Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Willcox top seed Mia Mungarro (13-0) raises her racquet for a backhand return against Safford. The Willcox senior went 11-0 with classmate Valarie Durazo in doubles. The Cowgirls went 74-4 in singles and 34-2 in doubles during seeding matches and have a singles plus two doubles teams entered in the state individual tourneys beginning on April 26. Willcox (13-0 seeding) eliminated No. 14 Safford (8-5) as No. 3 during the team state tourney first round on April 23.
Safford and Thatcher were eliminated in first-round pairings
By Raymundo Frasquillo
WILLCOX – The Mike Kauffman-coached No. 3 Willcox Cowgirls (13-0 seeding) host a state quarterfinal team pairing with the No. 11 Thatcher Eagles at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30. The Cowgirls ousted No. 14 Safford 5-0 and the Eagles eliminated the No. 6 Yuma Catholic Shamrocks (9-1) 5-4 in the first round on April 23.
Division III State Individual Tourney
The Division III state individual tourneys, singles, and doubles also have 16 slots in the first round, beginning on Friday, April 26. Section I teams landed six singles and five doubles slots, with Thatcher having two singles and two doubles entrants, Willcox one singles and two doubles, Safford two singles, Benson one singles, and Pima one doubles. Duncan and Morenci did not have qualifiers.
Singles 1 p.m. pairings have Match No. 2: Thatcher junior Audrey Smith (10-0 seeding) versus Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian freshman Micaela Nagel, Match No. 4: Safford senior Hazel Green (9-4) vs. Avondale Saint John Paul II junior Natalia Piatek (9-5), Match No. 9: Benson freshman Alexis Cooper (8-4) vs. Thatcher junior Kayla Turley (10-1), Match No. 14: Willcox junior Keira Lentz (12-1) vs. Tucson Tanque Verde freshman Brianna Mildenbrandt (11-2), and Match No. 16: Safford senior Rachel Peterson (9-2) vs. Yuma Catholic junior Grace Lanning (10-0), each starting at 1 p.m.
Doubles 2:30 p.m. pairings have Match No. 3: Willcox seniors Alexa Hernandez – Teresa Trujillo (10-1) versus No. 8 Flagstaff Northland Prep freshman Grace Daab – junior Amelia Raab (2-0), Match No. 5: Pima juniors Kennedy Minor – Mia Ashby (9-4) vs. Chandler Prep senior Kaitlyn Pfund – sophomore Elise Yeung (7-2), Match No. 6: Pusch Ridge junior Sophia Barnett – sophomore Melaney Johnson (1-0) vs, Thatcher seniors Maddie Scarborough – Zoey Damron (9-2), Match No. 12: Phoenix Veritas Prep seniors Brooke Bice – Juliana Curtis (4-1) vs. No. 6 Willcox seniors Mia Mungarra – Valerie Durazo (11-0), and Match No. 14: Page sophomores Haleigh Smith – Sienna Wertz (7-2) vs. No. 7 Thatcher sophomore Sophie Haynie – junior Emily Sampson (7-4).
Division III State Team Tourney
The Division III state tourney quarterfinals on Tuesday, April 30 have No. 8 Chandler Prep (9-2) versus No. 1 Phoenix Country Day School (12-0) at the Phoenix Tennis Center, 6330 North 21st Avenue; No. 12 Phoenix Veritas Prep (11-3) vs. No. 4 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (13-2) at Tucson’s Hilton Conquistador, 10000 North Oracle Road; No. 11 Thatcher (10-3) vs. No. 3 Willcox (13-0) at Willcox High School, 240 North Bisbee Avenue; and No. 7 Tucson Tanque Verde (12-2) vs. No. 2 Scottsdale Prep (10-1) at Phoenix Steele Indian School Park, 300 East Indian School Road.
Round One resulted in elimination wins of 5-0 by No. 1 Phoenix Country Day School (12-0 seeding) over No. 16 Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (7-6), 5-1 by No. 8 Chandler Prep (9-2) over No. 9 Flagstaff Northland Prep (9-0) 5-1, 5-4 by No. 12 Phoenix Veritas Prep (11-3) over. No. 5 Scottsdale Cicero Prep (10-1), 5-2 by No. 4 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (13-2) over No. 13 Gilbert Christian (8-4), 5-0 by No. 3 Willcox (13-0) over No. 14 Safford (8-5), 6-3 by No. 11 Thatcher (10-3) over No. 6 Yuma Catholic (9-1), 5-1 by No. 7 Tucson Tanque Verde (12-2) over No. 10 Glendale Prep (11-2), and 6-0 by No. 2 Scottsdale Prep (10-1) over No. 15 Tucson’s The Gregory School (10-3).
No. 6 Yuma Catholic (13-0 seeding, 13.2693 rating)
Yuma Catholic (9-1) had seeding wins over Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (9-0, March 21), Wellton Antelope Union (9-0, March 26), Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (9-0, March 28), Glendale Prep (6-3, April 1), Phoenix Northwest Christian (9-0, April 2), Queen Creek Crimson (9-0, April 5), Buckeye Odyssey Institute (9-0, April 11), Scottsdale Christian (9-0, April 15), and Florence (9-0, April 17), The loss was to Phoenix Country Day School (4-5, April 9).
The Kenneth Sandoval-coached Shamrocks were 54-6 (106-14 sets) in singles and 28-2 in doubles.
Individually, junior Grace Lanning was 10-0 (20-1 sets), sophomore Annie Scarborough 6-1 (12-2 sets), senior Francheska Cha 8-2 (16-4 sets), senior Kayle Heideman 10-0 (20-0 sets), freshman Claire Olsen 9-1 (18-3 sets), Abigail Olsen 9-1 (16-2 sets), freshman Laila Carillo 1-1 (2-2 sets), and freshman Chloe Dammeyer 1-0 (2-0 sets).
In doubles, Lanning – Scarborough was 5-1, Cha – Heideman 4-0, Olsen – Olsen 7-0, Lanning – Cha 3-0, Cha – Claire Olsen 1-0, Cha – Abigail Olsen 2-0, Heideman – Claire Olsen 2-0, Heideman – Abigail Olsen 1-0, Heideman – Carillo 1-1, Heideman – Dammeyer 1-0, and Carillo – Franky Sandoval 1-0.
No. 3 Willcox (13-0 seeding, 15.8844 rating)
Willcox (13-0) had seeding wins over Safford (9-0, Feb. 27), Saint David (9-0, Feb. 29), Tombstone (9-0, March 5), Duncan (6-0, March 7), Tucson’s The Gregory School (8-1, March 12), Morenci (9-0, March 14), Duncan (9-0, March 22), Pima (9-0, March 26), Morenci (9-0, March 28), Benson (9-0, April 2), Thatcher (6-3, April 4), Safford (7-2, April 8), and Globe (9-0, April 16). The Mike Kauffman-coached Cowgirls were 74-4 (97-10 sets) in singles and 34-2 in doubles. Three doubles matches were not played.
Individually, senior Mia Mungarro was 13-0 (19-2 sets), senior Valerie Durazo 10-2 (14-3 sets), senior Teresa Trujillo 13-0 (17-1 sets), senior Alexa Hernandez 13-0 (17-0 sets), junior Keira Lentz 12-1 (15-2 sets), junior Mabrisa Tona 12-1 (14-2 sets), and freshman Lorenca Tr 1-0 (1-0 sets).
In doubles, Mungarro – Durazo was 11-0, Trujillo – Hernandez 10-1, Lentz – Tona 10-1, Mungarro – Trujillo 1-0, Hernandez – Lentz 1-0, and Tona – Tr 1-0.
Wilcox – 5, Safford – 0
Five of six singles pairings resulted in the match win for the Cowgirls. senior Mia Mungarro, senior Valerie Durazo, senior Teresa Trujillo, senior Alexa Hernandez, junior Keira Lentz defeated senior Hazel Green (6-1, 6-2), senior Rachel Peterson (6-1, 7-5), senior Brynlie Alder (6-1, 6-0), senior Camille Alder (6-0 twice), and senior Ella Price (3-6, 6-4, 10-6), respectively.
The sixth singles pairing between junior Mabrisa Tona and Safford junior Alexis Neal was stopped and not completed.
Thatcher – 5, Yuma Catholic – 4
Neither team won five singles pairings, the Shamrocks won four while the Eagles took two, necessitating doubles play.
Yuma Catholic sophomore Annie Scarborough, senior Francheska Cha, senior Kayle Heideman, and freshman Claire Olsen defeated senior Maddie Scarborough (4-6, 6-1, 12-10), junior Emily Sampson (6-3 twice), senior Zoey Damron (7-5, 6-3), and junior Kayla Turley (2-6, 6-2, 10-7), respectively.
Thatcher sophomore Sophie Haynie and junior Audrey Smith defeated junior Grace Lanning (6-4, 7-5) and freshman Abigail Olsen (3-6, 6-3, 10-7), respectively.
Scarborough – Damron defeated Heideman – Cha 8-2 to trail 3-4, but Yuma Catholic’s Lanning – Scarborough downed Haynie – Sampson 8-3 in the No. 1 doubles to halt play. The Turley – Smith versus Olsen – Olsen match was not completed.
Update: A Yuma Catholic singles match was disqualified, leading to the Thatcher victory.
Final Division III State Rankings
The Final Division III State Top 16 Rankings as of 9 a.m. on April 18 included four teams from Section VII, three from Sections I and V, two from Sections II and IV, and one from Sections III and VI.
Phoenix Country Day School (12-0 seeding, 22.6322 rating) was No. 1, Scottsdale Prep (10-1, 18.4027) No. 2, Willcox (13-0, 15.8844) No. 3, Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (13-2, 15.4390) No. 4, Scottsdale Cicero Prep (10-1, 14.6215) No. 5, Yuma Catholic (9-1, 13.2693) No. 6, Tucson Tanque Verde (12-2, 11.9095) No. 7, and Chandler Prep (9-2, 11.8544) No. 8.
Flagstaff Northland Prep (9-0, 10.0313) was No. 9, Glendale Prep (11-2, 9.8998) No. 10, Thatcher (10-3, 9.8979) No. 11, Phoenix Veritas Prep (11-3, 9.4946) No. 12, Gilbert Christian (8-4, 7.0875) No. 13, Safford (8-5, 4.3188) No. 14, Tucson’s The Gregory School (10-3, 4.1717) No. 15, and Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (7-6, 3.9959) No. 16.
Final Division III – Section I Standings
The final standings as of April 17 were Willcox (13-0 seeding, 6-0 section) first, Thatcher (10-3, 5-1) second, Safford (8-5, 4-2) third, Duncan (7-5, 3-3) fourth, Pima (7-6, 2-4) fifth, Morenci (1-12, 1-5) sixth, and Benson (3-9, 0-6) seventh.
No. 11 Thatcher (10-3 seeding, 9.8979 rating)
Thatcher (5-1) had section wins over Pima (9-0, March 28), Morenci (9-0, April 2), Benson (8-1, April 9), Duncan (9-0, April 11), and Safford (9-0, April 16). The Emily Meehl-coached Eagles were 60-14 (117-40 sets) in singles and 29-7 in doubles. Four singles pairings with Sabino and three doubles with Gilbert Classical were not played.
Individually, sophomore Sophie Haynie was 6-5 (14-11 sets), senior Maddie Scarborough 9-3 (17-7 sets), junior Emily Sampson 9-3 (18-6 sets), senior Zoey Damron 9-2 (17-4 sets), junior Kayla Turley 10-1 (20-2 sets), junior Audrey Smith 10-0 (20-0 sets), junior Cambria Wakefield 3-0 (5-0 sets), senior Carly Keith 3-0 (5-0 sets), and freshman Sarah Sampson 1-0 (1-0 sets).
In doubles, Haynie – Emily Sampson was 7-4, Scarborough – Damron 9-2, Turley – Smith 10-1, Wakefield – Keith 1-0, Scarborough – Wakefield 1-0, and Sampson – Sampson 1-0.
No. 14 Safford (8-5 seeding, 4.3188 rating)
Safford (4-2) had section wins over Benson (8-1, March 28), Duncan (9-0, April 2), Pima (7-2, April 4), and Morenci (9-0, April 9). The Thomas Biggs-coached Bulldogs were 50-27 (94-47 sets) in singles and 19-17 in doubles.
Individually, senior Hazel Green was 9-4 (18-5 sets), senior Rachel Peterson 9-2 (18-4 sets), senior Brynlie Alder 8-4 (15-7 sets), senior Camille Alder 8-4 (15-7 sets), senior Ella Price 8-5 (14-9 sets), senior Zoey Tutor 4-4 (7-7 sets), junior Charlotte Graham 1-0 (1-0 sets), junior Alexis Neal 2-2 (4-4 sets), freshman Iris Green 0-1 (0-2 sets), freshman Amanda Neal 0-1 (0-2 sets), and sophomore Kimberly Taylor 1-0 (2-0 sets).
In doubles, Alder – Alder was 4-7, Green – Peterson 6-1, Price – Tutor 2-5, Price – Graham 4-0, Green – Tutor 1-0, Green – Green 0-1, Price – Alexis Neal 2-1, Graham – Amanda Neal 0-1, and Price – Taylor 0-1.
No. 23 Duncan (7-5 seeding, minus 0.6091 rating)
Duncan (3-3) had section wins over Pima (8-1, March 12), Morenci (9-0, April 4), and Benson (9-0, April 16). The Shannon Kempton-coached Wildkats were 41-28 (62-48 sets) in singles and 22-9 in doubles. There were three singles and five doubles not played.
Individually, junior Emily Kempton was 8-4 (14-8 sets), junior Camille Miller 6-6 (10-11 sets), sophomore Brendy Paz 5-2 (7-3 sets), freshman Heidi Miller 5-4 (8-7 sets), sophomore Emily Evans 7-3 (11-5 sets), freshman Lily Ford 6-5 (8-8 sets), sophomore Ari Ford 2-0 (2-0 sets), freshman McKenzie Jones 2-3 (2-6 sets), and sophomore Madison Chatman 0-1 (0-2 sets).
In doubles, Kempton – Camille Miller was 6-3, Heidi Miller – Evans 3-3, Evans – Lily Ford 3-0, Kempton – Paz 2-0, Miller – Miller 1-0, Camille Miller – Lily Ford 1-0, Paz – Heidi Miller 2-0, Paz – Lily Ford 0-1, Paz – Evans 1-0, Ford – Ford 1-0, Jones – Chatman 0-1, and Lily Ford – Jones 2-1.
No. 26 Pima (7-6 seeding, minus 1.6973 rating)
The Torrie Baldwin-coached Pima Roughriders (2-4) were 39-39 (63-67) in singles and 23-16 in doubles.
Individually, junior Kennedy Minor was 6-7 (11-14 sets), junior Mia Ashby 7-6 (14-11 sets), junior Brookie Burk 6-6 (11-11 sets), sophomore Merrell DeCrow 7-5 (10-8 sets), sophomore Miley Preston 6-7 (8-12 sets), freshman Paizli Payne 6-7 (8-11 sets), sophomore Lily Johnson 0-1 (0-2 sets), and freshman Emily DeCrow 1-0 (1-0 sets).
In doubles, Minor – Ashby was 9-4, Payne – Emily DeCrow 4-1, Burk – Payne 5-0, Burk – Merrell DeCrow 1-2, Preston – Payne 0-3, Merrell DeCrow – Payne 2-2, Burk – Preston 0-3, Payne – Johnson 0-1, and Merrell DeCrow – Preston 1-1.
No. 37 Benson (3-9 seeding, minus 8.8717 rating)
The Audrey Chapman-coached Benson Bobcats (0-6) were 22-50 (32-86 sets) in singles and 12-24 in doubles. the records included 17 forfeits, 11 in singles and six in doubles.
Individually, freshman Alexis Cooper was 8-4 (16-8 sets), sophomore Andrea Hummel 1-6 (1-12 sets), senior Sierra Brooks 3-9 (4-16 sets), sophomore Juana Macias 3-8 (4-13 sets), junior Daisy Yamarino 3-9 (3-15 sets), sophomore Cali Mendez 3-8 (3-8 sets), and freshman Ireland Towne 1-6 (1-10 sets).
In doubles, Cooper – Macias was 5-2, Hummel – Brooks 1-4, Yamarino – Mendez 0-3, Cooper – Hummel 2-0, Cooper – Brooks 0-2, Cooper – Towne 1-0, Brooks – Yamarino 0-2, Brooks – Mendez 1-1, Macias – Brooks 0-1, Yamarino – Towne 2-3, Macias – Yamarino 0-3, Macias – Towne 0-1, and Mendez – Towne 0-3.
No. 41 Morenci (1-12 seeding, minus 10.0255 rating)
Morenci (1-5) had a regional win over Benson (6-3, April 3). The Brenda Street-coached Wildcats were 10-64 (13-84 sets) in singles and 3-30 in doubles. There were four singles forfeited, three doubles forfeited, and three doubles not played.
Individually, senior Anita Gonzalez was 3-10 (4-13 sets), sophomore Ariza Espinoza 0-11 (0-14 sets), junior Izzalana Gobert 1-12 (1-16 sets), sophomore Alannah Suarez 2-10 (3-13 sets), freshman Alana Demieville 1-9 (1-13 sets), sophomore Blanca Macario 3-8 (4-11 sets), and freshman Adriana Dorame Galindo 0-4 (0-4 sets).
In doubles, Espinoza – Gobert was 0-10, Gonzalez – Macario 1-5, Suarez – Demieville 1-7, Gonzalez – Espinoza 0-2, Gobert – Macario 0-1, Gonzalez – Suarez 0-2, Gonzalez – Galindo 1-1, Gobert – Galindo 0-1, and Galindo – Macario 0-1.
