Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
ARCADIA -- Tuesday's Pacific League girls' tennis match between
Glendale and Arcadia highs proved two things.
One, Glendale is an inexperienced team with only two returning players
and will battle for a third-place spot in the league with Hoover and
Pasadena highs.
The other: Arcadia will be one of the elite teams in the league, along
with Crescenta Valley.
The Apaches proved their strength and depth in both singles and
doubles, defeating the Nitros, 14-4, at Arcadia High in the opening
league match for both teams.
"Definitely they are the favorites. CV and Arcadia have the most
experience," said Glendale Coach Bob Davidson.
"Arcadia has two very strong singles players. The bottom line is they
are stronger and more experienced. But we competed well."
Kathleen Yee, Arcadia's No. 2 singles player, swept her sets with
ease. She didn't drop a game in her three sets against Nitro No. 1 player
Jennifer Au, No. 2 entry Adrienne Dow or No. 3 player Helen Hahn.
The other singles player Davidson was referring to was Arcadia's No. 3
singles entry Cindy Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi also swept her three sets, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1.
One highlight for Glendale (3-5) was the No. 1 doubles team of Armineh
and Ani Mikaelian. The sisters won two of their three sets. They defeated
the Apaches' No. 1 doubles team of Jane Smith and Maylin Lin, 7-5, and
No. 2 team of Pamela Tung and Serena Tseng, 6-4.
The upset of the day came from Hahn, who defeated Arcadia's No. 1
singles player Erica Lin, 7-5.
Next up for Arcadia (4-2) will be CV. The Apaches will face the
Falcons at 3:15 p.m. Thursday at Arcadia High. Arcadia has won four
straight league titles, but two of the crowns were shared with CV,
including last season's.
"It is always a challenge to play CV," Arcadia Coach Jerry Dohling
said.
"On paper, CV has the strongest team. We are hoping we can improve
enough to beat them. We will always have good matches against them."
