Crescenta Valley, Glendale tennis nab CIF top-two seeds
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After learning Monday the Crescenta Valley High girls’ tennis team was tabbed the No. 1 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs Monday, coach Sam Hyun had mixed feelings.
While pleased the Falcons were bestowed with the seed, Hyun could look no further than last season when Crescenta Valley knocked off top-seeded Alhambra in the first round of the Division III postseason as a wild-card squad. It led to the Falcons advancing to the quarterfinals, the furthest they’ve gone since reaching the semifinals in 2003.
Crescenta Valley (11-3) will meet visiting Marymount (9-3) in a first-round match at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“We should be careful going into the playoffs because we remember what happened last year,” said Hyun, whose team finished second in the Pacific League behind Arcadia. “We’re very appreciative of being the No. 1 seed, but there are a lot of good teams out there.
“Being No. 1 , you avoid the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, but there are plenty of top teams in our half of the bracket. We’ll just continue to practice and get ready for Marymount.”
Marymount finished second in the Sunshine League behind Chaminade.
The winner of the Crescenta Valley-Marymount match will face Warren (11-5), Atascadero (11-7) or Santa Ynez (9-11) in a second-round match Friday. Crescenta Valley defeated Warren, 16-2, in the second round last season.
Glendale, under the direction of first-year coach Tom Gossard, was the other local team to qualify for the playoffs. Gossard, arguably the area’s most successful tennis coach after leading Crescenta Valley to nine Pacific League titles between 1995-2009, has the Nitros back in the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Glendale (11-6) received the No. 2 seed in Division IV, yet will participate in a wild-card match at Mark Keppel (10-10) at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Glendale picked up a wild-card draw by virtue of finishing fourth in the Pacific League. Glendale notched a 15-3 win against Mark Keppel earlier this season.
“We’re excited about being in the playoffs and we’ve definitely come a long way,” Gossard said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence.
“It’s not so bad being a wild-card team because that means you get to play two days in a row if you win that first one.”
The Glendale-Mark Keppel winner will take on host Gladstone (9-7) in a first-round match Wednesday.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
