By Alan Der OHANNESSIAN

In tennis, the Falcons lost a close one to the Bulldogs 10-8 on Tuesday.

Having skipped their last series due to rain, the taste of their LaSalle victory was still fresh in the Falcons minds, giving them the drive to win.

In singles, Falcons’ number one Chris Kim easily took care of Pasadena’s Jimmy Yik 6-0.

Kim got off to a fast start, setting the tone with an ace, a serve that can’t be received down the middle. On the next point, his opponent hit a wide forehand aiming to his forehand, followed by the same kind of error on the third of point of the game for a 40-0 lead.

Kim took the win after aiming to Yik’s forehand again as he hit another wide one, prompting their coach Derek Jones to tell him “lower.”

Kim’s strong performance continued in the second game as he got an early 0-30 lead as he hit a forehand wide down the line after setting up the point with a short angle serve, followed by a slice forehand into the net. However, Yik trimmed the lead as Kim hit a forehand into the net. He regrouped himself to win the next point after Yik hit another forehand into the net for a 15-40 lead. Undeterred, Yik got the next two points for deuce (40-40).

Kim got the deciding point as he hit a short angle cross-court backhand that Yik couldn’t respond for a 2-0 lead.

The trend continued in the third game as Kim got to a 40-15 lead before Yi trimmed it to 40-30. Kim got the next point as Yik hit a forehand into the racket’s frame that sent the ball over the fence 3-0.

Kim broke serve for the second time as he controlled the game from start to finish as he hit passing shots down the line and cross court, leaving Yik puzzled, followed by another forehand into the net by Yik for a 0-40 lead.

Kim got the next point as he set up a drop shot as Yik desperately tried to lob over him but Kim finished it with a smash 4-0.

Yik’s woes continued into the fifth game as he repeated the same mistakes leading to a 40-0 CV lead. Kim got the game after the opponent hit another wide forehand.

In the final contest, Kim put an end to Yik’s misery gaining a 15- 45 lead, then finishing it with strong backhand that Yik returned into the net.

Coach Sarah Wiggins was pleased, saying that, “Kim was focused and he took care of it.”

Quick Recap of other games:

The Falcons won seven of their nine games in singles, including Kim’s victory over all of their singles players 6-0, 6-0 and 6-3 respectively.

However, it was the doubles that sunk CV as they won only one of their nine matches.

Coach Wiggins said that the players were trying to end the points quickly, not waiting patiently for their opportunities to come.

The Falcons next play Glendale High School today at 3:30 p.m.

  CV Tennis