Auproux falls in CIF round of 16

BURBANK — With each round, the competition in the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament got exponentially more difficult for Burroughs High boys’ tennis player Garrett Auproux.

The sophomore advanced to the round of 32 with a win Thursday at the Whittier Narrows Tennis Center in El Monte, setting up a place for Auproux in the difficult round of 16.

In Friday’s round of 16 at the Seal Beach Tennis Center, Auproux ran into a tough opponent in No. 3-seeded Glore Parker of Marina. Unfortunately for Auproux, he was defeated, 3-6, 5-7.

“[Parker] was just a very good player,” Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt said. “He hit very hard and he was just slicing and dicing the ball all over the place. He was just a tough player to go up against. But Garrett was almost able to push it to a third set.”

The loss ends Auproux’s season, as he fell short of reaching the semifinals.

Auproux, who is nationally ranked and plays routinely plays in tournaments across the nation, said the level of play definitely increased as he tried to navigate through the rounds of the playoffs.

“Almost of the guys you play against are nationally ranked, and they are guys who also play in all the big tournaments,” he said. “The competition was definitely tough.”

In his match Thursday, Auproux started out strong in the first set against Christopher Grant of Santa Barbara, winning, 6-1, 6-3.

“I was serving really well [Thursday],” said Auproux, who captured the Pacific League singles title. “I don’t think I lost a game on my serve in the first set.”

Auproux didn’t have much time off after competing for the Indians in the team playoffs. He was a driving force for the Indians (12-4), as they made program history by advancing to the Division II semifinals.

Burroughs, who was unranked in the playoffs, fell to No. 1 Palm Desert, 14-4, in the semifinals Tuesday. The Indians also placed second in the Pacific League.