First published in the Sept. 11 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
Glendale High School’s varsity girls’ tennis team walked onto its home courts on Thursday seeking its second consecutive victory but was dealt a narrow tiebreaking loss. The Nitros and Burbank Burroughs tied in sets won, 9-9, but Burroughs was declared the winner by virtue of a tiebreaker of total games won, 74-64.
“We’ve been working on a lot of staying in the game, not allowing us to beat ourselves, but being competitive, forcing the ball over the net hoping that the opponent will make a mistake,” said Jim Jenks, Glendale’s head coach. “We’ve been really working a lot on our volleys, so it’s been nice to see them play and improving on that skill.”
Glendale’s Ani Harutyunyan turned in a solid performance, winning two singles matches against Burroughs’ Isabella Munguia (6-1) and Ava Marye (6-1). Each Nitros singles player added at least one set victory, as both Erika Khojoyan and Liana Aghakhani defeated Marye by scores of 6-1 and 6-2, respectively.
“Ani Harutyunyan, No. 1 singles player, did well today,” Jenks said. “She pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the team with her work ethic.”
In doubles match play, Glendale squeezed out a 5-4 advantage over Burroughs. Although there were no individual sweeps for Glendale, each doubles team — Natalie Mirzakhanyan and Tiffany Tarbinian, Sona Amroyan and Sarah Davtyan, and Nairy Manoukian and Nineli Shah Mirian — added 6-4, 6-0 and 6-4 set victories, respectively, against Burroughs’ Lindsey Mazarei and Leila Munoz.
“[Sarah Davtyan] originally wasn’t going to play due to injury, and she saw that we had a need, and she volunteered to come out and play this last set for us,” Jenks said.
It certainly wasn’t the desired result for Glendale, but Jenks said the Nitros will continue to work hard and improve their skills daily.
Glendale (1-2 overall, 0-1 in league) is scheduled to play host Arcadia on Thursday, Sept. 16, in the Nitros’ second league match.
