Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- The Flintridge Prep girls' tennis team lost,
17-1, against a talented Chadwick squad in its Prep League opener, but
the play of her athletes was far from Rebel Coach Mary Rush Yelverton's
mind.
Dealing with the tragedy of Tuesday's terrorist attacks at the World
Trade Centers and at the Pentagon, Yelverton simply encouraged her
players to execute well and have fun during Friday's match at Scholl
Canyon Park.
Yelverton, who was without Caitlin Kaletsch, half of the No. 1 doubles
team, told her players: "Don't worry about losing. Treat [this match]
like a practice. Treat every point as its own individual battle."
Christina Chao provided Flintridge Prep's lone win with a 7-6 (9-7)
victory against Lauren Cramer.
"Our main focus right now is trying to keep the team up," Chao said.
"We were just trying to stay focused. We're just trying to play our best
and not get tight."
The Rebels, winless in their three matches this season, were just
overmatched by Chadwick, which lost only one player from last year's team
that made it to the CIF Southern Section Division V quarterfinals before
losing to eventual champion Laguna Beach, 13-5.
With a deep lineup, Chadwick Coach Carolyn Leach, in her 26th season
at the helm, is confident the Dolphins could attain their first league
title since 1991 and contend for a division championship, which has
eluded them since 1991.
"I've got strength all the way through," Leach said. "This is a
confident group of girls. They know what it takes to do well and win the
[divisional] title."
Singles players Lauren Estabrook, Cramer and Amanda Link, a former No.
1 singles player who returned from a two-year hiatus with the
cross-country team, had their way Friday, winning all but one of their
sets and surrendering just eight games.
"With singles, you could never go out and think you're going to win,"
said Link, playing in her second match in three seasons.
Link left the tennis program following her freshman year because she
felt burned out, only to return as a senior because cross-country wasn't
as fun as she had thought.
"Tennis was calling me," said Link, whose freshman sibling, Brittany,
paired with Carol Anne Cramer to win three doubles sets.
Chadwick's No. 1 doubles player Melina Marmarelis, the main driving
force in persuading Amanda Link to return, joined Alyssa Norris to easily
win their three sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1.
"[Winning a division title] is a goal we could definitely reach,"
Marmarelis said. "We have a lot of depth we've never had before."
BOX SCORE
Chadwick 17, Flintridge Prep 1
SINGLES -- Chao (FP) lost to Estabrook, 6-0; def. L. Cramer, 7-6
(9-7); lost to A. Link, 6-0. Moon (FP) lost, 6-1, 6-0, 6-0. Cha (FP)
lost, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.
DOUBLES -- Krulisky/Watt (FP) lost to Marmarelis/Norris, 6-0, lost to
Nadella/Liadahl, 6-1, lost to B. Link/C. Cramer, 6-3. Wong/Abhat (FP)
lost, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1. Chu/Kim (FP) lost, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.
