Spartans leaders shine in win over Tologs
NORTHWEST GLENDALE — A Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy girls’ tennis team filled with five freshmen ran into a senior-laden La Cañada squad with defined roles and a tough No. 1 singles and doubles combination.
The Spartans won every doubles set and got another sweep from their top singles player, Sawa Keymuelen, and two wins from their No. 1 doubles team of Linnea Frazier and Alison Chang — before being subbed out for Carly Moore and Meghan Knapp in the third set — for a 14-4 road win Thursday at the Fremont Tennis Center.
“In a perfect world, you have balance and you have your No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles lead the way in all aspects, not only in their behavior but in their victories,” said La Cañada Coach Will Moravec, who saw Keymuelen improve to 11-0 and Frazier and Chang to 10-1 this season. “That’s what we have right now.”
La Cañada (4-0) could do no wrong in doubles against Sacred Heart, as no set was closer than 6-4, with the Spartans enjoying a 54-16 overall game advantage in doubles play.
“My doubles, for some reason, was a little off,” Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Ron Zambrano said. “That’s the way it goes, nothing you can do.”
The good news for the Tologs was how their singles played, winning four of nine sets, despite Zambrano subbing in the third round. Sacred Heart got two wins from Breanna Ryan, 6-4, 6-2, and a set each from Alex Milat (6-0) and Camille Katz (6-0), as the Tologs fell to 0-4 in nonleague play.
“Our singles are playing better. We have been doing some drills and they are getting the idea of how to play in the high school format of one set,” Zambrano said. “We’re getting there and getting the idea, hopefully we start winning soon.”
While Keymuelen (6-4, 6-0, 6-2) and Frazier and Chang (6-3, 6-0) led the way, the Spartans still got wins from eight of the nine competitors — including doubles teams — who took the court Thursday.
Frazier said the fact she and Chang played together all last year has helped them early on this season.
“You know your partner and their weaknesses and their strengths,” Frazier said. “You know which ball you have to take and which one to let them have.
“We have a solid team this year, good foundation, with a lot of seniors.”
Lynn Gilmour and Ana Dewar (6-2, 6-0, 6-3) swept in No. 3 doubles for La Cañada, which also got two wins from Emily Swanson and Serena Zheng (6-2, 6-0) in No. 2 doubles before they were subbed out for Claire Huh and Erin McCoy (6-2). Moore and Knapp (6-4, Sharyce Wantanabe (7-6) and Emily Matuska (6-0) also won sets for the Spartans.
“We have a little more depth than some of these private schools and that’s what we’re winning on,” Moravec said. “It’s going to get tougher.”
La Cañada starts a tougher schedule with Burbank on Friday and St. Lucy’s and Crescenta Valley next week before it begins Rio Hondo League play Thursday with San Marino on the road.