Glendale Community College Tennis Preview: Women’s team looks to regroup following tragedy
With the rosters finalized and expectations in place, the Glendale Community College men’s and women’s tennis teams have taken to the court.
For the women, they enter the campaign with heavy hearts after sophomore Jennifer Goldsbury was killed in an automobile accent in December.
Glendale took fourth last season after capturing four Western State Conference conference crowns in a row.
The men’s program won its first conference title since 2014 by going undefeated and snapping Ventura’s run of four straight conference championships in 2019.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
WOMEN
Glendale will look to regroup — on and off the court — following the death of Goldsbury. Goldsbury died in a car accident in the San Gabriel Valley that involved Glendale coach Deo Sy and former player Maria Villegas Avila.
Sy said the Vaqueros will honor Goldsbury by wearing her first name on the sleeve of their uniforms this season.
“Jennifer is missed and she brought that fun factor to the team and worked hard,” Sy said. “We won’t forget her.”
Glendale went 9-9, 7-5 in the Western State Conference for fourth place last season. Santa Barbara won the conference championship in 2019.
Sy said the Vaqueros have the talent in place to contend for the conference title.
“We’re working hard to get ready for the season and our players know what they need to do and accomplish,” Sy said. “We have a good mix and a lot of experience.
“The sophomores will bring the experience and leadership and the freshmen can look up to them and ask questions so that everybody is on the same page.”
The Vaqueros bring back sophomores Elen Ghazaryan (Glendale High), Isabella Hakopian (Hoover), Isabella Chacon and Felicia Moradian.
The freshmen will consist of Marina Saroyan (Clark Magnet), Kianna Gueco (Glendale), Johanna Moradian and Brisa Macias.
Glendale will begin conference competition Feb. 4 at home versus Bakersfield.
The conference tournament will occur April 3-4 and 10 in Ventura.
The 120th annual Ojai Invitational will be held April 23-26 and serves as the season-ending state tournament.
MEN
Glendale made quite a jump last season, winning the Western State Conference championship after finishing fourth in 2018.
The Vaqueros finished 14-5, 8-0 in conference and advanced to the postseason. Fifth-seeded Glendale lost to No. 4 San Diego Mesa, 5-4, in the opening round of the California Community College Athletic Assn. Southern California Regionals.
Glendale will look a bit different after top singles player Mark Peneff transferred to UC Irvine. Peneff won the conference singles title and teamed with Nicholas Pupiec to finish runner-up in doubles in conference.
Still, the Vaqueros have depth and aren’t bereft of talent under the direction of third-year coach Chris Tissot.
“What we did last year was very exciting,” Tissot said. “We had a lot of guys who worked very hard to accomplish their goals and they’ll look to do it again. We have to be ready for everything and just not get ahead of ourselves.
“Losing a player like Mark is tough and we are excited for him and his journey. We have a lot of depth in singles and doubles. We know every match will be a challenge for us and we’ll try to win conference again.”
The Vaqueros return sophomores Hakop Chagian (Burbank High), Pupiec, Jinseok Lee and Jackson Boxall. They will be joined by Erik Babayan (Crescenta Valley), Junyong Kim, Yugo Hamma and Tsubasa Katta.
Glendale will start conference play Feb. 4 at Bakersfield.
The conference tournament will take place April 3-4 and 10 in Ventura.
The 120th annual Ojai Invitational will occur April 23-26 and is the season-ending state tournament.
