Pairing of La Cañada High’s McKenzie sisters worked strikingly well

La Cañada High tennis players Ally McKenzie and sister Cassie were experiencing a rough patch during a doubles match in the Rio Hondo League championship in late October.

The Spartans pair had just lost a game against the No. 1-seeded San Marino duo of Madeleine Gandawidjaja and Sophia Lee. After Ally hit a point for a winner, the sisters just passed one another on the court without acknowledgment.

“That’s when you can tell when we’re mad at each other when we don’t high-five after a point,” said Cassie, a junior. “We both are so competitive and we want to win, sometimes we do get mad — but it usually doesn’t last.”

The pair worked through the temporary setback and the No. 2-seeded McKenzies went on to defeat the San Marino duo, 6-2, 6-0, to secure the doubles crown at Live Oak Park in Temple City.

Like most siblings, the McKenzie sisters have their share of disagreements and squabbles.

“I guess we get mad at each other like normal sisters,” said Ally, a senior. “Since we’re a year apart we do get on each other’s nerves some times.

“But there are some things that just make me crazy. Like when I put a burrito in the fridge at home and I put a note on it saying ‘Ally’s burrito’ and then I see Cassie and she’s eating my burrito. Really? I just don’t get that.”

Despite the occasional disagreements, being sisters and playing tennis since before they were 10 years old, the McKenzies were able to overcome those tough spots to form a dynamic doubles duo this past season.

“That’s just how they are being they’re sisters, sometimes they fight,” Spartans Coach Will Moravec said. “When they do get mad at each other on the court it never lasts very long. They seem to get over it and move on. They have both been playing for a long time and they are both very competitive. To me, that just shows their drive.”

Playing singles for most of the 2014 regular season, Moravec teamed up the sisters — at their request — for the league tournament.

The McKenzie sisters worked their pairing to perfection. The two claimed the league championship and put together an impressive run to the semifinals in the CIF tournament.

It’s because of those accomplishments that Ally and Cassie McKenzie have been chosen the 2014 All-Area Girls’ Doubles Team of the Year by the sports writers of the La Cañada Valley Sun, Burbank Leader and Glendale News-Press.

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Ally McKenzie captured the Rio Hondo League singles championship in 2013 as a junior, becoming first Spartan since 2001 to accomplish the feat. She finished with a 42-4 record and advanced to the round of 20 in the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament.

As a sophomore a year ago, Cassie finished with a 38-7 record in singles and helped the Spartans take second in the Rio Hondo League and reach the CIF quarterfinals.

Although Ally did play some doubles this past season, the two primarily served as the Spartans’ top two singles players. But when the time rolled around for the league tournament, it was the sisters who made the suggestion to Moravec to team up in doubles.

“It was their idea all along,” said Moravec, whose La Cañada team went 10-7, tied for second in the Rio Hondo League and won a wild-card match in the Division I playoffs. “Last year we tried to get them both to CIF. Ally played singles and she got to go to CIF and Cassie played doubles with another girl and she didn’t make it. So, that didn’t work out too well.

“As they reflected on that they also saw that they had some friends who did well in doubles at the CIF tournament. I think they kind of thought that ‘Hey, we’re the two best singles players on the team, why don’t we team up in doubles and see how far we could go.’ That was their plan right away from the first time we had practice with them in doubles.”

In the league tournament, the McKenzies had a bye in the first round before winning a second-round match, 8-2. They then rolled to a victory in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-1.

After easily winning the league championship, the sisters set their sights on the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament.

The sisters breezed through their two matches to open the tournament in November at Andulka Park Tennis Center in Riverside. Their success continued Dec. 5 in the round of 16 and quarterfinals at the Seal Beach Tennis Center. Ally and Cassie, seeded No. 2, breezed through their first match of the day, winning, 6-1, 6-1, against Ana Tifera and Kaylee Kang of Troy.

In the quarterfinal contest, things got a bit tougher for the Spartans team. However, the sisters were able to battle to win the match, 6-2, 6-3, against sisters Tracy and Tammy Van of Bolsa Grande.

“For me, it’s nice to play with Cassie because she’s better at doubles than I am,” Ally said. “I think that’s an advantage for me. She’s really good at volleying and she knows how to play doubles. She knows when someone is going to poach and she can play really well down the line. She also has one of the best doubles serves ever.”

Cassie said she enjoyed the experience of playing doubles with her sister.

“I like playing with my sister because she is just really, really so solid at the baseline and I can always count on her keeping the ball in,” Cassie said. “Also, if there’s an opening, she’s good at hitting the ball in an opening or down the line or even hitting the ball at an angle.

“I really trust her and when I’m at the net and she’s at the baseline I think we make a really good combo. That’s why it’s so much fun to play with her.”

The pairing continued to work well and it catapulted the sisters to the CIF tournament semifinals, held at the Seal Beach Tennis Center on Dec. 8. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they fell short of an appearance in the finals, losing to Matta Kilstofte and Madison Hale of Santa Barbara, 6-4, 6-3.

The McKenzies were attempting to become only the second Spartans doubles team in school history to advance to a CIF doubles final. The only other duo to accomplish that feat was Susan Almassy and Ann Feely, who were runner-up in 1971.

“Hey, they were able to do something and get farther than anyone from La Cañada has been able to do in a long time,” Moravec said of the sisters. “This is a small community and to be able to get to the CIF semifinals is pretty impressive.”

With their season behind them, Ally and Cassie McKenzie look forward to what they will encounter next season. Unfortunately, the sisters will have to go at it alone and will be more than 1,500 miles away from one another. That’s because Ally is headed to St. Louis Universityto play tennis and study medicine. For Cassie, she should be the cornerstone of the Spartans next season as a senior.

“It was great that I was able to play with Cassie and we were able to go far in CIF my senior year,” Ally said.

Added Cassie: “We do fight sometimes, but we do love each other.”