Falcons shut down Nitros

LA CRESCENTA — Through the early stages of the season, the Crescenta Valley High and Glendale girls’ tennis teams find themselves going in opposite directions.

The Falcons came in loaded with experience and talent, while the Nitros entered play inexperienced and seeking to rebuild. The talent level between the two squads proved to be noticeable during the first of two head-to-head meetings Tuesday afternoon.

Erin LeVoir highlighted a splendid performance in singles, as she didn’t lose a game, and the Falcons won all nine singles sets to earn a convincing 16-2 Pacific League home victory.

Crescenta Valley improved to 3-1 and 2-1 in league, while Glendale dropped to 1-4 and 1-2.

“CV is obviously a very good and experienced team,” said Glendale Coach Bob Davidson, whose team lost its third straight match. “We are very inexperienced and I think it was easy to see the difference [Tuesday].

“They are at a much higher level.”

LeVoir paved the way for the Falcons, who will face the Nitros in the rematch Oct. 14 at Glendale. Teammate Jackie Dilanchyan swept her three sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-2. The Falcons also received two singles wins from Karen Ataian, 6-1, 6-0, and one from Alexa Gregorian, 6-3.

“A lot of the reason why we played well was due to the experience we gained [Monday] from our match against Valencia,” said Crescenta Valley first-year Coach Sarah Wiggins, whose team pulled out a 9-9 (85-84) victory. “In that match, some people didn’t close it out when they had a chance to.

“Against Glendale, we were able to take care of things. It was more about playing the ball and cutting down on unforced errors.”

In doubles, the Falcons won seven sets. Sarah Ali and Talia Moradkhanian teamed up to sweep, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2. Hana Park and Viktoriya Shumakova won two sets, 6-1, 6-3, and Sydney Farzadkish and Tamara Talverdian won two sets, 6-2, 7-5.

Hana Jang and Mariam Khachtryan teamed up for a 7-6 (7-4) win for Glendale, which also got a 6-1 win from Arpi Arutunyan and Nancy Oganezov.