Glendale college duo receives national tennis recognition

Sofia Tavitian and Allie Amor spent most of the season setting the stage for the Glendale Community College women’s tennis team to achieve a measure of success.

The duo teamed up to help the Vaqueros back to the postseason for the first time since 1999 before putting on a splendid postseason run that saw them advance to the quarterfinals of the prestigious Ojai Valley Open Tournament.

For their solid work, Tavitian and Amor were each bestowed with two-year college All-American honors by the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn.

Tavitian, a sophomore, was recognized in singles and doubles. Amor, a freshman, picked up her accolades in doubles.

“It’s a really big honor,” said Tavitian, who finished 8-6 in singles and 10-4 in doubles. “Allie and I worked well together as doubles partners and the goal for us before the season began was to go to Ojai.

“Last season helped me a lot because I hadn’t played in about five years. I was very ambitious this year and came into the season with the right frame of mind.”

Glendale finished 9-8, 4-4 in the Western State Conference for third place. Seventh-seeded Glendale suffered a 5-0 road loss to second-seeded Mt. San Antonio College in a first-round playoff match.

Amor, who went 10-5 this season after sustaining a knee injury last season, said it took some time to regain her stamina.

“I had to get back into things,” Amor said. “I found my game and got my confidence going and things started to flow.

“It’s great to be honored like that. The team worked hard to get where we did.”

As an unseeded team, Amor and Tavitian advanced to the quarterfinals at Ojai and fell in a close match to Orange Coast College’s Michelle Cyrus and Mia Hashimoto, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-8. Amor and Tavitian got there after posting a 6-3, 6-2 win against top-seeded Jamie Miller and Chloe Vicari of Sierra College in a round of 32 match.

Glendale assistant Deo Sy said Tavitian and Amor were reliable throughout the season.

“They knew what they needed to do and that started with trying to craft their respective games in practice and in matches,” Sy said. “They managed their time well and they worked real well together.”