Adam Ridaoui went to the Internet recently to conduct research.
The Burbank High boys’ tennis player sought more information on how to wear down an opponent while staying poised before taking to the court in an attempt to reach another watershed moment in his career.
The fact-finding mission proved to be valuable as the No. 1-seed Ridaoui registered a 6-4, 6-3 victory versus No. 2 and teammate Amrith Kodumuri in the championship match of the Pacific League Tournament on Wednesday at Burroughs High.
Ridaoui captured his fourth consecutive league singles title, becoming the first Bulldogs player to accomplish the feat since Burbank moved to the Pacific League from the Foothill League in 2005.
“I was on the Internet for a long time trying to get valuable information,” said Ridaoui, who turned back Kodumuri in the league final for the second season in a row. “I know Amrith very well since we are teammates and he’s a very good player. I just needed to find some ways to stay calm and also try to finish quickly.
“It’s great to win another league title. Last year was the hardest and this one is the second toughest. I just wanted to work and get the points.”
In the doubles competition, Arcadia’s William Cao and James Liu, the top seed, recorded a 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 win versus No. 3 Bernard Woods and Michael Fraser of Burroughs.
The champions and finalists will move on to participate in the CIF Individual Tournament in May at a location to be determined.
Ridaoui, who helped Burbank gain a share of the league championship with Arcadia last week, posted a 6-0, 6-1 win against No. 4 Raphael Lazaryev of Burbank in a semifinal match earlier.
Kodumuri began Wednesday with a 6-0, 6-3 semifinal win versus No. 3 Andy Yu of Arcadia.
“I played well in the first match,” said Kodumuri, a sophomore. “It was another good opportunity in the final. but I missed some short shots; had I made them, maybe it’s a closer match. Now I just move on to the next match.”
On the doubles side, Woods and Fraser started off with a 6-3, 6-1 semifinal victory against No. 2 James Basco and David Kerimyan of Burbank. In the other doubles semifinal, Cao and Liu earned a 7-6(7-5), 6-1 win over No. 4 Samuel Li and Jason Li of Arcadia.
Woods and Fraser began the season as the Nos. 1 and 2 singles players, respectively, for Burroughs before being paired in doubles late in the regular season.
The duo picked up plenty of valuable experience in the tournament.
“I think we played some good tennis,” Woods said. “I enjoy doubles because I’m more relaxed and you have somebody helping you out. We felt good in the championship match. It got a little nerve-wracking going into the tiebreaker.”
Said Fraser: “I thought we played well. You get to the tiebreaker and anything can happen. You just try to settle down.”
Yu bested Lazaryev, 8-0, in the third-place singles match. In the third-place doubles contest, Li and Li came away with an 8-3 win against Basco and Kerimyan.
Burbank and Burroughs, which took fourth in league, will next compete in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. The playoff pairings for all five divisions will be released at 11 a.m. Monday.
