Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Kaylee Kempton follows the ball into her racquet. The Duncan sophomore is both 1-3 in singles and doubles. The Wildkats are in Pima on Tuesday, April 6, and host Willcox on Thursday, April 8.
By Raymundo Frasquillo
DUNCAN – The Shannon Kempton-coached Duncan girls’ tennis team opened the season with a 6-0 loss to Saint David on March 26. It was followed by 9-0 losses to Benson on March 30 and to Safford on April 1 and a 7-2 loss to Pima. A quintet comprised of a junior, two sophomores, and two freshmen are forfeiting two matches with each pairing.
This week, Duncan is at Pima on Tuesday, April 6 and hosts Willcox on Thursday, April 8.
The rest of the section pairings are, Willcox at Thatcher, Morenci at Miami, and Benson at Safford on Tuesday; Thatcher at Morenci and Safford at Pima on Thursday; and Safford at Willcox on Friday, April 9.
Other non-section pairings include Morenci at Saint David on Monday, April 5, Thatcher at Chandler Prep on Wednesday, April 7; Benson at Saint David on Thursday; and Pima at Miami on Friday.
As of April 3, or halfway through the season, Division III – Section I member standings are Thatcher first (2-0 section, 4-1 overall), Willcox second (3-0, 4-1), Pima third (2-2, 4-2), Benson fourth (1-1, 3-1), Safford fifth (1-1, 2-3), Morenci sixth (0-2, 0-3), and Duncan seventh (0-3, 0-4).
Thatcher Eagles
Thatcher is 26-4 in singles and 14-1 in doubles. Individually, senior Ashlyn McMaster is 4-1, senior Sydnie Alder 4-1, senior Kylee Goodman 4-1, senior Maddie Palmer 5-0, senior Ellie Palmer 5-0, and senior Olivia Haynie 4-1.
In doubles, the Greer – Beals duo is 2-0, Turley – Beals 2-0, Greer – Bierman 3-0, Turley – Bierman 2-1, and Rubalcava – Haynie 4-1.
Willcox Cowgirls
Willcox is 22-8 in singles and 10-5 in doubles. Individually, junior Jodi Denny is 2-3, senior Sydney Hansen 4-1, junior Kamrielle Wyatt 4-1, junior Khezia Perolino 4-1, sophomore Kennedy Peterson 3-2, freshman Valerie Durazo 3-0, and freshman Mia Mungarro 2-0.
In doubles, the Denny – Hansen duo is 2-3, Wyatt – Peterson 4-1, Perolino – Durazo 3-0, and Perolino – Mungarro 1-1.
Pima Roughriders
Pima is 16-14 in singles and 8-10 in doubles. Individually, senior Allison Lunt 2-4, junior Maria Liegenfeld 2-3, senior Beckie Peterson 4-2, freshmen Olivia Paull 3-3, Bentlee Hoopes 4-2, Ambrosia Johnson 3-2, and freshman Britley Peterson 2-0.
In doubles, the Lunt – Beckie Peterson duo is 3-3, Liegenfeld – Paull 3-2, Paull – Hoopes 1-0, Hoopes – Johnson 2-2, Hoopes – Britley Peterson 1-0, and Britley Peterson – Johnson 1-0.
Benson Bobcats
Benson is 14-10 in singles and 7-5 in doubles. Individually, senior Paige Vaughn is 2-2, senior Taylor Lutz 3-1, senior Myranda Sutton 3-1, junior Graciela Ardidero 2-2, senior Dahlia Bustamante 3-1, and senior Martha Rubalcava 1-3.
In doubles, the Vaughn – Lutz duo is 3-1, Sutton – Bustamante 2-2, and Rubalcava – senior Renee Yockey 2-2.
Safford Bulldogs
Safford is 15-15 in singles and 8-7 in doubles. Individually, junior Maddison Peterson is 3-2, senior Kestin Finch 2-2, junior Emily Clonts 2-3, sophomore Kali Gluyas 4-1, junior Larissa Owens 1-5, junior Lauren Montierth 2-0, and junior Savannah Barnes 1-3.
In doubles, the Peterson – Finch duo is 3-2, Clonts – Owens 0-3, Clonts – Gluyas 1-0, Clonts – Montierth 1-0, Gluyas – Barnes 2-1, Owens – Montierth 1-0, and Owens – Barnes 0-1.
Morenci Wildcats
Morenci is 4-14 in singles and 2-7 in doubles. Individually, junior Viviana Mendez-Draper is 3-0, senior Taylor Begay 0-3, senior Tyra McCabe 0-3, freshman Anita Gonzalez 1-2, sophomore Cambri McCauley 0-3, and freshman Katelyn Clark 0-3.
In doubles, the Draper – Begay duo is 1-1, Draper – Gonzalez 0-1, Begay – McCabe 1-0, McCabe – Gonzalez 0-2, Draper – Gonzalez 0-1, and McCauley – Clark 0-3.
Duncan Wildkats
Duncan is 1-21 in singles and 1-10 in doubles, including forfeits in four singles and four doubles. Three pairings, two singles, and a doubles, were not played. Sophomore Kaylee Kempton is 1-3, junior Emily Jernigan 0-3, freshman Rachel Sumner 0-4, sophomore Emily Hinton 0-4, and freshman Lily Harrington 0-3.
In doubles, the Kempton – Sumner duo is 1-1, Kempton – Jernigan 0-1, Kempton – Hinton 0-1, Jernigan – Hinton 0-2, and Hinton – Sumner 0-1.
Pima – 7, Wildkats – 2
Having split the first two sets, a 10-5 set three score enabled Kempton to defeat Lunt. Kempton took the first 7-5 and Lunt the second 6-3.
The Kempton – Sumner duo posted a 10-8 win over Lunt – Beckie Peterson.
For Pima, Beckie Peterson and Britley Peterson shut out Jernigan and Harrington 6-0 twice each, respectively, Paull defeated Sumner (6-4, 6-3) and Hoopes downed Hinton (6-2, 6-4) in singles. Johnson received a forfeit.
The Paull – Hoopes duo defeated Jernigan – Hinton 10-1 and Britley Peterson – Johnson received a forfeit
Safford – 9, Wildkats – 0
Peterson, Finch, Clonts, Gluyas, and Owens defeated Kempton (6-2 twice), Jernigan (6-1, 6-0), Sumner (6-0 twice), Hinton (6-0, 6-2), and Harrington (6-0 twice), respectively, in singles. Junior Lauren Montierth received a forfeit.
In doubles, the Peterson – Finch duo topped Kempton – Sumner 10-1, and Clonts – Gluyas blanked Jernigan – Hinton 10-0. Owens – Montierth received a forfeit.
Benson – 9, Wildkats – 0
Benson No. 1 Vaughn and No. 4 Ardidero bested Kempton and Sumner by identical 10-1 scores while 8-0 shutouts were notched by No. 2 Lutz over Jernigan, No. 3 Sutton over Hinton, and No. 5 Bustamante over Harrington. A forfeit was awarded to No. 6 Rubalcava.
In doubles, 8-0 shutouts were posted by Vaughn – Lutz over Kempton – Jernigan, and Sutton – Bustamante over Hinton – Sumner. Rubalcava – Yockey received a forfeit.
Saint David – 6, Wildkats – 0
Duncan opened the season with only three of its five members available, forfeiting singles and doubles pairings. The No. 5 and No. 6 singles, as well as the No. 3 doubles, were not counted as forfeits.
Saint David freshman Safina Blachly, sophomore Sydney Haynie, Sophomore Allison Daley prevailed over Kempton (6-0 twice), Hinton (6-0 twice), and Sumner (6-1, 6-3), respectively. Senior Clair Daley received a forfeit.
The Haynie – Allison Daley downed Kempton – Hinton 8-1. The Blachly – Clair Daley duo received a forfeit.
Week 1-3 Results
Thatcher shut out four opponents, Safford (March 26), Pima (March 30), Miami (March 31), and Benson (April 1). The loss was 4-5 to Gilbert-North American Leadership (March 29).
Willcox defeated Saint David 9-0 (March 23), Safford 5-4 (March 25), Pima 9-0 (March 26), and Morenci 9-0 (March 30). The Cowgirls’ loss was 2-7 to Benson (March 16).
Wins for Pima were 9-0 over Saint David (March 22), 6-3 over Tombstone (March 25), 8-1 over Morenci (April 1), and 7-2 over Duncan (April 2); for Benson, 7-2 over Willcox (March 16), 5-4 over Safford (March 29) and 9-0 over Duncan (March 30); and for Safford, 6-3 over Morenci (March 23) and 9-0 over Duncan (April 1).
The loss to non-section teams was 0-6 by Duncan to Saint David (March 26).
