Bulldogs welcome Griffins on Friday
By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – The Brenda Street-coached Morenci Wildcats host the Section III Patagonia Lobos on Tuesday, April 7. The pairing between the No. 24 Lobos (4-3 seeding, minus 0.0528 rating) and the No. 38 Wildcats (2-5, minus 7.2538) has a 3:30 p.m. start. Morenci visits No. 44 Duncan (0-8, minus 14.1053) on Thursday, April 9, and No. 29 Benson (4-4, minus 2.3583) on Friday, April 10.
Third-ranked Thatcher (8-1 seeding, 13.8035 rating) visits No. 11 Pima (7-0, 8.0746) and No. 20 Safford (3-3, 1.3806) visits No. 29 Benson on April 7; Thatcher visits Safford on April 9; and Safford hosts No. 8 The Gregory School on April 10.
To date, section leading Thatcher is 48-6 in singles, Pima 38-4, Globe 25-29, Safford 23-25, Miami 18-24, Benson 18-30, Morenci 9-33, and Duncan 10-14. The Eagles are 23-4 in doubles, the Roughriders 18-3, the Tigers 13-14, the Bulldogs 11-13, the Vandals 9-12, the Bobcats 9-15, the Wildcats 5-16, and the Wildkats 5-3.
This Week (April 6-11)
This week (April 6-11) in Section I, Thatcher visits Pima, Miami visits Section IV Benjamin Franklin, Benson hosts Safford, and Morenci hosts Section III Patagonia on April 7; Thatcher visits Safford, Miami hosts Benson, and Morenci visits Duncan on April 9; and Safford hosts Section III Tucson’s The Gregory School and, Benson hosts Morenci on April 10.
Miami defeated Globe 6-3 on April 6.
Division III Section I Standings
The section standing as of April 6 were Thatcher (8-1 seeding, 3-0 section), Pima (6-0, 3-0), Miami (3-4, 2-1), Benson (4-4, 2-1), Safford (3-4, 1-1), Globe (3-5, 1-4), Morenci (2-5, 0-2), and Duncan (0-8, 0-3).
A dozen section pairings to date resulted in wins by Thatcher over Globe (9-0, February 26), Morenci (9-0, March 26), and Benson (9-0, March 31); Pima over Safford (7-2, March 26), Duncan (8-1, March 30), and Miami (9-0, April 2); Miami over Globe (7-2, March 10) and Morenci (9-0, March 31); Benson over Duncan (6-3, March 11) and Globe (5-4, March 30); Safford over Globe (7-2, March 4); and Globe over Duncan (7-2, March 26).
No. 3 Thatcher Eagles (8-1 seeding, 13.8035 rating)
Thatcher (8-1) is 48-6 in singles and 23-4 in doubles. Singles top seed senior Isaac Palmer is 4-2, No. 2 senior Braden Huish 9-0, No. 3 senior Topher Rubalcava 9-0, No. 4 senior Ranan Rubalcava 8-1, No. 5 sophomore Jackson Smith 8-1, No. 6 sophomore Grady Allen 4-0, and junior Jacob Reed 6-2.
In doubles, No. 1 Palmer – Huish is 5-1, No. 2 Rubalcava – Rubalcava 7-2, No. 3 Smith – Allen 2-0, Reed – Allen 4-1, Huish – Allen 2-0, Huish – Reed 1-0, Reed – Smith 2-0.
No. 11 Pima Roughriders (7-0 seeding, 8.0746 rating)
Pima (7-0) is 38-4 in singles and 18-3 in doubles. Top seed senior Jackson Paull is 5-2, No. 2 senior Jimmy Smith 5-0, No. 3 junior Colt Lunt 6-0, No. 4 senior Garth Lunt 4-1, No. 5 junior Eli Rogers 7-0, No. 6 junior Kyler Reed 3-0, junior Hollen Hoopes 4-0, junior Logan McCray 3-1, and senior Milo Raley 1-0.
In doubles, No. 1 Paull – Smith is 5-0, No. 2 Colt Lunt – Rogers 5-1, Colt Lunt – McCray 1-0, No. 3 Garth Lunt – Reed 4-0, Hoopes – Reed 1-0, Paull – Rogers 0-1, Garth Lunt – McCray 0-1, Hoopes – McCray 1-0, and Reed – McCray 1-0.
No. 20 Safford Bulldogs (4-4 seeding, 1.3806 rating
Safford (4-4) is 23-25 in singles and 11-13 in doubles. Singles top seed sophomore Lucas Lackner is 3-5, No. 2 junior John Archuleta 4-4, No. 3 sophomore Trae Gaines 5-3, No. 4 freshman Gunnar Crockett 4-4, No. 5 sophomore Nathan Tarnutzer 4-4, and No. 6 sophomore Jackson Smith 3-5.
In doubles, No. 1 Lackner – Archuleta is 3-3, No. 2 Gaines – Crockett 3-3, No. 3 Tarnutzer – Smith 3-4, Lackner – Smith 0-1, Archuleta – Gaines 0-1, Archuleta – Crockett 1-0, Crockett – Tarnutzer 1-1.
No. 22 Miami Vandals (3-4 seeding, 0.2524)
Miami (3-4) is 18-24 singles and 9-12 in doubles. Singles top seed senior Jeffery Askew 2-3, No. 2 junior Jose Zarate 3-4, No. 3 senior Chris White 1-4, No. 4 junior Hector Mariscal 3-4, No. 5 sophomore Joshua Dillon 3-2, No. 6 sophomore Jeriah Palmer 3-4, junior Rudy Dozal 2-1, freshman Brayden Saucedo 1-1, junior Landon Serereid 0-1.
In doubles, No. 1 Askew – Mariscal is 2-2, No. 2 Zarate – White 1-2, No. 3 Dillon – Palmer 1-4, Askew – Zarate 0-1, Zarate – Mariscal 1-1, Zarate – Palmer 1-0, White – Mariscal 0-1, White – Palmer 1-0, Dillon – Dozal 1-0, Dozal – Saucedo 1-0, Dozal – Serereid 0-1.
No. 29 Benson Bobcats (4-4 seeding, minus 2.3583 rating)
Benson (4-4) is 18-30 in singles and 9-15 in doubles. Singles top seed junior Casey Acuna is 2-6, No. 2 sophomore J.R. Nunez 3-4, No. 3 senior Isaac Garcia 2-6, No. 4 sophomore Guillermo Macias 4-4, No. 5 sophomore Jaxon Davis 1-2, No. 6 sophomore Dominic Estrella 3-5, and freshman Lionel Hummel 3-3.
In doubles, No. 1 Acuna – Garcia is 1-7, No. 2 Macias – Nunez 4-3, No. 3 Estrella – Davis 1-1, Estrella – Hummel 2-3, and Macias – Estrella 1-0, Davis – Hummell 0-1.
No. 35 Globe (3-6 seeding, minus 5.0677 rating)
Globe (3-6) is 25-29 in singles and 13-14 in doubles. Singles top seed senior Kaden Graham is 2-6, No. 2 senior Spencer McBride 3-6, No. 3 junior Matthew Pollock 2-6, No. 4 junior Caden Dryden 4-5, No. 5 junior Matthew Bolinger 3-5, No. 6 junior Brody East 6-2, junior Aiden Alvarez 2-0, and junior William Montague 2-0.
In doubles, No. 1 Bolinger – Dryden is 1-4, No. 2 Pollock – East 3-4, No. 3 Graham – McBride 4-2, East – Dryden 1-0, McBride – Bolinger 1-2, Alvarez – Montague 2-0, Graham – Dryden 0-2, and Dryden – Pollock 1-0.
No. 38 Morenci Wildcats (2-5 seeding, minus 7.2991 rating)
Morenci (2-5) is 9-33 in singles and 5-16 in doubles, along with forfeits for four singles and two doubles. Singles top seed senior Jaydon Cueto is 1-5, No. 2 senior Hector Morales 1-6, No. 3 junior Ryan Sullivan 2-5, No. 4 freshman Gabriel Tachie-Menson 1-6, and No. 5 freshman William Henrie 2-5, senior Bryce McGahee 0-2, and freshman Riley Stephenson 2-4.
In doubles, No. 1 Cueto – Morales is 1-5, No. 2 Sullivan – Tachie-Menson 0-2, No. 3 Henrie – McGahee 0-2, Morales – Stephensen 0-1, Sullivan – Stephenson 2-2, Tachie-Menson – Stephenson 0-1, Sullivan – Henrie 0-1, and Henrie – Tachie-Menson 2-2.
No. 44 Duncan Wildkats (0-8 seeding, minus 14.1053 rating)
Duncan (0-8) is 10-14 in singles and 5-3 in doubles during head-to-head pairings. Half a full team yields three singles and two doubles matches to each scheduled opponent.
Top seed sophomore Jared Kempton is 8-0, No. 2 sophomore Canyon Carver 1-7, and No. 3 junior Aaron Zamora 1-7.
In doubles, Kempton – Carver is 5-3.
Globe – 3, Miami – 6 (April 6)
The Vandals won five singles and a doubles pairing as guests on their own court against the host Globe Tigers.
Singles top seed senior Jeffery Askew, No. 2 junior Jose Zarate, No. 3 senior Chris White, No. 4 junior Hector Mariscal, and No. 5 sophomore Joshua Dillon defeated Kaden Graham (6-1, 6-3), senior Spencer McBride (6-1 twice), junior Matthew Pollock (6-1, 6-3), junior Caden Dryden (6-2, 6-3), and junior Matthew Bolinger (6-4, 6-2), respectively.
In doubles, No. 3 Askew – Mariscal 8-4 over Dryden – Bolinger.
For Globe, it was singles No. 6 junior Brody East downing sophomore Jeriah Palmer (1-6, 6-2, 10-6), and doubles No. 1 Dillon – Palmer 8-6 over Graham – McBride, and No. 2 Pollock – East 8-1 over Zarate – White.
Sabino – 9, Safford – 0 (April 3)
The visiting Bulldogs left Tucson with a 0-9 sweep at the hands of the host Sabercats, succumbing in all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed senior David Gonzalez, No. 2 junior Adam Olsen, No. 3 senior Brandon Lloyd, No. 4 junior Cade Haggart, No. 5 junior Josh Filangeri, and No. 6 sophomore Cyrus Filangeri defeated sophomore Lucas Lackner (6-0 twice), junior John Archuleta (6-0 twice), sophomore Trae Gaines (6-1 twice), freshman Gunnar Crockett (6-0 twice), sophomore Nathan Tarnutzer (6-3, 6-4), and sophomore Jackson Smith (6-0, 6-1), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Olson – Lloyd 8-0 over Crockett – Tarnutzer, No. 2 Gonzalez – Haggart 8-1 over Archuleta – Gaines, and No. 3 junior Roman Zapanta – sophomore Mekhi Benjamin 8-1 over Lackner – Smith.
Pima – 9, Miami – 0 (April 2)
The visiting Roughriders swept the host Vandals, winning all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed senior Jackson Paull, No. 2 senior Jimmy Smith, No. 3 Colt Lunt, No. 4 Garth Lunt, No. 5 junior Eli Rogers, and No. 6 junior Kyler Reed defeated junior Jose Zarate (6-1, 6-2), junior Hector Mariscal (6-0, 6-2), sophomore Joshua Dillon (6-4, 6-2), sophomore Jeriah Palmer (6-0 twice), junior Landon Serereid (6-0 twice), freshman Brayden Saucedo (6-0 twice), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Paull – Smith 8-6 over Zarate – Mariscal, No. 2 Colt Lunt – Rogers 8-1 over Dillon – Palmer, and No. 3 Garth Lunt – Reed 8-0 over Serereid – Saucedo.
For Duncan, singles top seed sophomore Jared Kempton downed No. 1 senior Jackson Paull (6-4, 7-5), and doubles No. 1 Kempton – sophomore Canyon Carver defeated Paull – Smith 8-4.
Thatcher – 9, Benson – 0 (March 31)
The host Eagles swept the visiting Bobcats, winning all six singles and three doubles pairings, with a single point being yielded.
Singles top seed senior Isaac Palmer, No. 2 senior Braden Huish, No. 3 senior Topher Rubalcava, No. 4 senior Ranan Rubalcava, No. 5 sophomore Jackson Smith, No. 6 sophomore Grady Allen defeated Acuna (6-0 twice), Nunez (6-0 twice), Garcia (6-0 twice), Macias (6-0 twice), sophomore Jaxon Davis (6-0 twice), and Estrella (6-0 twice), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Palmer – Huish 8-0 over Acuna – Garcia, No. 2 Rubalcava – Rubalcava 8-1 over Nunez – Macias, and No. 3 Smith – Allen 8-6 over Davis – Estrella.
Miami – 9, Morenci – 0
The visiting Vandals left Greenlee County with a sweep of the host Wildcats, winning all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed junior Jose Zarate, No. 2 senior Chris White, No. 3 junior Hector Mariscal, No. 4 sophomore Joshua Dillon, No. 5 sophomore Jeriah Palmer, and No. 6 junior Rudy Dozal defeated senior Hector Morales (6-0, 6-2), freshman Riley Stephensen (6-0 twice), junior Ryan Sullivan (6-0, 7-5), freshman Gabriel Tachie-Menson (6-1, 6-0), freshman William Henrie (6-1, 6-2), and senior Bryce McGahee (6-3 twice), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Zarate – Mariscal 8-2 over Morales – Stephensen, No. 2 White – Palmer 8-1 over Sullivan – Tachie-Menson, and No. 3 Dillon – Dozal 8-6 over Henrie – McGahee.
Safford – 7, Duncan – 2
The host Bulldogs dropped two of three head-to-head pairings with the visiting Wildkats, winning a singles match, while Duncan won a singles and doubles match. The other four singles and two doubles matches were forfeit wins.
Singles No. 2 Archuleta defeated sophomore Canyon Carver (6-1, 7-6) while No. 3 Gaines, No. 4 Crockett, No. 5 Tarnutzer, and No. 6 Smith, along with doubles No. 2 Archuleta – Lackner and No. 3 Tarnutzer – Smith, were awarded forfeits.
For Duncan, it was singles top seed Jared Kempton over Lackner (6-2, 6-1) and doubles No. 2 Kempton – Carver 8-3 over Gaines – Crockett.
Thatcher – 9, Tanque Verde – 0 (March 30)
The visiting Eagles departed Tucson with a sweep of the host Hawks, winning all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed Palmer, No. 2 Huish, No. 3 Topher Rubalcava, No. 4 Ranan Rubalcava, No. 5 junior Jacob Reed, and No. 6 Smith defeated senior Karl Gajda (6-3, 6-0), junior Jon Hetland (2-6, 6-1, 9-7), junior Tanner Larson (6-0, 6-3), junior Brennan Trubee-Wik (6-1, 6-3), junior Jude Donelson (6-4, 6-1), and junior Carter Portweig (6-4, 6-3), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Palmer – Huish 8-4 over Gajda – Hetland, No. 2 Rubalcava – Rubalcava 8-4 over Larson – Trubee-Wik, and No. 3 Reed – Allen 8-1 over Portweig – junior Wyatt Fagergren.
Pima – 8, Duncan – 1
The visiting Wildcats won a head-to-head singles pairing from the host Roughriders. Pima won a singles pairing and was awarded forfeits for four singles and three doubles matches.
Singles No. 2 Smith defeated Carver (6-3, 6-1), and it was doubles No. 1 Paull – Smith 8-4 over Kempton – Carver. Teammates, singles No. 3 Colt Lunt, No. 4 Garth Lunt, No. 5 Rogers, and junior Logan McCray, along with doubles No. 2 Colt Lunt – Rogers and Garth Lunt – junior Kyler Reed, were awarded forfeits.
For Duncan, singles top seed sophomore Jared Kempton downed Paull (6-4, 7-5).
Globe at Benson
Host Benson edged Globe at Safford, winning two of three doubles after splitting singles.
Singles top seed Acuna, No. 2 Nunez, and No. 4 Macias defeated senior Spencer McBride (6-4, 6-2), senior Kaden Graham (4-6, 6-4, 10-8), and junior Matthew Pollock (6-3, 3-6, 13-11), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Acuna – Garcia 8-6 over Dryden – Bolinger and No. 2 Nunez – Macias, 9-7 over East – Pollock.
For Globe, it was singles No. 3 junior Caden Dryden, No. 5 junior Brody East, and No. 6 junior Matthew Bolinger over Garcia (6-4, 7-6, 10-6), Estrella (6-1, 6-0), freshman Lionel Hummel (6-0 twice), respectively, and doubles No. 3 McBride – Graham 8-1 over Estrella – Hummel.
Florence – 9, Miami – 0
The visiting Gophers returned to Pinal County with a sweep of the host Vandals, winning all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed junior Alfred Zaklit, No. 2 junior Manuel Suarez-Montoya, No. 3 junior Joaquin Wilcox, No. 4 senior Chris White, No. 5 Jackson Thompson, and No. 6 Ezra Hansen defeated senior Jeffrey Askew (6-1 twice), junior Jose Zarate (6-3, 6-2), senior Chris White (6-1, 6-0), junior Hector Mariscal (7-6, 6-4), sophomore Jeriah Palmer (6-0, 6-1), and junior Rudy Dozal (6-0 twice), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Wilcox – Suarez-Montoya 8-4 over Askew – Mariscal, No. 2 Zaklit – Hansen 8-1 over Zarate – White, and Thompson – senior Jonathan Palmer 8-1 over Palmer – Dillon.
Thatcher – 9, Morenci – 0 (March 26)
The host Eagles swept the visiting Wildcats, allowing only a lone point to be scored against them as they won all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed Palmer, No. 2 Huish, No. 3 Topher Rubalcava, No. 4 Reed, No. 5 Ranan Rubalcava, and No. 6 Smith defeated senior Jaydon Cueto (6-1, 6-0), senior Hector Morales (6-0 twice), junior Ryan Sullivan (6-0 twice), Gabriel Tachie-Menson (6-0 twice), freshman William Henrie (6-0 twice), and senior Bryce McGahee (6-0 twice).
In doubles, it was No. 1 Palmer – Huish 8-0 over Cueto – Morales, No. 2 Rubalcava – Rubalcava 8-0 over Sullivan – Tachie-Menson, and No. 3 Reed – Allen 8-0 over Henrie – McGahee,
Pima – 7, Safford – 2
The visiting Roughriders won five singles and two doubles pairings from the host Bulldogs.
Singles top seed Paull, No. 2 Smith, No. 4 Colt Lunt, No. 5 Rogers, and No. 6 McCray defeated Lackner (6-1 twice), Archuleta (6-1, 6-4), Crockett (6-4, 7-4), Tarnutzer (6-4, 3-6, 10-2), and Smith (6-1, 6-28), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Paull – Smith 8-2 over Lackner – Archuleta and No. 3 Garth Lunt – junior Kyler Reed 8-5 over Tarnutzer – Smith.
For Safford, it was singles No. 3 Gaines over senior Garth Lunt (7-5, 5-7, 10-3) and doubles No. 2 Gaines – Crockett 8-5 over Colt Lunt – Rogers.
Globe – 7, Duncan – 2
The host Tigers prevailed in a head-to-head singles and received forfeits for four singles and two doubles matches from the visiting Wildkats at Miami.
Singles No. 2 McBride defeated Carver (6-4, 6-3) while forfeits were awarded to No. 3 Dryden, No. 4 Bolinger, No. 5 East, and No. 6 Pollock, along with doubles No. 2 Dryden – Bolinger and No. 3 Graham – McBride.
For Duncan, it was singles top seed Kempton over Graham (6-0, 6-2) and doubles No. 1 Kempton – Carver 8-2 over junior Pollock – East.
Benson – 8, Tombstone – 1 (March 25)
The host Bobcats earned head-to-head wins in three singles pairings and gained forfeits for three singles and two doubles matches from the visiting Yellow Jackets.
Singles top seed Acuna, No. 2 Nunez, and No. 3 Garcia defeated senior Diego DeLosReyes (6-2, 6-1), senior Jake Monin (6-2, 7-5), and sophomore Sammy Granillo (6-1 twice), respectively, while No. 4 Macias, No. 5 Estrella, and No. 6 Davis along with doubles No. 2 Nunez – Macias and No. 3 Estrella – Davis were awarded forfeits.
For Tombstone, it was doubles No. 1 DeLosReyes – Granillo 8-6 over Acuna – Garcia.
Miami – 9, Coolidge – 0 (March 25)
The host Vandals won a head-to-head singles and were awarded forfeits for five singles and three doubles matches from the visiting Bears.
Singles top seed senior Askew defeated junior Shooter Robinson (6-0 twice) while No. 2 Zarate, No. 3 Mariscal, No. 4 Palmer, No. 5 Dozal, and No. 6 Saucedo received forfeits.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Askew – Mariscal, No. 2 Zarate – Palmer, and No. 3 Dozal – Saucedo receiving forfeits.
PRC – 9, Safford – 0 (March 24)
The visiting Lions left Safford with a sweep of the host Bulldogs, prevailing in all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Singles top seed sophomore Dean Morthland, No. 2 junior Nick Herndon, No. 3 senior Lukas Hernden, No. 4 Christian Skinner, No. 5 senior Cody Urias, and No. 6 Aviel Arellano defeated Lackner (6-0 twice), Archuleta (6-0 twice), Gaines (6-0 twice), Crockett (6-0, 6-1), Tarnutzer (6-0 twice), and Smith (6-0 twice), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Hernden – Hernden 8-0 over Lackner – Archuleta, No. 2 Morthland – Skinner 8-3 over Gaines – Crockett, and No. 3 Urias – Arellano 8-0 over Tarnutzer – Smith.
Pima – 9, SAC – 0 (March 24)
The visiting Roughriders won four head-to-head singles and two doubles pairings from the host Wolves. Pima was also awarded forfeit wins for two singles and a doubles match.
Singles top seed Paull, No. 2 Reed, No. 3 senior Milo Raley, and No. 4 Rogers defeated sophomore Edgar Reyes (8-1), senior Nery Gonzales (8-5), senior Alejandro Acevedo (9-7), and senior Richard Johnson (8-0), respectively.
In doubles, it was No. 1 Colt Lunt – Rogers 8-1 over Reyes – Gonzales and No. 2 Garth Lunt – Reed 8-0 over Acevedo – Johnson.
Teammates, singles No. 5 McCray and No. 6 Hoopes along with doubles No. 3 McCray – Hoopes were awarded forfeits.
Morenci – 6, Duncan – 3 (March 24)
The visiting Wildkats left Morenci with two head-to-head singles and a doubles win over the host Wildcats. Morenci won the match via six forfeits, four singles, and two doubles.
Duncan sophomores, singles top seed Jared Kempton and Canyon Carver defeated seniors Jaydon Cueto (6-0 twice) and Hector Morales (6-4, 6-1), and doubles No. 1 Kempton – Carver downed Cueto – Morales 8-0.
Morenci was awarded forfeits for singles No. 3 freshman Riley Stephenson, No. 4 junior Ryan Sullivan, No. 5 freshman Gabriel Tachie-Menson 1-5, and No. 6 freshman William Henrie, along with doubles No. 2 Sullivan – Stephenson and Henrie – Tachie-Menson.
