SOUTHERN SECTION TENNIS PLAYOFFS : Irvine Sweeps Doubles Sets to Eliminate Fountain Valley

On the draw sheet, Irvine’s 13-5 victory over Sunset League champion Fountain Valley in the Southern Section Division 4-A girls’ tennis playoffs Thursday might look like an upset.

It wasn’t.

Although the Vaqueros finished third in the South Coast League and had to win a wild-card match Tuesday to advance to the first round, Fountain Valley Coach Barbara Ammann expected her Barons to have a tough time.

“Irvine beat University in the wild-card match, and we lost to University earlier this year, so the fact Irvine was a third-place team didn’t give me any comfort,” Ammann said. “And any team that makes the playoffs from (the South Coast) league is bound to be a good team.”

The visiting Vaqueros (12-4), whose only losses came in league to Capistrano Valley and Dana Hills (both seeded teams in the 4-A), swept all nine doubles sets against the Barons (14-5). The No. 1 team of Quynh Nguyen and Gretchen Schmidt won, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, and the No. 2 duo of Traci Drayer and Jinna Uh and No. 3 team of Susan Hsia and Jeanne Lu swept by the identical scores of 6-1, 6-1, 7-6.

Milvia Schinaia and Alessandra Schinaia each won two sets in singles for Irvine, which plays host to top-seeded Palos Verdes Peninsula in the second round Tuesday.