Burroughs is no match for Glendale

Charles Rich

Usually, showing up early for a sporting event is a good thing.

However, for the Burroughs High girls’ tennis team, arriving early

for its match at Glendale seemed to ignite the Nitros.

Pacing Glendale was Elina Vartanyan, a converted doubles player

who now competes in the No. 2 singles slot. She helped lead a 17-1

nonleague victory against the Indians.

Vartanyan, a two-year varsity player, swept her three sets, 6-0,

6-1, 6-4.

Glendale (2-3) won its nine singles sets to post its largest

margin of victory. It marked the second consecutive season that

Burroughs (2-4) lost to the Nitros, who have split two matches this

season against Burbank-based programs.

Burroughs arrived more than an hour before the match began and

Glendale -- which lost to Burbank on Sept. 19, 13-5 -- found the

Indians warming up when they arrived at the courts. That propelled

Vartanyan.

“It’s even better to start early because you can get more

confident,” Vartanyan said. “You get more confident that you can play

a good match. Now I have that much more confidence after winning my

sets.

“It’s good being independent because it determines if I’m playing

well or not. In singles, you can take the blame or pride. In doubles,

me or my partner might not be in a good mood and it can affect your

play.”

Vartanyan might have delivered a rousing statement Wednesday that

should help solidify her stance behind standout No. 1 singles player Georgia Beesemyer, who also swept her three sets.

Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt couldn’t counter Glendale’s tandem

and the Indians suffered their worst loss this season.

“We were pretty much set up for the year and now we’ve struggled,”

Bernhardt said. “Last year, we won three sets against Glendale and

today we win one.

“That shows you where we and they are. We need to work on

volleying more with our doubles teams.”

They didn’t have much time to practice Wednesday because the match

was completed in less than two hours. Beesemyer, who lost two of her

three sets in a nonleague home loss to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on

Monday, lost one game.

Vartanyan said she regrouped during her most difficult set, a 6-4

win against Pam De Veyra.

“I felt like I had lost my concentration during the third set,”

Vartanyan said. “I want to keep the No. 2 singles spot.”