Pacific League Tournament for girls’ tennis hampered by air quality problems
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BURBANK — As the first round of girls’ tennis matches were finishing up at the Pacific League Tournament on Monday, the smoky haze from area fires slowly thickened as it blanketed the mountainous backdrop surrounding Burroughs High.
With smoke from the nearby blazes creeping around the tennis courts, a few athletes expressed health concerns with breathing problems. After the Burbank Unified School District sent out a message pertaining to the poor air quality and the limiting outdoor activities, the tournament momentarily came to a startling halt.
After approval from the Burroughs administration, the tournament resumed. However, because of some health concerns, a few matches were postponed and will be played on Wednesday, with the semifinal and final rounds to follow.
Though a second-round match in singles and some doubles action to be played Wednesday, three local tennis players booked a spot in the semifinals.
The tournament No. 2 seed, Burbank senior Kristina Kirakosyan, advanced to Wednesday’s singles semifinal round, while the Crescenta Valley doubles team of Teleya Blunt and Dziyana Haiduk enter the semifinals as the fourth seed.
In postponed matches, singles No. 4 seed Micaela Arakelyan of Hoover will face fifth-seed Melika Mohammad of Crescenta Valley in a second-round singles contest on Wednesday, while the third-seeded Glendale doubles team of Celine Khachiki and Momo Guzman will battle Arcadia’s Jace Kwon and Grace Hong, the 11th-seed, in the continuation of the second round.
Arakelyan experienced dizziness throughout her 8-4 first-round victory over No. 13 Lilyan Hawrlyo of Burbank. Mohammad defeated No. 12 Sophia Hou of Arcadia, 8-4, in the opening round.
“I just tried to relax and play my game,” said Arakelyan, who held a bag of ice on her forehead after her match. “I just pushed through.”
Khachiki, last year’s fourth-place finisher in the tournament’s singles bracket, teamed up with Guzman for an 8-1 doubles victory against the Burbank pair of Lena and Jenna Jabourian.
“It’s not really ideal for breathing,” Guzman said. “It was a breeze pretty much. We’re really nervous for the next ones to come, though, especially because of the air.”
Added Khachiki, “It was a lot of us just helping each other out, knowing how to play in the right moment and being smart about our shots.”
The Glendale pair’s second-round match against Kwon and Hong, who won their first-round match, 8-1, against No. 6 Nicole Avakian and Janet Louie of Glendale, was postponed due to players’ breathing difficulties.
Kirakosyan returns to the singles semifinals after reaching the final four in doubles last season. The senior reached the tournament’s singles semifinals in 2017.
Kirakosyan advanced after an 8-0 victory against No. 15 Monica Nazarian of Glendale in the first round and an 8-1 win over No. 7 Isabella Harris-Bermudez of Burroughs. Harris-Bermudez won her first-round match, 8-5, against No. 10 Sarine Auvazian of Crescenta Valley.
“I was pretty confident,” Kirakosyan said. “I haven’t lost to [Harris-Bermudez] yet, so it was easier for me. I’m just motivated to play and do my best.”
Singles third seed Crescenta Valley senior Melissa Rosa Muradoglu was upset by No. 6 Lynn Chen of Arcadia, who won the second-round match, 8-3.
Muradoglu, who finished runner-up in last season’s league tournament and had been battling an irregular heartbeat condition throughout the season, had an 8-1 victory in her opening-round match against No. 14 Siya Joshi of Burbank. Chen advanced to the second round with an 8-3 win over Glendale’s Eleen Garemanian, the No. 11 seed.
In the rest of singles play, the No. 1 seed Samantha Wang of Arcadia reached the semifinals with an 8-0 win over No. 16 Lauren Pieri of Burroughs in the first round and notched an 8-0 second-round win against No. 9 Jade Gustafson of Pasadena. Gustafson defeated No. 8 Ani Harutyunyan of Glendale, 8-2, in the first round.
Blunt and Haiduk advanced to the doubles semifinal with an 8-1 first-round victory over No. 13 Candraha Lopez and Ima Lang Nooch La Or of Pasadena and followed with an 8-2 second-round win over Falcons teammates Denitsa Georgieva and Sophia Labellarte, the No. 5 seed. Georgieva and Labellarte advanced to the second round with an 8-0 win against No. 12 Karen Enriquez and Anna Sarhookanian of Glendale.
Doubles top-seed Cara Hung and Makaila Cheng of Arcadia registered an 8-0 victory against No. 16 Elain Shane and Kaitlyn Glaim of Burroughs in the opening round and another 8-0 victory in the second round against No. 9 Suzy Kim and Alice Weber of Burroughs. Weber and Kim recorded an 8-3 first-round win over No. 8 Elen Arakelyan and Camille La Torre of Hoover. The Crescenta Valley duo of Chloe Kim and Hannah Yoon, the No. 10 seed, defeated No. 7 Elli Sumera and Nairi Zeytounzian, 8-3, before falling to Arcadia No. 2 seed Michelle Dong and Jean Chen, 8-4. The Arcadia pair opened with an 8-0 win over No. 15 Emily Hasunuma and Ellen Petrosyan of Burbank.
