Eagles stay first in section, No. 4 statewide
By Raymundo Frasquillo
DUNCAN – The Shannon Kempton-coached Duncan tennis boys host Thatcher for a section match on April 15. The Wildkats visit Tucson Andrada Polytechnic on April 16 and Willcox on Thursday, April 17. Thatcher hosts Miami on April 17.
Section I Matches (April 15-19)
The remaining section matches this week (April 15-19) include Duncan hosting Thatcher, Miami hosting Safford, Willcox hosting Benson, and Morenci hosting Pima on April 15; Thatcher hosting Miami, Safford hosting Morenci, Benson hosting Pima, and Willcox hosting Duncan on April 17; and Globe hosting Willcox at Miami on April 18.
Non-section pairings include Duncan at Tucson Andrada Polytechnic on April 16.
Division III – Section I standings
The section standings as of April 14 were Thatcher (11-1 seeding, 6-0 section) first, Safford (5-5, 3-1) second, Duncan (5-3-1, 3-1) third, Willcox (7-2, 3-2) fourth, Miami (5-3, 3-2) fifth, Pima (6-3, 2-3) sixth, Benson (5-5, 2-4) seventh, Globe (1-6, 1-4) eighth, and Morenci (1-9, 0-6) ninth.
Section match wins have Thatcher over Globe (9-0, Feb. 27), Morenci (8-0, March 27), Benson (9-0, April 1), Willcox (9-0, April 3), Safford (8-1, April 7), and Pima (9-0, April 8); Safford over Pima (6-2, March 27), Willcox (6-2, April 7), and Benson (8-1, April 8); Duncan over Benson (5-4, March 11), Globe (5-4, March 27), and Morenci (5-2, April 10); Willcox over Morenci (9-0, April 8), Pima (5-4, April 10), and Miami (8-1, April 14); Miami over Globe (9-0, March 11), Morenci (9-0, April 1), and Benson (6-3, April 10); Pima over Duncan (5-4, March 31) and Miami (6-3, April 3); Benson over Globe (6-3, March 31) and Morenci (9-0, April 3); and Globe over Morenci (6-3, April 4).
In non-region pairings to date, it was Thatcher over Sierra Vista Buena (7-2, Feb. 28), Safford (9-0, March 4), Tucson Sabino (8-1, March 5), Chandler Prep (8-1, March 6), and Tucson’s The Gregory School (6-3, April 14) along with a loss to Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian 4-5, March 26); Safford over Morenci (9-0, Feb. 27) and Tombstone (7-2, April 3) along with losses to Thatcher (0-9, March 4), Pusch Ridge (0-9, March 25), and Sabino (6-3, April 4); Duncan over Morenci (4-2, March 25) and Patagonia (4-2, April 7) along with losses to Willcox (0-9, March 4), Pima (2-7, March 10), and a tie with Patagonia (3-3, March 3); Willcox over Duncan (9-0, Marchj 4), Saint David (8-1, March 11), Tombstone (9-0, March 18), and Patagonia (9-0, March 25); Miami over Apache Junction (9-0, March 4) and Globe (8-1, April 7) along with a loss to Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (0-9, Feb. 26); Pima over Duncan (7-2, March 10), Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (9-0, March 12), Patagonia (7-2, March 14), and Globe (8-1, March 25); Benson over Andrada Polytechnic (9-0, March 6), Tombstone (9-0, March 26), and Patagonia (9-0, April 14) along with a loss to Saint David (0-9, March 13); Globe fell to Santa Cruz (0-9, March 6), Pima (1-8, March 25), and Miami (1-8, April 7); and Morenci over Tombstone (8-0, March 6) along with losses to Safford (0-9, Feb. 27), Saint John Paul II (0-9, March 4), and Duncan (2-4, March 25).
Division III rankings
The Division III rankings for the nine Section I member teams as of noon on April 11 were Thatcher (10-1 seeding, 14.4041 rating) No. 4, Willcox (6-3, 5.1218) No. 14, Safford (5-4, 5.1002) No. 15, Pima (6-3, 2.9524) No. 18, Miami (5-2, 0.3829) No. 23, Duncan (5-3-1, minus 1.4423) No. 27, Benson (4-5, minus 4.2481) No. 32, Globe (1-7, minus 9.2445) No. 39, and Morenci (1-8, minus 11.6180) No. 41,
No. 4 Thatcher Eagles (11-1)
Thatcher has a nine-member team: seniors Luke Allen, Eli McNiel, Chad Palmer, and Bryson Scorse; juniors Braden Huish, Isaac Palmer, Ranan Rubacalva, and Topher Rubacalva; and sophomore Jacob Reed.
The section leading Chris Cook-coached Eagles are 60-10 in singles (113-20 sets) and 32-3 in doubles
Top seed McNiel is 8-4 in singles and 15-6 in sets played, No. 2 Huish (10-2, 19-4 sets), No. 3 Isaac Palmer (11-0, 21-1 sets), No. 4 Scorse (10-2, 18-4 sets), No. 5 Topher Rubacalva (9-2, 19-5 sets), and No. 6 Luke Allen (12-0, 21-0 sets).
The No. 1 duo of Huish – Isaac Palmer is 10-1, No. 2 McNiel – Scorse 11-1, and No. 3 Topher Rubacalva – Allen (11-1).
No. 27 Duncan Wildkats (5-3-1)
Duncan has a four-member team: seniors Isaac Harris and Tim Lunt and freshmen Canyon Carver and Jared Kempton.
The Shannon Kempton-coached Wildkats are 28-29 in singles (51-63 sets) and 12-16 in doubles.
Top seed Kempton is 8-1 in singles and 16-3 in sets played, No. 2 Lunt (6-3, 11-7 sets), No. 3 Carver (4-5, 8-12 sets), and No. 4 Harris (6-4, 11-8 sets).
The No. 1 duo of Kempton – Lunt is 8-1, and No. 2 Carver – Harris 2-6.
No. 13 Safford Bulldogs (5-5)
Safford has an eight-member team with seniors Bo Bowman, Kyle Lines, Camden Montierth, and Xavier Owens; juniors Hyrum Biggs and Owen Price; sophomore John Archuleta; and freshman Nathan Tarnutzer.
The section second place Katie Jones-coached Bulldogs are 28-29 in singles (51-63 sets) and 12-16 in doubles.
Top seed Montierth is 6-4 in singles and 12-10 in sets played, No. 2 Bowman (5-5, 8-10 sets), No. 3 Price (4-6, 8-13 sets), No. 4 Owens (6-4, 11-8 sets), No. 5 Lines (4-4, 7-8 sets), and No. 6 Archuleta (3-6, 5-14 sets).
The No. 1 duo of Bowman – Isaac Owens is 2-4, No. 2 Montierth – Price 4-2, and No. 3 Archuleta – Lines (3-5), Montierth – Bowman 2-2, Price – Owens 1-3.
Section I Matches (April 21-26)
The remaining section matches, which are two weeks away (April 21-26), include Safford hosting Globe and Morenci hosting Willcox on April 21; Safford hosting Duncan and Pima hosting Globe on April 22; and Duncan hosting Miami on April 23.
Non-region pairings include Miami at Gilbert Classical, Benson at Desert Christian on April 22, and Benson at Eloy Santa Cruz on April 23.
