Their like-minded thinking translated into plenty of success for the Crescenta Valley High girls’ tennis doubles team each time it needed to pick up victories. The seniors mapped out a plan with the goal of wearing down their opponents and forcing them to make errors.
For three straight seasons, Shin and Jung enjoyed plenty of success and capped their careers on a high note by helping Crescenta Valley advance to a CIF Southern Section championship match for the first time in program history.
“You watch Rachel and Michelle and you can see how well they work together,” Crescenta Valley coach Sam Hyun said. “They always seem to know what they need to do and where they need to be. They have a similar style on the court and they bring something different.
“They communicate very well. Rachel is good at getting to the net and putting shots away. Michelle has a very good serve and is good on ground strokes. They were a big reason why we had such a successful season.”
“You watch Rachel and Michelle and you can see how well they work together.”
— Crescenta Valley coach Sam Hyun said.
Crescenta Valley finished second in the Pacific League behind powerhouse Arcadia and took off in the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs. Crescenta Valley (15-4, 10-2 in league) received the top seed and marched to the finals. Along the way, Crescenta Valley defeated Marymount (12-6), Atascadero (15-3), Pasadena Poly (14-4) and Brentwood (12-6).
Crescenta Valley, which advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2003, suffered a 10-8 defeat to second-seeded Redlands in the title match at the Claremont Club in Claremont.
Jung and Shin finished 39-9, 23-5 in league and made it to the second round of the league tournament. The duo continued to soar in the playoffs, going 12-2.
It is because of those accomplishments that Jung and Shin were selected as the 2017 All-Area Doubles Tennis Team of the Year, as voted by the sportswriters of the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun. It marked the second straight season the duo has been bestowed with the recognition.
“They were very consistent throughout the playoffs,” said Hyun, whose team is 8-2 in the playoffs the last two seasons. “They were our captains and they led the way. We just came up a little short in the end.”
Shin and Jung, who went 81-20, 50-10 the last two seasons, often got the Falcons going in the right direction.
“Being at No. 1 doubles, you go up against the top team right away,” Shin said. “You want to get that first win and help get the team get going.
“I thought Michelle and I did a good job doing that. We are happy with the season and we gave ourselves a chance to help the team win CIF. We went up against a real good team in Redlands. When we look back on the season, we have a lot to be proud of. When we were freshmen, we were fifth in league. Michelle and I wanted to keep improving to help the team rise.”
In the finals, Shin and Jung dropped a 6-4 decision in the first round against Redlands (27-0) before bouncing back to win the next two sets, 6-2, 7-5.
Shin and Jung went 24-2 over the last two playoff runs.
“I think it’s extra meaningful in what we did as a team,” Jung said. “We had so much support from the school and it’s the farthest the team has ever gone.
“Rachel and I continued to work well together and we have such a great relationship on the court. When we got on to the court going into the playoffs, we looked it as a challenge. We had to find ways to put ourselves in the best position to succeed. It got more exciting the farther we went. I think we were all a little bit nervous in the championship match, but it’s amazing just to have gotten there.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
