Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Braden Huish eyes his return as he follows through during a recent match. The Thatcher sophomore is teamed up with senior Gene Huish for the state doubles championship at the Glendale Paseo Tennis Center on Monday, April 29.
Palmer – Smith duo bows out in semifinal round
By Raymundo Frasquillo
GLENDALE – The Chris Cook-coached top-ranked Thatcher Eagles have their No. 1 doubles team playing for the state title at the Paseo Racquet Center, 6268 W. Thunderbird Rd., on Monday, April 29.
Second-seed Thatcher senior Gene Huish and sophomore Braden Huish face No. 1 Phoenix Country Day School senior Jacque Sevrain and junior Linus Gino-Griffiths at 5 p.m.
The Huish – Huish duo defeated Glendale Prep senior Judson Terpstra and freshman Jai Chaudhary (6-0 twice) in the first round, Florence seniors Vasili Apostolos – Michael Katsouras (6-1, 6-0) in the second round, Scottsdale Prep seniors Seth Puhala – Ben Sanov (6-1, 6-2) in the quarterfinals, and Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian sophomore Lukas Herndon and freshman Nick Herndon (3-6, 6-3, 10-6) in the semifinals.
Sevrain – Gino-Griffiths ousted Safford junior Camden Montierth and senior Kody Gluyas (6-1, 6-3) in the first round, Morenci seniors Andrew McCallum – Jakob Camacho (6-0 twice) in the second round, Tucson Tanque Verde junior Jiang Lin and freshman Jon Hetland (6-1, 6-2) in the quarterfinals, and No. 5 Thatcher sophomore Isaac Palmer and senior Brock Smith (7-6, 6-3) in the semifinals.
Thatcher’s singles entrants both bowed out during the second round on April 26.
Division III State Doubles Tourney
The Division III state doubles tourney had 16 slots in the first round, pared down to eight for the quarterfinals, and four for the semifinals. Two remain for the championship.
Section I teams landed six doubles slots, with Thatcher and Willcox having two entrants apiece, and Morenci and Safford both one beginning on April 26. Safford and Willcox entrants bowed out in one match, Morenci in two matches, one Thatcher entrant in four matches, and the other entrant is in the championship playing a fifth match.
Fifth-seeded Thatcher sophomore Isaac Palmer and senior Brock Smith defeated Willcox juniors Nathaniel Aguilar – Andy Osomio (6-0 twice) in the first round, Chandler Lincoln Prep seniors Davin Baluran – Collin Rendell (6-1, 6-3) in the second round, and Pusch Ridge seniors Logan Leister – Brennon Seiferth (6-3, 3-6, 10-8) in the quarterfinals.
Morenci seniors Andrew McCallum – Jakob Camacho went 1-1, defeating Patagonia senior William Botz and sophomore Jaxxon Islava (6-3, 6-4) in the first round and falling to the top-seeded PCDS Sevrain – Gino-Griffiths duo (0-6 twice) in the second round.
The Safford Montierth – Gluyas duo went 0-1, eliminated by the top-seeded PCDS Sevrain – Gino-Griffiths duo (1-6, 3-6); the Willcox Aguilar – Osomio duo went 0-1, eliminated by the Thatcher Palmer – Smith duo in the first round; and Willcox juniors Elijah Bhasme – Andy Ramil went 0-1, eliminated by the Florence Apostolo – Katsouras duo (5-7, 3-6) in the first round.
Division III State Singles Tourney
The Division III state singles tourney also had 16 slots in the first round at Glendale Paseo Racquet Center, beginning on April 26. Section I teams landed four singles with Thatcher having two entrants and both Benson and Safford one each.
Thatcher junior Eli McNeil went 1-1, defeating Chandler Lincoln Prep junior Timothy Tu (6-0, 6-1) in the first round and falling to Tanque Verde sophomore Karl Gajda (3-6, 4-6) in the second round; Thatcher junior Bryson Scorse went 1-1, defeating Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic junior David Drejza (6-4 twice) in the first round and falling to Tucson Sabino sophomore David Gonzalez (1-6, 0-6) in the second round; Safford junior Bo Bowman went 0-1, falling to Tanque Verde senior Joel Hetland (0-6, 2-6) in the first round; and Benson junior Matt Volker went 0-1, falling to No. 3 Gilbert Classical senior Mauricio Rubino (0-6, 1-6) in the first round.
Division III State Team Tourney
The Division III state tourney quarterfinals on May 1 have No. 8 Tucson’s The Gregory School (11-1 seeding) versus No. 1 Thatcher (14-0), 601 N. 3rd Ave., Thatcher; No. 13 Tucson Sabino (5-2) vs. No. 5 Tucson Tanque Verde (9-3) at Fort Lowell Park, 2998 N. Craycroft Rd., Tucson; No. 6 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (12-3) vs. No. 3 Anthem Prep (9-0) at Phoenix Ironwood Country Club, 41551 N. Anthem Hills Dr.; and No. 7 Gilbert Classical (7-2) vs. No. 2 Phoenix Country Day School (12-0) at Phoenix Tennis Center, 6330 North 21st Ave.
Round One results had No. 1 Thatcher over No. 16 Florence 5-0, No. 8 Tucson’s The Gregory School over No. 9 Glendale Prep 5-3, No. 5 Tucson Tanque Verde over No. 12 Chandler Lincoln Prep 9-0, No. 4 Scottsdale Prep over No. 13 Tucson Sabino 5-2, No. 3 Anthem Prep over No. 14 Saint David 5-1, No. 6 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian over No. 11 Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic 5-0, No. 7 Gilbert Classical over No. 10 Yuma Catholic 5-2, and No. 2 Phoenix Country Day School over No. 15 Safford 5-0.
No. 8 The Gregory School (11-1 seeding, 4.1372 rating)
Safford (11-1) had seeding wins over Tucson Amphitheater (9-0, Feb. 27), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (9-0, March 6), Pima (9-0, March 11), Willcox (8-1, March 12), Tucson Saint Augustine (9-0, March 13). Tucson Desert Christian (8-1, March 19), Saint David (5-4, March 22). Tucson Sunnyside (9-0, March 27), Patagonia (9-0, April 10). Tucson Sahuaro (9-0, April 12), and Tombstone (9-0, April 16). The loss was to Tucson Tanque Verde (2-7, March 5).
The Mark Swenson-coached No. 8 Hawks were 65-7 (128-18 sets) in singles and 31-5 in doubles.
Individually, sophomore John Samil was 10-2 (19-3 sets), junior Jack Borens 8-2 (15-3 sets), freshman Marcus Swanson 6-1 (11-2 sets), sophomore Anthi Christoforidid 10-0 (19-0 sets), junior Lucas Clemens 12-1 (23-2 sets), junior Emil Yepiz 10-1 (17-3 sets), freshman Matt Capaldi 6-0 (10-0 sets), freshman Thomas Escobedo 2-0 (3-0 sets), and freshman Nicholas Larson 1-0 (2-0 sets).
In doubles, Samil – Borens was 5-1, Swanson – Clemens 2-1, Christoforidid – Yepiz 5-0, Samil – Swanson 4-0, Borens – Christoforidid 1-1, Clemens – Yepiz 4-1, Samil – Clemens 1-0, Swanson – Christoforidid 1-0, Christoforidid – Capaldi 1-0, Christoforidid – Clemens 1-1, Capaldi – Larson 2-0, Yepiz – Capaldi 1-2, Yepiz – Escobedo 1-0, and Capaldi – Escobedo 1-0.
No. 1 Thatcher (14-0 seeding, 20.7760 rating)
Thatcher (14-0 seeding) had seeding wins over Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (9-0, Feb. 27), Miami (9-0, Feb. 29), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (6-3, March 5), Tucson Tanque Verde (6-3, March 6), Gilbert Classical (6-0, March 7), Tucson Sabino (3-0, March 25), Pima (9-0, March 28), Safford (9-0, March 29), Morenci (9-0, April 2), Willcox (9-0, April 4), Benson (9-0, April 9), Duncan (9-0, April 11), Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain (8-1, April 15), and Safford (8-1, April 16).
The Chris Cook-coached No. 1 Eagles were 71-7 (131-18 sets) in singles and 38-1 in doubles. Six singles pairings and three doubles were not played.
Individually, senior Gene Huish was 8-4 (15-9 sets), sophomore Braden Huish 11-1 (22-2 sets), junior Eli McNeil 11-2 (21-4 sets), sophomore Isaac Palmer 12-0 (23-1 sets), senior Brock Smith 13-0 (23-1 sets), junior Bryson Scorse 12-0 (23-1 sets), junior Luke Allen 2-0 (3-0 sets), sophomore Topher Rubacalva 1-0 (1-0), and junior Chad Palmer (1-0 (1-0).
In doubles, Huish – Huish was 11-0, Isaac Palmer – Smith 11-1, McNeil – Scorse 9-0, and McNeil – Allen 1-0, Allen – Rubacalva 2-0, Gene Huish – Allen 2-0, Braden Huish – Isaac Palmer 1-0, and Braden Huish – McNeil 1-0.
Division III Final State Rankings
The Division III Final State Top 16 Rankings at 9 a.m. on April 18 included four teams from Section VII; three from Section II; two from Sections I, III, IV, and V; and one from Section VI.
Thatcher (14-0 seeding, 20.7760 rating) was No. 1, Phoenix Country Day (12-0, 19.3605) No. 2, Anthem Prep (9-0, 17.1219) No. 3, Scottsdale Prep (9-2, 12.6977) No. 4, Tanque Verde (9-3, 12.5726) No. 5, Pusch Ridge (12-3, 11.0194) No. 6, Gilbert Classical (7-2, 10.3002) No. 7, and The Gregory School (11-1, 9.6715) No. 8.
Glendale Prep (10-2, 9.2079) was No. 9, Yuma Catholic (7-2, 8.6673) No. 10, Saint John Paul II (10-3, 8.6673) No. 11, Lincoln Prep (9-2, 7.7370) No. 12, Sabino (5-2, 4.4826) No. 13, Saint David (9-3, 5.0807) No. 14, Safford (8-5, 4.1372) No. 15, and Florence (8-4, 3.5700) No. 16.
