Team photo courtesy of Amanda Lin

Girls Tennis:

Thanks to Maranatha tennis for this report:

It was opening day for the two Pasadena schools, who happen to practice on the same facility at PHS.

Both teams are loaded with young inexperienced players that they hope will improve and mature throughout the season.

This was a great opportunity for both squads to get some match experience and to start building some character for the season ahead.

With 6 freshmen, no seniors, and the departure of 4 of their All-League players from last season, the Lady Minutemen fielded their youngest lineup in recent memory.

Maranatha got off to a strong start, winning 5 of 6 sets in the first round, anchored by singles, who swept (#1 Grace Yang and #3 Mia Huang won, 6-0, while #2 Mia Su won, 6-2).

Doubles won 2 of 3, with #1 Kathryn Khalil/Madison White winning a close one, 6-4, and #2 Diana Sarksyan/Jennifer Chu prevailing, 6-1.

Freshmen Maggie Brantingham/Peony Liu were edged out, 6-4, at the #3 matchup.

The Lady Minutemen rode that momentum to an even more dominant 2nd round, with singles only surrendering a single game, and #1 and #2 doubles doing the same, leaving the match at 10-2.

The 3rd round was more competitive, as MHS substituted freshmen, Dora Wang and Juliana Zhang at #3 doubles and Morgan Duran at #1 doubles (for Khalil).

Yang won her set handily, 6-1, but Su had to fight back from behind to overcome PHS’s #1, 6-4, while Huang lost, 6-1.

White/Duran were neck and neck the entire set before prevailing, 6-4.

Sarksyan/Chu also battled it out in a seesaw set, overcoming a 5-4 deficit to win the final 3 games for a 7-5 win. Wang/Zhang lost, 6-1.

Despite opening match jitters, the Lady Minutemen put forth a solid effort and gained valuable experience before heading to Monrovia High School on Thursday for their second match of the season.