SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — A day later and the Glendale High girls’ tennis team experienced a reversal of fortunes.
Instead of being on the losing end of some close sets, like they were against La Cañada, the balls seemed to bounce the Nitros way on Thursday.
On the other side of those bounces was rival Hoover, with the Nitros cruising to a 16-2 home Pacific League victory.
“I felt like the match could have easily been a lot closer,” Glendale Coach Bob Davidson said. “What happened to us yesterday, happened to Hoover [today]. They lost a lot of close sets.”
But in the process of losing those close sets, the Tornadoes did anything but give up.
“[My girls] were playing as tough as they can,” Hoover Coach Julie Hoppe said. “Glendale has a tough team.”
Both teams are currently at different parts of the developmental stage.
Glendale (3-1, 2-0 in league) is eyeing a return trip to the postseason behind a core group of experienced players. Hoover (1-2, 0-2 in league), meanwhile, is trying to blend an abundance of youth with a dash of experience.
When the teams met for the first time on Thursday, the Nitros’ experience exploited the youthfulness of the Tornadoes.
The Nitros grasped an early advantage, winning all six of the first-round sets, despite their opponents refusing to roll over.
“We played with a lot of confidence today,” Davidson said. “When we play with that confidence we are a tough team.”
Hoover, on the other hand, has some work to do in that area.
“We really need to work on our mental game,” Hoppe said. “It’s mentally being tough to take the sudden-death point or to get to that point.”
In the 13-5 loss to La Cañada, the Nitros managed just one singles set win. Against Hoover, they won all but one.
Ynna Aghabegian swept 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, as did Sevana Zargarian 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
Hoover’s Deija Lighon won her team’s lone singles set, 6-3, as did Grace Lee and Audrey Yun, 6-2, in doubles action.
Glendale’s No 1 doubles team of Joyce Librando and Smantha Sismundo swept 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. Talinn Jaramillo and Ilene Suleymanyan teamed for wins of 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
Now, things really begin to pick up for Glendale, which enters a span in which Davidson calls, “the biggest week of the year.”
The Nitros will see how they stack up against two potential league contenders, first against Burbank on Tuesday and followed with Crescenta Valley two days later.
“For us to be in those matches, we have to be playing at a high level,” Davidson said.
