Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Morenci sophomore Viviana Mendez-Draper earned the programs’ fourth non-senior No. 1 slot in as many seasons. She was No. 6 last season.
By Raymundo Frasquillo
PIMA – The Brenda Street-coached Morenci tennis girls open the Roughriders season and Benson (2-0) is at Duncan (0-2) Thursday, March 5. The other Division III – Section I pairing this week has Willcox hosting Pima Friday, March 6.
The Wildcats are 0-2, with losses of 4-5 to the Bobcats in Benson Feb. 27 and 0-9 to the Safford Bulldogs in Morenci March 3.
Benson also defeated the Cowgirls 8-1 in Willcox Feb. 27 and was scheduled to host the Cowgirls (0-1) March 3; Thatcher (2-0) has a pair of 8-1 road wins over Safford (March 2) and Duncan (March 3), and Safford (2-1) opened the season with an 8-1 home win over Duncan (Feb. 26).
Thus far, the Wildcats are 3-6 in singles and 1-5 in doubles. The 2019 Wildcats went 32-52 in singles and 17-25 in doubles during 14 duels.
In singles, No. 1 sophomore Vivianna Mendez-Draper is 1-1, No. 2 senior Keanna Cortez 0-2, No. 3 senior Monica Gonzalez 1-1, No. 4 freshman Kryzzia Cortez 0-2, No. 5 senior Madalyn Wright 1-1, and No. 6 junior Tyra McCabe 0-2.
In doubles, Draper – Keanna Cortez is 0-2, Gonzalez – Wright 1-1, and Kryzzia Cortez – McCabe 0-2.
Safford – 9, Morenci – 0
Safford’s six seniors swept the Wildcats, winning all nine pairings, six singles and three doubles matches.
The singles wins were 6-2 twice by Ella Peterson (1-2) over Draper, 6-1 twice by Alissa Carter (2-1) over Keanna Cortez, 6-0 and 6-1 by CeAirra Bowman (2-1) over Gonzalez and by Cambry Cluff (2-1) over Kryzzia Cortez, 6-1 and 6-0 by Sonja Estrada (2-1) over Wright, and in three sets (6-0, 4-6, 6-0) by Emaleah Cranford (2-1) over McCabe.
In Doubles, it was 2-1 Carter – Bowman (8-5 over Draper – Keanna Cortez), 2-1 Peterson – Cluff (8-1 over Gonzalez – Wright), and 3-0 Estrada – Cranford (8-1 over Kryzzia Cortez – McCabe) with the wins.
Benson – 5, Morenci – 4
The Wildcats won four pairings, three singles and a doubles over the hosts.
Draper (8-6 over junior Taylor Lutz), Gonzalez (8-3 over senior Lacy Hamilton), and Wright (9-7 over senior Myranda Sutton) each posted singles wins.
Benson’s singles wins were each 8-0, by junior Paige Vaughn over Keanna Cortez, by junior Dahlia Bustamante over Kryzzia Cortez, and by junior Jannika Danzer over McCabe.
Morenci’s doubles triumph was 8-2 by the Gonzalez – Wright duo over Hamilton – Bustamante.
The Bobcats doubles wins were 8-6 by Lutz – Vaughn over Draper – Keanna Cortez and 8-3 by Danzer – Sutton over Kryzzia Cortez – McCabe.
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