Glendale girls’ tennis doubles up Flintridge Sacred Heart
GLENDALE — Having had enough of practicing against each other, the members of the Glendale High girls’ tennis team finally kicked of their season Thursday. Glendale found itself matched against Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, which had already played two matches earlier in the week.
The Nitros appeared to be anything but rusty.
Glendale received sweeps in singles from Veronika Galstyan and Natalie Shamma to register a 12-6 nonleague victory against host Flintridge Sacred Heart at Fremont Tennis Center.
“It’s good to finally be able to get in a match and help us get ready [for the Pacific League],” said Galstyan, the Nitros’ No. 1 player, who won, 7-5, 6-4, 6-0. “We knew we had to go out there and be ready to battle for points and I want to be a good example for the team.
“In my first set, I was a little tight and then I loosened up a bit. In the second and third sets, I was warmed up and ready to go.”
Shamma, a freshman, lost just two games. Glendale, which qualified for the playoffs last season, also got a sweep from its No. 1 doubles team of Ruth Kachatorian and Kellie Gong, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0, to avenge a 10-8 home defeat against the Tologs last season.
Glendale also received a 7-5 singles win from Rouzana Hakobyan and a pair of wins in doubles from Julie Darinyan and Imani Story, 6-3, 6-2.
Glendale Coach Bob Davidson said the Nitros sought a quality opening-match performance.
“I think it’s a real good win,” Davidson said. “We’ve had some very competitive matches with Flintridge Sacred Heart the last several years and it was a good test.
“The difference today was the play of Veronika and Natalie. They both played well and our doubles team of Ruth and Kellie came through when they needed to. We’ll see how it goes heading into league. We will go in with the attitude we can compete with the best teams in league.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart, which began its season with nonleague home defeats against Crescenta Valley and Maranatha on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, got two wins in doubles from Margaux Blain and Holly MacVaugh, 6-2, 6-4. The Tologs, who didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season after reaching the postseason in 2012, got one win apiece in singles from Kate Hodges, 6-2, and Camille Katz, 6-0. Flintridge Sacred Heart also received one win each in doubles from Lana Sarkissian and Bree Ryan, 6-4, and Kate Arial and Ariana Saigh, 6-3.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Ron Zambrano said he scheduled a series of battle-tested nonleague opponents to help the Tologs prepare for the Mission League.
“I’m trying to get them match-ready for league,” Zambrano said. “When you don’t play for eight months, you tend to forget a lot.
“Glendale has some good players. We are getting better. We have some things that can be fixed and we’ll find out what we need to do better.”
--
Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .
