Mirjam Swanson
GLENDALE -- Somewhat new and greatly improved, expect the local high
school girls' tennis to be interesting -- and rather good -- this fall.
An infusion of fresh talent combined with tested experience ought to
allow almost every local team to consider itself better as it embarks on
the new season.
Crescenta Valley High -- with its 24-match regular season win streak
-- might have lost some firepower, but with the addition of ranked
sophomore twins Hanna and Nara Im, plus the return of proven players like
Ashley Goodwin, Lauren Hawthorne, Kendra Kessen and Bora Song, the
Falcons appear that they'll have a package so complete they'll not only
continue their regular season dominance, but be a greater threat than
ever come playoff time.
"We know what we've got," CV Coach Tom Gossard said, "but we're not
getting ahead of ourselves, we're just going to see what happens."
Rival teams are willing to predict.
"The league is going to be really tough," Glendale Coach Bob Davidson
said. "Now [Cwith the addition of the Im twins, CV] is going to be
untouchable, because they've always had strong doubles."
Elsewhere around the girls' tennis scene, La Canada welcomes freshman
Bianca Botta into the fold. The talented young tournament player is
expected to help Kim Gilmour -- who went 29-1 in the No. 1 singles' spot
last season -- lead the Spartans to exceed last season's first-round CIF
Southern Section Division IV playoff loss to Harvard-Westlake.
Likewise, up the hill at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, there could
be a yet another young talent to watch for. Charlotte Guy, who is also an
experienced tournament player according to Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach
Ron Zambrano, might be what the Tologs to capture third place and in the
always tough Mission League and therefore a postseason berth.
Hoover and Glendale face a similar
grab-third-place-for-a-playoff-berth situations behind the perennial
powers of CV and Arcadia in the Pacific League.
Eleventh year Coach Lynn Santamaria welcomes back several top
returners, whom she said have shown impressive dedication to developing
their games by their work ethic over the summer. Those hard-working
returners include all of last season's singles lineup -- which could
still see some strategic shifts.
The Nitros, meanwhile, strive for a playoff berth by leaning on their
doubles play and hoping their young and improving singles players can
pull off some surprises.
Verdugo Hills Coach Dick Smith isn't sure who he'll position where in
