Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Duncan senior Jay Garner stretches to meet the ball for a return against Thatcher. He is in the team No. 5 slot, 1-4 in singles and 1-3 in doubles with senior partner Weston Skinner.
By Raymundo Frasquillo
DUNCAN – Duncan succumbed 8-1 to Safford on March 25, 9-0 to Benson on March 26, and 8-0 to Thatcher on March 28 in section tennis matches. The Safford and Thatcher duels were on the H.T. Clothier courts while the Benson match was in Cochise County.
Division III – Section I standings as of March 29 are No. 6 Thatcher first (9-0 seeding, 8-0 section), No. 18 Morenci second (7-2, 4-2), No. 19 Benson third (5-3, 5-2), No. 23 Willcox fourth (5-4, 4-3), No. 31 Safford fifth (3-6, 3-5), No. 41 Pima sixth (1-6, 1-6), and No. 45 Duncan seventh (0-8, 0-8). There are 46 teams in the division.
Duncan is 8-39 in singles and 4-20 in doubles, including eight forfeits; five in both singles (1-4) and doubles (1-4).
Individually in head-to-head singles matches, No. 4 senior Wesley Conyer is 4-4, No. 1 sophomore Nathan Kempton 1-6, No. 2 senior Nate Rapier and No. 3 junior Lucas Basteen both 1-7, No. 5 senior Jay Garner 1-4, and No. 6 senior Weston Skinner 0-6.
In doubles, No. 1 Kempton – Basteen is 1-7, No. 2 Rapier – Conyer 2-6, and No. 3 Skinner – Garner 1-3.
The Wildkats visit Safford on Monday, April 1.
Eagles – 8, Wildkats – 0
Except for a tie in the No. 1 singles slot, a first set Grant Richardson 6-1 win and a Kempton second set 6-0 win, the rest of the pairings ended with Thatcher wins.
Junior Aaron Hatch 6-2, 6-1 over Rapier), sophomore Michael Greer (6-2, 6-1 over Basteen), junior Tyler Bierman (6-2, 6-1 over Conyer), junior Brandon Udall (6-0, 6-1 over Garner), and Amon Hatch (6-0 twice over Skinner) had the singles wins.
In doubles, Greer – Bierman (8-1 over Kempton – Basteen), Aaron Hatch – Udall (8-2 over Rapier – Conyer), and Richardson – Amon Hatch (8-0 over Garner – Skinner) posted wins.
Bobcats – 9, Wildkats – 0
The host Bobcats made it a clean sweep over the Wildkats.
Sophomore Jordan Merrill (8-0 over Kempton), junior Joseph Lutz (8-1 over Rapier), senior Tristan Barker (8-0 over Basteen), sophomore Cole Massey (8-6 over Conyer), sophomore Liam Sprietsma (8-3 over Skinner), and sophomore Camden Waite (8-2 over Garner) had the singles wins.
In doubles, Merrill – Lutz (8-2 over Kempton – Basteen), Barker – Massey (8-2 over Rapier – Conyer), and Sprietsma – Waite (8-0 over Skinner – Garner) posted wins.
Bulldogs – 8, Wildkats – 1
Conyer’s 8-5 singles win over sophomore Emanuel Torres prevented a Bulldogs’ shutout.
Senior Andrew Smith (8-4 over Kempton), senior Epoch Fry (8-2 over Rapier), junior Issac Camarena (9-7 over Basteen), sophomore Grant Smith (8-5 over Garner), sophomore Jacob Curtis (8-2 over Skinner) had the singles wins.
In doubles, Andrew Smith – Fry (8-5 over Kempton – Basteen), Camarena – Torres (8-5 over Rapier – Conyer), and Grant Smith – Curtis (received forfeit) posted wins.
