Flintridge Sacred Heart tennis topples St. Lucy’s in CIF opener
GLENDALE — There hasn’t been much rest throughout the week for the members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy tennis team. They certainly don’t seem to mind.
Having begun the Sunshine League Tournament earlier in the week, the Tologs started their CIF Southern Section Division IV playoff journey Wednesday.
Behind eight doubles victories, Flintridge Sacred Heart posted an 11-7 first-round home win against St. Lucy’s at Fremont Tennis Center.
PHOTOS: Tologs girls’ tennis triumphs over St. Lucy’s, advances to second round of CIF playoff
Flintridge Sacred Heart, which won the Sunshine League championship, improved to 11-5 and will next meet Bishop Montgomery or North Torrance in a second-round match Friday at a site to be determined. St. Lucy’s, which took third in the Baseline League, finished 14-8.
It marked the first playoff win for Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Ron Zambrano, who took over the program in 1996.
“You have to be proud of them for winning against a very steady team,” said Zambrano, whose team went undefeated in league after dropping down from the Mission League to the Sunshine League this season and from Division I to Division IV. “They are playing well at the right time, even though we’ve had to play a lot of tennis this week.”
The Tologs, who are making their first postseason appearance in two seasons, received sweeps in doubles from Holly MacVaugh and Margaux Blain (6-2, 6-1, 6-1) and Breanna Ryan and Lana Sarkisian (6-2, 6-2, 6-3).
In addition, the Tologs got two doubles victories from Ariana Saigh and Ruby Wellum (6-4, 6-3).
Zambrano said the Tologs needed to be sharp in doubles in order to extend their season.
“I figured we’d have to get right around eight wins in doubles,” Zambrano said. “It was a lot of fun, but nerve-racking at the same time.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart clinched the victory with a 6-1 singles win by Maria Teresa Garciarce. Garciarce also notched a 6-1 victory earlier. The Tologs received a 6-2 singles win from Camille Katz.
The Tologs and Regents were tied at 3 following the first round and deadlocked at 6 entering the final round.
Blain, a sophomore, said the Tologs were eager to begin the playoffs.
“We wanted to go out there and see what we could do,” Blain said. “It’s rewarding and it’s meant that all of the practices have paid off.
“Holly and I played well going to the net and we were able to get a lot of points. It was nerve-racking and exciting at the same time because it was such a close match for a while.”
The Tologs will continue play in the league tournament at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Warner Center Tennis Center in Woodland Hills. Flintridge Sacred Heart will have MacVaugh and Blaine and Ryan and Sarkisian competing in doubles semifinal matches. Kate Hodges will compete in a semifinal match in singles for the Tologs.
