La Cañada doubles down on Rams

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Doubles has been where the La Cañada High girls’ tennis team has separated itself from its Rio Hondo League opponents this season.

That trend continued Tuesday when the Spartans hosted Temple City in a league match. La Cañada’s doubles teams won eight of nine sets on the day, essentially securing the victory on their own. The Spartans came out victorious, 12-4, after they got four wins out of singles. Both squads agreed to drop the last two singles sets after the match was decided.

“Some of the teams in league, their doubles aren’t as strong as their singles,” said Emily Swanson, half of La Cañada’s No. 2 doubles team. “It works out for us because we get most of our points from doubles.”

La Cañada Coach Will Moravec said his doubles teams started out the year strong and have come on even stronger after he tried mixing up his doubles teams against Arcadia on Sept. 26.

“They all came up to me after the match and asked to be put back with their original partners,” Moravec said. “That was good, that’s what I wanted to see. Ever since then, they have been doing great.”

La Cañada’s No. 1 (Linnea Frazier and Alison Chang) and No. 2 (Swanson and Serena Zheng) doubles teams both swept through the Rams (5-9, 2-3 in league). Frazier and Chang led the way, dropping just two games, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1.

Chang said they’ve been doing so well this season because they balance each other out so well.

“[Frazier] picks up my mistakes and I pick her up,” Chang said.

Zheng and Swanson went 6-3, 6-0, 6-1. Lynn Gilmour and Suma Gudipati, the Spartans’ third doubles team, won two sets, 6-2, 6-2.

“Definitely, communication is key,” Swanson said. “We don’t do as well when we aren’t talking. We have to keep a positive attitude out there.”

Sawa Keymeuler picked up two wins, 6-2, 6-2, out of La Cañada’s No. 2 singles slot. The Spartans got their final two victories from Sharon Kim and Sydney Fischel, as they both won a set by a score of 6-1.

“We have good balance this year,” Moravec said. “Sharon and Sawa have been winning us one or two sets every match.”

It wasn’t all good news for La Cañada (6-7, 4-1 in league), as Fischel, who started the year as the team’s No. 1 singles player, aggravated a rib injury during her set and had to be subbed out.

La Cañada will work its way through league when it travels to South Pasadena at 3:30 p.m. today.