Singles semifinals feature all locals
BURROUGHS HIGH — Despite competing in the sweltering heat, the top seeds in the Pacific League tennis prelims took care of business without hardly breaking a sweat.
For the Glendale High boys’ doubles team of Nick Daka and Mike Astorian and Burbank singles player Arthur Karagezian, that’s the way they wanted it during their respective first- and second-round matches Monday afternoon at Burroughs High.
Daka and Astorian swept their two matches and Karagezian lost just one game to keep their hopes for a league championships alive.
Karagezian, a sophomore, returned Monday after competing over the weekend in a national tournament in Las Vegas.
He arrived back on Burbank soil before notching a 6-0, 6-0 first-round victory against 16th-seeded Francisco Jimenez of Pasadena. He then responded with a 6-1, 6-0 second-round win against ninth-seeded George Chiu of Arcadia.
“I couldn’t miss [the Pacific League Tournament,” said Karagezian, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the Muterspaw Tournament. “Playing in that tournament got me ready for this because I know that I still have to give it my best.
“I have to continue to make my first serve and wait for the short balls. I still know that I have to pay my game.”
Karagezian will meet fourth-seeded Robert Henry of Burroughs in a semifinal match at 1 p.m. today. The winner will then face second-seeded Trevor Campbell of Burroughs or third-seeded Pete Sangsuriyakul in the championship match.
Henry opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win against 13th-seeded Kenny Kim of Crescenta Valley before cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 win against fifth-seeded Alan Han of Arcadia.
Campbell defeated No. 15 Frank Son of Crescenta Valley, 6-0, 6-1, and No. 7 Hardy Lou of Arcadia, 6-3, 6-0, and Sangsuriyaku defeated No. 14 Alex Abramian of Glendale, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 6 Melik Nazliyan of Burroughs, 6-2, 6-1.
Daka and Astorian, who finished runner-up last year in the tournament, opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against a 16th-seeded team from Pasadena. The duo then posted a 6-1, 6-5 victory against eighth-seeded Aaron Kim and Jesse Li of Arcadia to improve to 36-2 in league competition this season.
The duo will compete at 1 p.m. today against fifth-seeded Jay Chung and Andre Yanez of Burroughs in a semifinal match at the same venue. The other semifinal match will pit the Arcadia teams of Bo Winton and Tim Sackoo against Bryan Young and Roy Yu. Winton and Sackoo are the third seed, while Young and Yu are No. 7.
Yanez and Chung defeated 12th-seeded David Jung and Chris Dong of Burbank, 6-2, 6-1, and 4th-seeded Marcus Barbosa and Alex Matevosian of Crescenta Valley, 7-5, 6-4.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held at Pasadena High, but was switch-ed to Burroughs because of the 500-acre brush fire in Sierra Madre in the San Gabriel Valley.