Bulldogs keep hope alive

BURROUGHS HIGH — With just two Pacific League wins coming into Tuesday’s match with Burroughs High, the Burbank girls’ tennis team faced a crucial scenario.

A loss to the cross-town rival Indians would all but extinguish the Bulldogs’ hopes of making the postseason.

Although the teams battled to a stalemate through the first of three rounds, Burbank was able to come on in the final round to complete a 10-8 league victory against visiting Burroughs.

Burbank (4-7, 3-4 in league) has another tough league match at 3:30 p.m. today at home against Hoover (3-4 in league).

“We knew if we lost [Tuesday] it would be over for us getting to the playoffs,” Burbank Coach Loi Phan said. “Now, that match against Hoover [today] is huge for us.”

The win completes a season sweep against Burroughs (5-6, 3-5), which lost to Burbank the first time around, 12-6.

“It was a really strange first round of league, with a lot of teams beating each other,” Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt said.

Burbank was led by two singles sweeps, as No. 2 Meredy Gharabegi won, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0, and No. 3 Ashley Basco won, 6-0, 6-2, 6-0.

The team also received two set wins from the doubles team of Aja Locke and Saniya Ibrahim, 6-3, 7-5.

The doubles duo of Cindy Wee and Gabrielle Schnaid won, 6-4, as did the team of Miyon Kim and Dana Gibson, 6-1.

Burroughs picked up a sweep from its No. 1 doubles tandem of Jackie Phuekhunthod and Alicia Seta, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, and two set wins from the No. 2 duo of Diana Murtha and Raichelle Ortiz, 6-2, 6-4.

Singles players Stacey Fredrick, 6-3, Jessica Park, 6-1, and Abby Kelley, 6-3, all won one.

The match was close the entire way, as the rivals were tied at 3 after the first round and tied at 6 after the second round.

“We have been improving, but we’re just so young,” Phan said. “It’s just a slow process.”