Burbank Goes South Against Brentwood in Semifinals

If there ever was a team whose championship hopes seemed to wilt because of a home-court disadvantage, it was the Burbank High boys’ tennis team.

Brentwood defeated Burbank, 11-7, Thursday in the Southern Section Division III semifinals, taking advantage of the fact that half of Burbank’s courts are on the north end of the campus and the other half on the south.

The Bulldogs (20-2), top seeded but feeling like underdogs against talented Brentwood (19-5), were hoping for a large student turnout to provide an emotional lift, and they got it.

Trouble was, nearly everyone gathered at the south courts, where the Bulldog doubles teams were winning seven of nine sets, and hardly anyone turned out at the north end, where Burbank was swept, 9-0, losing six of those sets by scores of 6-1 or 6-0.

Burbank’s No. 2 singles player, Adrian Facchetti, was so discouraged he put his racket down and headed across campus saying, “I’m going to bring back some people.”

The biggest rooter at the north end, in fact, was Brentwood’s No. 1 singles player, Scott Borenstein, who led the singles rout and constantly bellowed encouragement to his teammates.

Bulldog players eventually complained about Borenstein’s loud behavior.

“He’s [a jerk], man,” said Burbank’s Mike Park, after Borenstein halted his set several times to lead Brentwood cheers. “He wasn’t in our match. He was in their matches.”

Said Borenstein: “I’m real pumped up. I want to win. To tell you the truth, it didn’t matter [if I was annoying Park]. I’m better than that guy, anyway.”

Matt Baker and Oliver Lao swept at No. 1 doubles for Burbank, which was hoping to earn at least a 9-9 tie and force a tiebreaker. But Chris Daly and Eric Anderson, who play No. 1 for Brentwood, took two sets to clinch the match.

But a tiebreaker would have done Burbank no good. Brentwood won 85 games, Burbank 42.

Cate 11, Calabasas 7--Matt Snowdon swept his three singles sets for Calabasas (15-6), but the Coyotes lost seven of nine points in doubles competition in a Division III semifinal at Cate (15-6).

Sunny Hills 9, Harvard-Westlake 9--Sunny Hills (17-4) won on games, 78-76, in the Division II semifinals. The visiting Wolverines (19-3) won only three sets in singles play.

David Hatkoff and Ben Nasseri went 6-0, 6-3, 3-6 at No. 1 doubles.