Thatcher tennis boys blank three foes
By Raymundo Frasquillo
THATCHER – The Chris Cook-coached Thatcher Eagles host Tucson Sabino on Wednesday, March 4. The teams last met during the Division III state quarterfinals, with Thatcher advancing with a 5-1 win.
Thatcher heads to Chandler Prep on Thursday, March 5, and for the two-day North Phoenix Kiwanis Invitational in Glendale on Friday-Saturday, March 6-7.
Sabino has a win over Rio Rico (9-0, Feb. 26) while Chandler Prep is 2-0 with wins over Chandler Lincoln Prep (9-0, Feb. 25) and Gilbert Christian (9-0, March 2).
To date, Thatcher is 3-0 in seeding matches, blanking Globe (9-0, Feb. 26), Sierra Vista Buena (9-0, Feb. 27), and Safford (9-0, March 3).
Individually, the Eagles have won 18 singles and nine doubles matches.
In singles, top seed senior Braden Huish is 3-0, No. 2 junior Jacob Reed 3-0, No. 3 senior Topher Rubalcava 3-0, No. 4 senior Ranan Rubalcava 3-0, No. 5 sophomore Jackson Smith 3-0, and No. 6 sophomore Grady Allen 3-0.
Doubles No. 1 Huish – Allen is 3-0, No. 2 Rubalcava – Rubalcava 3-0, and No. 3 Reed – Smith 3-0.
Division III Section I Standings
The section standing as of March 3 are Thatcher (3-0 seeding, 1-0 section), Pima (1-0, 0-0), Safford (1-1, 0-0), Duncan (0-1, 0-0), Miami (0-1, 0-0), Globe (0-2, 0-1), Morenci (0-2, 0-0), and Benson (0-0, 0-0).
A lone section pairing resulted in a win by Thatcher over Globe (9-0, Feb. 26).
Thatcher – 9, Safford – 0 (March 3)
It was Huish over sophomore Lucas Lackner (6-0 twice), Reed over junior John Archuleta (6-2, 6-4), Topher Rubalcava over sophomore Trae Gaines (6-0, 6-1), Ranan Rubalcava over freshman Gunner Crockett (6-0 twice), Smith over sophomore Nathan Tarnutzer (6-0, 6-1), and Allen over freshman Jackson Smith (6-1, 6-0) in singles.
In doubles, it was Huish-Reed over Lackner-Archuleta 8-0, Rubalcava-Rubalcava over Gaines-Crockett 8-2, and Smith-Allen over Smith – Tarnutzer 8-1.
Saint John Paul II – 9, Morenci – 0
Morenci forfeited the No. 6 singles slots and the No. 3 doubles, while the host Lions prevailed in five singles and two doubles head-to-head pairings.
It was singles top seed junior Alexsander Piatek over senior Jayden Cueto (6-0 twice), No. 2 senior Vincent Grabec over senior Hector Morales (6-0 twice), No. 3 Josemaria Estreller over junior Ryan Sullivan (6-0 twice), No. 4 senior Mateusz Serwach over freshman William Henrie (6-0 twice), No. 5 senior Viktor Lassek over freshman Gabriel Tachie-Menson (6-0 twice), and No. 6 junior Stephen Kane received a forfeit.
In doubles, it was Piatek – Estreller over Cueto – Morales 8-1, Grabiec – Serwach over Sullivan – Henrie 8-0, and Lassek – Kane received a forfeit.
Patagonia – 8, Duncan – 1 (March 2)
The host Lobos took two singles and a doubles during head-to-head pairings with Duncan. Patagonia also received forfeit wins for three singles and two doubles.
It was singles No. 2 senior Skylar Sanchez over sophomore Canyon Carver (6-2, 6-4) and No. 3 junior Alex Ruskowitz over junior Aaron Zamora (6-0, 6-2) while No. 4 junior Louis Reyes, No. 5 senior Lenin Albarran, and No. 6 sophomore Jorge Sotello received forfeits.
In doubles, it was senior Jaxon Yslava – Reyes over sophomore Jared Kempton – Carver 8-2. Sanchez, Ruskowitz, and Albarran-Sotello received forfeits.
For Duncan, top seed Kempton won the tie-breaker 10-6 after splitting with Yslava. Kempton won the first set 7-5 while Yslava won the second set 6-1.
Thatcher – 9, Buena – 0 (Feb. 27)
It was Huish over junior Colton Haws (6-1 twice), Reed over senior Larry McClain (6-4 twice), Topher Rubalcava over junior Parker Hooper (6-1, 6-0), Ranan Rubalcava over sophomore Tasi Fruean (6-1 twice), Smith over sophomore Aaron Cox (6-0 twice), and Allen over sophomore Jesus Valdez (6-1, 6-0) in singles.
In doubles, it was Huish – Reed over Haws-McClain 8-0, Rubalcava-Rubalcava over Fruean-Cox 8-2, and Smith-Allen over Hooper, sophomore William Sehnert 8-1.
Pima – 9, Globe – 0
The No. 3 doubles was the lone win for the Tigers against Pima.
Singles top seed senior Jackson Paull, No. 2 senior Jimmy Smith, No. 3 junior Colt Lunt, No. 4 junior Eli Rogers, No. 5 junior Matthew Pollock, and No. 6 junior Brody East prevailed over junior Matthew Bolinger (6-1, 6-0), senior Spencer McBride, (6-1, 6-0), senior Kaden Graham (2-6, 6-1, 10-5), junior Caden Dryden (6-4, 6-1), senior Garth Lunt (6-1 twice), and junior Hollen Hoopes (6-4, 6-1), respectively.
In doubles, it was Paull – Smith over McBride – Bolinger 8-3 and Colt Lunt-Rogers over Graham-Dryden 8-5.
For Globe, No. 3 duo Pollock – East topped Garth Lunt – junior Logan McCray 8-5.
Thatcher – 9, Globe – 0 (Feb. 26)
It was Huish over Bolinger (6-1 twice), Reed over McBride (6-0 twice), Topher Rubalcava over Graham (6-0 twice), Ranan Rubalcava over Dryden (6-0 twice), Smith over Pollock (6-0 twice), and Allen over East (6-0 twice) in singles.
In doubles, it was Huish – Allen over Bolinger – McBride 8-0, Rubalcava – Rubalcava over Graham – Dryden 8-0, and Smith – Reed over Pollock – East 8-1.
Safford – 9, Morenci – 0
The Bulldogs swept the visiting Wildcats both in singles and doubles.
Singles top seed Lackner, No. 2 Archuleta, No. 3 Gaines, No. 4 Crockett, No. 5 Tarnutzer, and No. 6 Smith prevailed over Cueto (6-0, 6-1), Morales (6-4, 6-2), freshman Riley Stephenson (6-0 twice), Sullivan (6-1, 6-0), Henrie (7-5, 6-0), and Trachie-Menson (6-4, 4-6, 10-4), respectively.
In doubles, it was Lackner – Archuleta over Cueto – Morales 8-0, Gaines – Crockett over Stephenson – Sullivan 8-0, and Smith – Tarnutzer over Henrie – Tachie-Menson 8-1, respectively.
Saint John Paul II – 7, Miami – 2 (Feb. 25)
The host Vandals posted wins in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles, while the visiting Lions had wins in four singles and all three doubles.
Singles top seed Grabec, No. 2 Estreller, No. 3 Lassek, and No. 4 Kane defeated senior Jeffery Askew (6-3, 6-2), junior Jose Zarate (6-0, 6-3), senior Chris White (6-4 twice), and junior Hector Mariscal (6-2, 5-7, 10-4).
In doubles, it was Grabiec – Estreller over Askew – Zarate 8-4, Lassek – Kane over White – Mariscal 8-6, and sophomore Kayson James – freshman Jeremy De Matias over sophomores Dillon – Jeriah Palmer 8-4.
For Miami, No. 5 sophomore Joshua Dillon downed James (6-4, 7-6), and No. 6 Palmer took the tiebreaker 10-8 after splitting, winning the first set 6-2 and falling in the second set 4-6.
