Burbank cruises to victory in first round
Jim Riggio
The singles players on the Burbank High girls’ tennis team didn’t
quite post a shutout, but they certainly got close.
Burbank surrendered just six games in nine singles sets in
Thursday’s 16-2 victory against Paramount in the first round of the
CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs at the Burbank Tennis
Center.
Burbank won six of the nine singles sets by scores of 6-0 and two
more by 6-1 margins.
The only set Burbank had any difficulty in was a 6-4 victory by
No. 2 player Lucy Youchkovets against Paramount’s No. 1 entry Eli
Diaz.
“I think Lucy had a mental let down. She was up, 4-1, and it was
tight at the end,” Burbank Coach Paul McNiff said.
Burbank (16-3) wasn’t as strong in doubles, but still the Bulldogs
had no trouble disposing of the second-place team from the San
Gabriel Valley League, which is generally not recognized as a strong
league in tennis. Paramount finished the season with a 9-8 record.
The win puts Burbank in today’s second-round contest against Lake
Arrowhead Rim of the World (17-0), which defeated Yucca Valley, 13-5,
in Thursday’s opening-round contest. The match will be at 2 p.m. at
the Burbank Tennis Center.
Freshman Marianna Khachatryan, who won the Foothill League singles
title Nov. 6, won all three of her sets by 6-0 scores.
“Having Marianna is nice because she can sweep against a lot of
quality schools,” McNiff said. “It’s nice having her because she can
come through if someone else doesn’t win a set.”
Youchkovets won, 6-1, against Paramount’s No. 2 player Jennifer
Ontiveros and, 6-0, against No. 3 entry Judith Michel.
Burbank’s No. 3 player, Natalie Rafaelian, went, 6-0, 6-1, 6-0.
In doubles, Burbank’s No. 1 team of Vera Affi and Kristine
Patatanyan swept, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
The Bulldogs’ No. 2 team of Diane Grair and Summer Zapata also
swept, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.
Burbank’s No. 3 team of Sizhe Liu and Christine Zapata went, 4-6,
2-6, 6-1.
Overall, McNiff was pleased with the draw his team got.
“I knew we’d be expected to win,” McNiff said. “This is a
formidable draw. This is a great warmup draw. It gets progressively
more difficult after this. Our doubles are doing fine, even though
they were a little rusty with a day off because of the rain.”
If Burbank can get past Rim of the World, it would
more-than-likely face Long Beach Poly (15-2) -- a 12-6 winner against
Garden Grove Bolsa Grande on Thursday -- in the quarterfinals. The
Jackrabbits knocked the Bulldogs out of the playoffs with a 14-4
second-round victory last year at the Burbank Tennis Center.