La Cañada girls’ tennis bests South Pasadena in league opener
SOUTH PASADENA — With three automatic playoff spots available out of the Rio Hondo League, the La Cañada High girls’ tennis team looked to start off on the right note during its league opener Thursday.
Backed by the sister combination of Cassie and Sophie McKenzie, the Spartans were able to clear the first hurdle in their quest to qualify for the postseason.
The sisters swept their opponents to spark visiting La Cañada to an 11-7 road win against rival South Pasadena in the league opener for both teams.
“It’s big to start off league on the road with a win,” La Cañada Coach Will Moravec said. “When you have the McKenzie sisters out there, you know you have a pretty good shot. So, we have to take advantage of that situation whenever we can.”
Cassie, a senior and a reigning All-Area Girls’ Double Player of the Year honoree, and Sophie lost one game apiece for the Spartans (3-1) in their first of two head-to-head meetings with the Tigers (6-1-1).
Sophie McKenzie, a freshman, said she looked for a quick start.
“It’s our first league match, so I wanted to go out there and do well,” she said. “I needed to stay focused because I’ve had a little trouble the last couple of weeks with my forehand.
“I trusted my serve and I was able to dictate the pace with my forehand.”
La Cañada also received a 6-4 singles win from Nicole Son.
The Spartans got two wins in doubles from Emily Matuska and Sharyse Watanabe (6-2, 6-4) and one win each from Shannon Settles and Elizabeth Lee (6-4) and Solenn Matuska and Ashley Chun (6-1).
The Tigers got two wins in doubles from Jessica Chang and Ashley Huang (6-2, 6-4) and Anya Nicolaides and Shannon Huang (6-0, 6-4).
Moravec, who guided the Spartans to a playoff appearance last season, said the league should feature a few quality teams.
“You have San Marino up there and then you have teams like La Cañada, South Pasadena and Temple City battling it out,” Moravec said. “I think La Cañada, South Pasadena and Temple City are just about all the same.
“You just want to get off to a good start and try to have things set up for you.”
The Spartans and Tigers will meet again at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at La Cañada.