Indians enter CIF depleted
BURROUGHS HIGH — Just two weeks ago, everything looked rosy for the Burroughs High boys’ tennis team.
The Indians had a strong group of players, they were in first place in the Pacific League and they looked as if they could make a strong run in the postseason.
However, now even getting out of the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs might be a tough task for Burroughs.
The Indians will open the playoffs at 3 p.m. today with a first-round match against visiting Bonita.
“I’m just glad that we were able to get a home game for the playoffs,” Burroughs Coach Roy Bernhardt said. “It makes a big difference when you can play at home, especially in your first game.”
Burroughs (15-2, 11-1 in league) shared the league championship after the Indians fell to the Apaches, 11-7, April 27. The locals beat Arcadia earlier in the season, 10-8, at home.
Because of the point differential between the teams in their two matches, Arcadia enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the league and Burroughs is No. 2.
The Indians will enter their postseason match still reeling from the loss of two players who are academically ineligible. The biggest loss is senior Trevor Campbell, who played No. 1 singles all season. He is a former All-Area singles and doubles champion.
To make things worse for the Indians, they might not have the services of senior doubles players, and brothers, Winston and Troy Chang. The twins, who have earned academic scholarships to Stanford, are the school’s co-valedictorians, and Bernhardt said they might be taking school tests at the time of the match.
“I might only have about one-third of my team for the match,” Bernhardt said. “You could say our academic problems run the spectrum from good to bad.”
Burroughs still has two formidable singles players in junior Robert Henry and freshman Garrett Auproux. Henry won the league singles championship and Auproux was runner up.
Bonita (11-4) placed second in the Mirmonte League behind champion Hacienda Heights Wilson.