Glendale girls’ tennis way too much for cross-town rival
GLENDALE —With the Glendale High and Hoover girls’ tennis teams each having new coaches, the Nitros and Tornadoes are under reconstruction.
Glendale and Hoover are building for the future, but also have their goals set for this season.
Cross-town rivals Glendale and Hoover met Tuesday in the first of two head-to-head matchups.
Glendale proved to be powerful in singles, winning eight sets en route to a convincing 15-3 Pacific League win.
Glendale (5-2, 2-2 in league) received a sweep in singles from Farah Eskender (6-2, 6-0, 6-1) to get the Nitros on track.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming in to the season,” said Glendale coach Tom Gossard, who previously coached at Crescenta Valley from 1995-2009. “The players understand what they need to do and we’ve outlined some things to help us get through the season.
“We are beating the teams we are supposed to beat and we’ve been beaten by the top teams in the league. I’d say we’re very close to meeting our expectations and we’re looking for a top-four spot [in league].”
The teams will meet again Oct. 12 at Hoover (0-6, 0-5).
Glendale got two singles victories from Kristen Lee (6-1, 6-2) and Ani Azarian (6-2, 6-1) and one from Janet Louie (6-1).
The Nitros, who have had four coaches in as many seasons, got two wins each in doubles from Michelle Yolyan and Celine Khachiki (7-6(7-4), 6-0), Emi Guzman and Nicole Avakian (6-1, 6-0) and Moira Mailed and Momo Guzman (6-1, 6-0).
“We’ve been able to learn a lot from coach Gossard since he came here,” said Emi Guzman, a senior. “We’ve learned to have our heads in the game completely and people are having fun and care about playing tennis.
“The players are very passionate and are excited about getting better. I think we came out today and played throughout the match with a lot of confidence.”
Hoover, coached by Debra Lissebeck, got a singles win from Sophia Flippin (6-2) and one doubles victory apiece from Sara Gharibians and Emily Hortanian (7-5) and Jessica Chung and Katia Karioti (6-3).
“We don’t really have a lot of depth right now,” Lissebeck said. “We just need to get better in communication and self assessment. We should be in position to be able to size up our opponents after one game.
“We have to be able to focus on new stuff and not being afraid. We have to help each other out and not take things personally.”
Glendale and Hoover will compete in league matches at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Glendale will be at home against Crescenta Valley and Hoover will travel to Burroughs.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
