La Cañada tennis doubled up and out in CIF second round
LA CAÑADA — A gratifying season for the La Cañada High girls’ tennis team came to an end on Friday afternoon.
Competing in the second round of the CIF playoffs for the first time since 2013, the Spartans fell, 12-6, to visiting Great Oak in the Division II matchup.
La Cañada defeated Ayala in the first round on Wednesday — a positive for the program and its underclassmen.
“We haven’t won a legitimate first round match in a couple years,” said Spartans Coach Will Moravec, whose team finished the year with an 8-7 record. “We’ve won wild card matches and then played No. 1 teams. Wednesday was a huge win.”
Moravec emphasized Wednesday’s victory as great for the young players, reassuring them “this is what high school tennis is about.”
One of those young players, junior Sophie McKenzie, put together another impressive day against Great Oak, with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 showing.
The Spartans picked up another two wins in singles play: Annabelle Kevakian’s 6-0 and Megan Galanta’s 6-3 victories.
“I wanted to win every point, every game,” McKenzie said. “Be as steady as possible, not to be too sloppy and not give away free points.”
Moravec pointed out Kevakian’s 7-6 loss to No. 2 Leyla Anwar as a potential turning point had the match gone the other way, given the teams would have been at three sets apiece after the first round.
The Wolfpack was superior in doubles play, notching wins in eight of the nine sets, with Spartans Solenn Matuska and Ashley Chun spoiling the sweep with a 6-3 win.
“Their doubles were just better,” Moravec said. “On Wednesday, our doubles were good and today it was the opposite. Their doubles teams are pretty equal one to three. It wasn’t like their No. 3 is weak so we could exploit that.”
“I’m surprised because we usually lose because the other team’s singles are really good,” Moravec said. “This was a weird one; we were winning points in singles, but couldn’t get anything in doubles.
“For the seniors, it was great for them to win one extra match.”