La Cañada boys’ tennis turns back Flintridge Prep

LA CAÑADA — Having stockpiled a lot of depth, the La Cañada High boys’ tennis team might be in line to challenge rival San Marino for the Rio Hondo League championship.

Until league play begins later in the month, the Spartans are concentrating on where they stand with their surplus of talent.

“I thought coming into the season that we’d have a better team compared to last year,” La Canada Coach will Moravec said after La Canada recorded a 14-4 nonleague home win against Flintridge Prep on Wednesday. “We’ve added the depth and it will give us more options during the year.

“We have people who are another year experienced and they have a better understanding of what they are going up against. It’s gone that way through our first two matches.”

La Cañada, which opened its season Monday with a 13-5 nonleague road victory against Valencia Valencia, won all nine doubles sets to dispatch Flintridge Prep (1-2).

The Spartans, who finished second in league last season before advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs, received a sweep in doubles from Nick Lee and Ian Lee (6-2, 6-0, 6-3). They also picked up two doubles victories apiece from Alec Robertson and William Lan (6-3, 6-1) and Chris Walch and Phillip Lan (6-0, 6-0). Suren Krikorian and Brandon DeGuzman teamed up for a 6-2 win for the Spartans, who also got a 6-2 victory from Ryan Chen and Kobe Ing.

In singles, JP McKenzie of La Cañada got two wins (6-1, 6-1). Reid Screck (6-1), Jared Ahn (7-5) and Alex Smith (6-1) got singles wins for the Spartans.

“We can put a good team out there because of our depth,” said McKenzie, a sophomore. “We have a lot of talented players and it can flow smoothly when you can do so many things well.”

The Rebels, who didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season, received a sweep in singles from standout Cartier Juan. Juan, a senior and reigning All-Area selection, opened with a 6-4 victory against Lucas Chmielewski, also an All-Area pick. Juan, who went 29-7 and reached the second round of the CIF Individual Tournament, also picked up 6-3, 6-2 victories. The Rebels also got a singles win from Sean Pamajotovic (6-0).

First-year Flintridge Prep Coach Morisa Yang said the Rebels continue to put the pieces together.

“We are learning how to be more positive and work with what we have,” Yang said. “We have a younger team. We got to deuce in some of the games and just couldn’t put it away.

“That’s the thing when you play teams like La Cañada and St. Francis. You are getting good preparation and finding out what area you are good at and where you need to improve.”

Both teams will compete in their next nonleague matches against St. Francis. Flintridge Prep will meet St. Francis on the road at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Scholl Canyon Tennis Center. La Cañada will take on St. Francis in a home match at 3:15 p.m. Friday.