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Burbank doubles team, singles player advance to semifinals

The Burbank High doubles team of Johana Faraj, left, and Alice Avedikian advanced to Wednesday’s Pacific League Tournament semifinals.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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BURBANK — Burbank High girls’ tennis player Johana Faraj has an impressive track record in the Pacific League Tournament.

For three straight seasons, Faraj, a junior, has advanced to the tournament semifinals with two different partners.

The Bulldog secured her third consecutive appearance Monday afternoon, teaming up with senior teammate Alice Avedikian, to win two sets in the tournament’s first day at Burroughs High.

Also earning a spot in the singles semifinals for the second straight year was Burbank sophomore Kristina Kirakosyan.

The semifinals will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Burroughs. Faraj and Avedikian will face Deng and Ko in the semifinals. The Arcadia pair is not only the defending Pacific League champion but won the CIF doubles title in 2016. Kirakosyan is set to face No. 2 Rachelle Yang of Arcadia in the semifinals.

It will be the second time Faraj and Avedikian have made the semifinals, the first being in the 2015 tournament. Last season, Faraj, who mainly played singles this season, teamed up with Nicole Merrit for a semifinals ascent.

“Johana played mostly singles for us, but she is a natural for the doubles game,” Burbank coach Loi Phan said. “She is a good team player and her and Alice make a good team. Alice, being a senior, we wanted to make it to the second day for her.

“Alice also played mostly singles, but the two played together in the last Arcadia match and you could see them getting stronger through their sets.”

Faraj and Avedikian, seeded No. 5, began the first round with an 8-0 win against No. 12 Liana Tatevosian and Victoria Tran of Pasadena. In the second round against No. 13 Sydney Tran and Jolene Huey of Arcadia, the Bulldogs earned an 8-4 win.

Also winning their opening-round contest was No. 6 Sandy Le May and Jackie Samsell of Burroughs, 8-0, before the pair fell in the second round to No. 3 Sunny Ng and Francesca Yao of Arcadia, 8-0. The No. 9 Burbank pair of Bella La Manna and Elza Vardanyan began with a 8-4 win against No. 8 Emi Guzman and Mo-Mo Gizman of Glendale, before falling to No. 1 Lauren Ko and Michelle Deng of Arcadia, 8-0.

“I thought we played great together today,” Faraj said. “We don’t let the pressure get to us. We try to have some fun out there and we do joke around some.”

Losing in the first round of doubles was No. 16 Emilie Siraki and Krystal Hirahara of Burbank against Ko and Deng, 8-0.

In singles, Kirakosyan will look to improve on a third-place finish in 2016.

On Monday, the Bulldog, seeded No. 3, opened with an 8-4 win against No. 14 Michelle Dong of Arcadia before dispatching Burroughs No. 6 Chloe Bookmyer in the second round, 8-2.

Bookmyer won her first-round match against No. 11 Polin Crete of Crescenta Valley, 8-1.

“I thought I played better in the second one,” Kirakosyan said. “I just kept missing in the first one. …I don’t know what was going on. I thought the second was really going to be harder than it was.”

Falling in the first round of singles play was No. 15 Natalie Khachikian of Burbank against Yang, 8-0, and No. 10 Janette Faraj of Burbank against No. 7 Celine Khachiki of Glendale, 8-4.

Arcadia, the league team champion, will have three doubles teams and two singles players in Wednesday’s semifinals.

jeffrey.tully@latimes.com

Twitter: @jefftsports

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