The best season in Golden Valley girls’ tennis history ended in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals, but not before the Grizzlies knocked off the top-seeded team to get there.
Taking a trip to Ontario to take on the Ontario Christian Knights, the Grizzlies bested the hosts, 12-6, to earn the right to host the quarterfinals. However, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Tologs ended Golden Valley’s season with an 11-7 victory.
“Honestly, we played well in that quarterfinal match as well,” Golden Valley head coach Josh Stimac said in a phone interview. “It was just, Flintridge Sacred Heart was really deep. They had a lot of good players from No. 1 all the way down through No. 9.”
Stimac said there were a number of close sets that went Flintridge’s way, and a few bounces going the Grizzlies’ way could have flipped the final result.
“The crazy thing was,” Stimac said, “when I looked at the next round, that team won again, 11-7, and that always gives me pause and makes me go, ‘Oh, man, if we could have played better that one day …’ I was just so happy to be there, so happy that the girls were playing well and competing, and even though we lost close sets, just to have the opportunity to be in the close sets was a privilege.”
Overall, the Grizzlies went 12-9 on the year, finishing fourth in the Foothill League. That came as Stimac was utilizing a number of younger players to go along with a couple of seniors to lead the team.
Senior Janice Jin wrapped up her high school career after being the No. 2 player for the Grizzlies during the past three seasons. She stepped in to play doubles in the first round of the playoffs against Hart, the first time she’s ever played doubles for Golden Valley, and then did the same in the next two rounds.
“Janice has always been just one of the best team captains I’ve ever had,” Stimac said. “Super, super friendly kid and a great competitor. She’ll be missed for more than just wins and losses.”
Freshman Kaelyn Azarraga stepped into the Golden Valley lineup and made an immediate impact, with Stimac calling her the second-best player in the league.
“She shows a lot of maturity on the court,” he said.
Not just good athletes, the Grizzlies also performed in the classroom. The team’s cumulative grade-point average this year was 4.21, according to Stimac.
“I always seem to have really nice girls on the team, and this year was no exception,” Stimac said. “A lot of really nice girls, great students … Beyond that, it’s kind of gratifying to have some success on the tennis court as well. It’s always been kind of the component that’s missing.”
The season may have only recently finished, but Stimac said his girls are already preparing for next year as they look to put Golden Valley back into the playoffs for the second time in program history.
“We’re hoping to do the same thing again next year and make it through another round of the playoffs,” Stimac said. “A lot of good sophomores right now on the team, and some very good freshmen coming in, and they’re all in the offseason. And even now the season’s over, they’re still hitting. They’re still doing a great job staying out on the courts and staying active, because tennis, it’s the type of thing where you can’t just be a natural. It takes a lot of work to get good at it a lot of time, and the girls are putting in the work and the time. So, I’m very encouraged by that.”
