No. 3 seed puts stop to Crescenta Valley tennis’ playoff run

LA CRESCENTA — Crescenta Valley High’s boys’ tennis team was back on its home court for a CIF Southern Section Division II quarterfinal match.

The Falcons began their postseason run there with a convincing victory in the first round before traveling to beat Temecula Valley in the second round.

Monday’s quarterfinal had them facing a more formidable opponent and a familiar home court wasn’t enough to prevent a 16-2 loss to No. 3 seed Fountain Valley.

The loss ended a season in which the Falcons went 17-4 after a second-place finish in the Pacific League, along with the advancement of a singles player and doubles team into the league tourney’s semifinals.

“Better team,” Falcons coach Sam Hyun said of the Barons. “We tried our best but their singles and doubles are really good. They’ll go all the way to the finals; strong team.”

Carlos Vicencio picked up the lone singles win for Crescenta Valley, a 6-4 victory over Fountain Valley’s No. 1. He dropped the other two by 6-2 scores.

Crescenta Valley’s No. 1, Kevin Rowe, finished with losses of 6-3, 6-4, 7-6, while Erik Babayan was also swept, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.

Adi Saravanan and Patrick Chmielewski scored a 6-2 in doubles triumph for the only Falcons doubles win.

The Falcons’ No. 1 duo of Edward Ahn and Darren Kim and No. 2 Justin Kim and Maclean Lunt struggled with lines of 6-0, 6-0, 6-4, and 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, respectively.

“Doable, for sure,” Crescenta Valley captain Justin Kim said. “We lost to good teams, but nothing we shouldn’t be able to beat. Takes practicing and refining our skills.”