Vaqueros’ win goes down to wire
NORTHEAST GLENDALE — The Glendale Community College women’s tennis team’s first victory of the season came down to the last set of the day on Tuesday at home.
In a nonconference match that began with doubles play because of wet courts and employed 10-point tiebreakers in lieu of third sets in singles because of a late start, Glendale’s No. 5 singles Mayra Alvarez rallied to beat Sirena Yang for a 1-6, 6-4 (10-2) victory that was the difference in the Vaqueros’ 5-4 win over College of the Sequoias.
“It feels good, I had no idea we were depending on me, I was just telling myself I wanted to win,” Alvarez said. “At first I was getting kind of mad because [Yang] was coming up to the net and I was swinging out, but then I started lobbing her and she started getting frustrated because of that.
“I just wanted to get her tired and get her to make mistakes.”
Since Alvarez had suffered a one-sided defeat in the opening set against Yang, the Vaqueros (1-1) figured their best shot at pulling out a win would come down to the No. 3 singles match between Glendale’s Sindi Concebida and Shiloh Gibson. Consequently, when Gibson outlasted Concebida, 3-6, 6-1 (10-8), things didn’t look too promising for the Vaqueros.
“We were very tightly matched there and when [Alvarez] lost the first set, 6-1, I thought our best bet was at [No.] 3, and in many ways it was,” Vaqueros Coach Bob Donaghy said. “But she’s tough. She did it last year a couple times as the [No.] 6 [singles].”
The Vaqueros were led at the top by the No. 1 doubles team of Glendale High graduates Sevana Zargarian and Samantha Sismundo, who defeated Alexia Rico and Bridget Reid, 8-3.
Zargarian also defeated Rico, 6-2, 6-0, in the No. 1 singles slot, while Sismundo posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Danielle Duran at No. 2.
“I’m very happy with the play of [Zargarian and Sismundo] in singles and in doubles,” Donaghy said. “I think they’re going to be a real good doubles team. They’re good now and they’re improving.”
Glendale also got a singles win from Katherine Akmakji, 6-1, 6-0.
The match might not have been so close at the end if the Vaqueros had been able to hold some early leads in doubles play. No. 2 doubles Concebida and Phoebe Minette were up, 4-1, over Yang and Gibson before losing, 8-4, and Alvarez and Akmakji lost to Duran and Stephanie Garcia, 8-6, after leading, 3-0.