Glendale Community College women’s tennis blanks Antelope Valley

GLENDALE — None of the members of the Glendale Community College women’s tennis team were pondering where they stood in the Western State Conference standings on Thursday when they faced Antelope Valley College.

While Glendale entered Thursday’s match tied for first with Santa Barbara in conference, it still had to find a way to dispatch visiting Antelope Valley. Glendale got the favorable result it needed.

PHOTOS: GCC women’s tennis beats Antelope Valley

Glendale swept all nine sets to post a 9-0 victory, setting the stage for a winner-take-all conference match between Glendale and Santa Barbara on Tuesday at Santa Barbara.

“It’s a great win because we have everything going in the right direction,” Glendale second-year Coach Deo Sy said. “It can only boost our confidence.

“We couldn’t take Antelope Valley lightly. Our players still had to go out there and get the job done.”

Glendale (14-2, 8-1 in conference) got singles victories from Brigitta Benitez (6-3, 6-0), Meghedi Mooradian (6-3, 6-4), Amy Shigenaga (6-0, 6-0), Elizabeth Sanchez (6-2, 6-0), Meredy Gharabegi (6-1, 6-0) and Ayaka Takeuchi (6-0, 6-0) to sweep the season series against Antelope Valley (2-10, 2-7).

The Vaqueros got doubles wins from Benitez and Mooradian (8-3), Sanchez and Shigenaga (8-0) and Gharbegi and Takeuchi (8-2).

Glendale picked up a 9-0 road win against Antelope Valley on Feb. 26.

Benitez, a freshman, said the Vaqueros needed to be prepared mentally for Thursday’s match and couldn’t be concerned with the matchup with Santa Barbara (9-2, 8-1).

“We had to come in with a positive attitude and worry about this match,” Benitez said. “We have a group of very solid players.

“Now, we can focus on going up there. We are excited. We also know we have to play our best match.”

Santa Barbara (9-2, 8-1) posted a 7-2 road win against Bakersfield on Thursday. Santa Barbara beat Glendale, 5-4, on March 3 at Glendale.