Hoover High, Glendale boys’ tennis players advance in Pacific League Tournament

PASADENA — Over the last four seasons, the Hoover High boys’ tennis team has fared well in the Pacific League Tournament.

During the span, the Tornadoes have had success qualifying at least one player to the semifinals. Following the league prelims on Monday at Pasadena High, Hoover Coach Julie Hoppe was pleased to see the Tornadoes’ streak of success continue.

“It’s great to get at least one player in, but getting two is a testament to their hard work,” Hoppe said after Hoover singles players Emile Ohanyan and Hrant Aghakanyan won their first two matches to move into Wednesday’s semifinals at the same venue. “Hrant and Emile push each other and they motivate each other.

“It should be a fun day for both of them on Wednesday.”

The final will take place following the final-four competitions.

In addition, Glendale’s doubles team of Michael Akopians and Arin Meserkhani won their two contests Monday to advance to Wednesday’s competition.

Ohanyan, the No. 2 seed, opened with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against 15th-seeded Nick Zatikian of Glendale.

He then registered a 6-0, 6-0 quarterfinal win against 10th-seeded Ted Yang of Crescenta Valley. Ohanyan will next face third-seeded Michael Kundibekian of Burbank in a semifinal matchup at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The fourth-seeded Aghakanyan began with a 6-0, 6-3 win against 13th-seeded George Hou of Arcadia.

He then earned a 6-1, 6-1 quarterfinal victory against fifth-seeded Albert Chtchyan of Crescenta Valley and will next meet top-seeded Sawyer Patterson of Burroughs on Wednesday.

Akopians and Meserkhani, the second seed, started off with a 6-0, 6-0 win versus 15th-seeded Chris Westwood and Reeve Bruner of Burbank. The duo then worked together to post a 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal victory against seventh-seeded Justin Nguyen and Henry Zhang of Arcadia.

Glendale Coach Bob Davidson said the tandem flourished while playing together for the first time this season.

“I thought they played very well,” Davidson said. “When they play well, they are pretty tough to beat.

“There’s a lot of potential between the two of them and it’s up to them to keep it going.”

A handful of local players picked up first-round wins in singles. Chtchyan began with a 6-3, 6-3 win against 12th-seeded Melvin Issael of Glendale. Crescenta Valley’s Jonathan Frick, the eighth seed, earned a 6-2, 4-6, 10-7, win against ninth-seeded Neal Goyal of Arcadia.

Yang notched a 6-1, 1-6, 10-6, victory versus seventh-seeded Davit Ismailian of Glendale.
Frick then fell, 6-0, 6-1, to Patterson.

Crescenta Valley Coach Sam Hyun said Frick gained some valuable experience following the match with Patterson.

“He had a long first match and was a little tired,” Hyun said. “I told Jonathan before he played Sawyer to be humble and learn and I think it will help him out.”

Three other local doubles teams won their respective first-round matches. Matt Davidian and Artiom Ambartsoumian of Glendale, the ninth seed, started with a 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 10-7, win against eighth-seeded Danny Kim and Chris Ghadimi of Hoover.

Fourth-seeded David Casaburi and Mheir Krikorian of Glendale posted a 6-1, 6-3 victory against 13th-seeded Derek Khosorryan and Diego Matibag of Hoover. Third-seeded Aren Abrahamian and Jason Chang of Crescenta Valley registered a 6-0, 6-1 win against 13th-seeded Jae Jo and Mark Belosludtsev of Hoover.

In the second round, Davidian and Ambartsoumian suffered a 6-1, 6-3 defeat against top-seeded Kevin Yang and Ken Nakamine of Arcadia. Casaburi and Krikorian fell, 6-4, 6-3, to 12th-seeded Cibi Pari and Andrew Chung of Arcadia and sixth-seeded Stanley Lim and Brian Kim eliminated Abrahamian and Chang with a 2-6, 6-2, 10-3, win.

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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .