Burroughs High tennis opens season with loss to Alhambra
BURBANK — One portion of the Burroughs High team looked good Tuesday in the squad’s season opener.
However, the other half of the Indians’ squad struggled.
Burroughs received a solid performance from its singles contingent, which captured six of nine sets in a nonleague home contest against Alhambra. But the team’s downfall came with its doubles play, as the three duos couldn’t win a set. As a result, Alhambra was able to stake a 12-6 victory in its opener.
“We are still looking at some things in doubles,” Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt said. “This is only our first match of the season so we can tinker around with things if we need to. For today, it’s the first time that some of these girls have played together in doubles.”
The coach will get a chance to try some different combinations as the Indians have a busy week that involves three matches. Along with Tuesday’s match against the Moors, Burroughs will also compete in a nonleague match Wednesday against South Pasadena and a nonleague contest Friday against La Cañada.
Those three matches will lead the Indians into their Pacific League opener Tuesday against Pasadena.
“It’s going to be a busy and tiring week for us for sure,” Bernhardt said. “But at least we’ll get some matches in before we start up with league. But it’s going to get tougher and tougher as we go through the week.”
Last season, the Indians placed sixth in league and failed to make the playoffs.
Finally able to square off against another team, the Indians fell behind early against Alhambra, as the Moors jumped out to a 4-2 lead after the first of three rounds.
“We have most of the girls back from last year, but I think there were a lot of nerves with them today when we started,” Bernhardt said. “I could see that some of them were a little rattled and they weren’t playing their best and I think that’s all because of nerves.”
The Moors kept up the pressure in the second round and went into the final stanza with an 8-4 advantage.
Burroughs’ singles did play well, however, and came close to winning more than the six sets. At No. 1, Alicia Singhanate went, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, No. 2 Oanh Nguyen went, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, and Jenny Drechsler went, 0-6, 6-0, 6-1.
“Once I got into it and started playing against someone I felt good,” said Drechsler, a sophomore. “I just felt great to get back out on the court and play tennis. I was pretty on for most of the day. Everybody has good days and bad days and I felt pretty good today.”
In doubles, the closest an Indians team came to winning set was a 7-5 loss by the No. 1 tandem of June Park and Kiersten Bark.
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