Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: The once-beaten Safford tennis girls scored 24 points, winning 17 singles pairings and seven doubles pairings, to earn the title of their invitational on March 8. Members of the sextet are, from left, Hazel Green, Brynlee Alder, Camille Alder, Ella Price, Alexis Neal, and Charlotte Graham. The Bulldogs’ next home seeding match is with Duncan on March 26.
Willcox is first in the early section standings
By Raymundo Frasquillo
SAFFORD – The Thomas Biggs-coached Safford tennis girls capped the third week of competition by going 3 -0 in their tourney. The Bulldogs also finished first in 2023.
Safford posted a 3-1 seeding record, defeating Florence (9-0, Feb. 21), Tombstone (9-0, Feb. 29), and Morenci 9-0, March 5). The lone loss was to Willcox (0-9, Feb. 27). A winning percentage of 75 was posted for both singles (18-24) and doubles (9-12) pairings by the Bulldogs.
Additionally, eight Bulldogs, six seniors, and two juniors have taken the court for seeding matches. Senior top seed Rachel Peterson is 2-1, senior No. 2 Hazel Green 3-1, senior No. 3 Brynlie Alder 3-1, senior No. 4 Camille Alder 3-1, senior No. 5 Zoey Tutor 3-1, senior No. 6 Ella Price 3-1, junior Charlotte Graham 1-0, and junior Alexis Neal 1-0.
The Division III – Section I teams have all played at least two matches to date with only one as a section counter. The lone section match played resulted in Willcox defeating Duncan 7-0 on March 7.
During February non-section play, Pima edged Duncan 5-4, Benson defeated Division III – Section III Saint David 7-2, and Thatcher defeated Division III – Section VII Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills on the 27th; Duncan defeated Division III – Section III Patagonia 7-0 on the 28th; Thatcher defeated Division III – Section IV Miami 7-0, Division III – Section VII Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic defeated Morenci 5-2, and Willcox defeated Saint David 9-0 on the 29th.
In March, Division II – Section IV Tucson Amphitheater defeated Benson 7-2 on the 1st; Duncan shutout Patagonia 7-0, Miami defeated Pima 7-2, Division III – Section II Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian edged Thatcher 5-4, and Willcox defeated Division III – Section III Tombstone 9-0 on the 5th; Division III – Section II Tucson Tanque Verde slipped past Thatcher 5-4, Division III – Section II Tucson Tanque Verde slipped past Thatcher 5-4 on the 6th; and Thatcher and Willcox both recorded shutouts, 6-0 over Division III – Section IV Gilbert Classical and 7-0 over Duncan, respectively, on the 7th.
Division III – Section I standings
The standings through March 8 are Willcox (4-0 seeding, 1-0 region) first, Benson (1-1, 0-0) second, Safford (3-1) third, Thatcher (3-2, 0-0) fourth, Duncan (2-2, 0-1) fifth, Pima (1-1, 0-0) sixth, and Morenci (0-2, 0-0) seventh.
This week (March 11-16) in section pairings, Duncan hosts Pima on Tuesday, March 12.
In non-section pairings, Pima visits Division III – Section III Tucson’s The Gregory School on Monday, March 11; Benson hosts Division III – Section III Tombstone, Morenci hosts Division III – Section IV Miami, Willcox visits The Gregory School on March 12; Willcox hosts Morenci on Thursday, March 14; and Duncan hosts Morenci and Pima visits Globe on Friday, March 15.
Safford’s next home match is with Duncan on March 21 while Thatcher’s next home match is with Safford on March 29.
March 8:
Safford Invitational
The Bulldogs totaled 24 points, winning 17 singles and seven doubles pairings, to earn the 2024 Safford Invitational title. Miami was second with 21 points, winning 13 singles and eight doubles; Morenci was third (9), winning six singles and three doubles; and Florence was fourth (0).
Earning singles medals by winning three pairings were Safford No. 1 senior Hazel Green, Safford No. 2 senior Brynlie Alder, Safford No. 3 senior Camille Alder, Safford No. 4 senior Ella Price, Miami No. 5 sophomore Adrina Kaulaity, and Miami No. 6 senior Vanessa Stemm.
Medalists in doubles were Miami No. 1 seniors AnnMary Terrance – Adrianna Lopez, Safford No. 2 Green – Price, and Miami No. 3 sophomores Adrina Kaulaity – Daisy Pacheco.
Round One:
Safford – 9, Morenci – 0
The Bulldogs swept the Wildcats, winning six singles and three doubles.
Green, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Price, Neal, and Graham defeated senior Anita Gonzalez 6-4, sophomore Ariza Espinoza 6-1, sophomore Izzalona Gobert 6-3, sophomore Alannah Suarez 6-1, sophomore Blanca Macario 6-0, and freshman Adrian Galindo 6-0, respectively.
In doubles, Alder – Alder, Green – Price, and Neal – Graham defeated Espinoza – Gobert, Gonzalez – Macario, and Suarez – Galindo, respectively, by identical 6-0 scores.
Miami – 9, Florence – 0
The Vandals blanked the Vandals, winning seven head-to-head pairings, five singles, and two doubles, plus received forfeits for the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.
Senior AnnMary Terrance, senior Adrianna Lopez, senior Jillian Lee, senior Brynn-Leigh Dickerson, Kaulaity, and Stemm notched wins of 6-0 over junior Beleme Vasquez, 6-0 over sophomore Tatiana Mckissack, 6-0 over senior Belle Ramirez, 6-1 over sophomore Nicole Erhard, 6-0 over freshman Alisa An Le, and 6-0 over Safford sophomore Kimber Taylor.
In doubles, Terrance – Lopez, Lee – Dickerson, and Kaulaity – sophomore Daisy Pacheco had wins of 6-0 over Vasquez – Mckissack, 6-0 over Ramirez – Erhard, and 6-2 over An Le – Taylor, respectively.
Round Two:
Safford – 6, Miami – 3
The Bulldogs took five singles plus a doubles match while the Vandals won a singles and two doubles pairings.
Green, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Price, and Graham defeated Terrance 6-1, Dickenson 7-5,
Lopez 6-2, Lee 6-3, and Stemm 6-4, respectively.
In doubles, Green – Price slipped past Jillian Lee – Dickenson 6-4.
For Miami, Kaulaity defeated Neal 6-2 in singles, and the Terrance – Lopez and Kaulaity – Pacheco duos defeated Alder – Alder and Neal – Graham 7-3 in a tie-breaker following a 6-6 regulation tie and 6-3, respectively.
Morenci – 9, Florence – 0
The Wildcats won seven head-to-head pairings, five singles, and two doubles plus received forfeits for the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.
Gonzalez, Espinoza, Gobert, Suarez, Macario, and Galindo defeated Vasquez 6-0, Mckissack 6-2, Ramirez 6-3, Erhard 6-2, An Le 6-4, and Taylor 6-1, respectively.
In doubles, Espinoza – Gobert, Gonzalez – Macario, and Suarez – Galindo defeated Vasquez – Mckissack 6-0, Ramirez – Erhard 6-0, and An Le – Taylor 8-6 in a tie-breaker following a 6-6 regulation tie, respectively.
Round Three:
Safford – 9, Florence – 0
The Bulldogs won all seven head-to-head pairings, five singles and two doubles plus received forfeits for the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.
Green, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Price, Neal, and Graham posted wins of 6-1 over Vasquez, 6-0 over Mckissack, 6-1 over Ramirez, 6-2 over Erhard, 6-0 over An Le, and 6-2 over Taylor, respectively.
In doubles, the wins were 6-0 for Alder – Alder over Vasquez – Mckissack, 6-0 for Green – Price over Ramirez – Erhard, and 6-2 for Neal – Graham over An Le – Taylor, respectively.
Miami – 9, Morenci – 0
The Vandals blanked the Wildcats, winning the six singles and three doubles pairings.
Terrance, Lopez, Lee, Dickerson, Kaulaity, and Stemm recorded wins of 6-4 over Gonzalez, 6-0 over Espinoza, 6-2 over Gobert, 6-0 over Suarez, 6-2 over Macario, and 6-0 over Galindo.
In doubles, Terrance – Lopez, Lee – Dickerson, and Kaulaity – Pacheco had wins of 6-0 over Espinoza – Gobert, 6-2 over Gonzalez – Macario, and 6-1 over Suarez – Galindo, respectively.
March 5:
Safford – 9, Morenci – 0
The Bulldogs used their experience to post a shutout over the less experienced Wildcats, winning all nine pairings.
Peterson, Green, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Price, and Neal defeated Gonzalez (6-2, 6-1), Espinoza (6-0 twice), Gobert (6-2, 6-1), Suarez (6-3 twice), freshman Alanna Demieville (6-0, 6-1), and Macario (6-1, 6-0), respectively.
In doubles, Peterson – Green, Alder – Alder, and Price – Neal defeated Gonzalez – Espinoza (8-0), Gobert – Macario (8-4), and Suarez – Demieville (8-3), respectively.
Feb. 29:
Safford – 9, Tombstone – 0
The Bulldogs blanked the Yellows Jackets, winning all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Peterson, Green, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Price, and Tutor defeated senior Jamora Haynes (6-1, 7-5), sophomore Abigail Satterfield (6-0 twice), junior Akasia Cederlof (6-2 twice), senior Rose Spoto (6-3 twice), senior Veronika Colwell (6-0 twice), and freshman Khloe Convertino Shaw (6-1, 6-0), respectively.
In doubles, the victories were 8-1 by Peterson – Green and Alder – Alder over Haynes – Satterfield and Cederlof – Spoto, respectively, plus 8-0 by Price – Tutor over Colwell – Shaw.
Feb. 27:
Willcox – 9, Safford – 0
The Cowgirls shut out the Bulldogs, posting wins in all six singles and three doubles pairings.
Senior Mia Mungarro, senior Valerie Durazo, senior Teresa Trujillo, senior Alexa Hernandez, junior Keira Lentz, and junior Mabrisa Tone defeated Peterson (10-3, 4-6, 6-0), Brynlie Alder (6-3 twice), Camille Alder (6-1, 6-2), Price (6-4, 6-3), and Tudor (6-2, 7-5), respectively.
In doubles, the wins were 8-3 by Mungarro – Durazo over Peterson – Green, 8-1 by Trujillo – Hernandez over Alder – Alder, and 8-2 by Tona – Lentz over Tutor – Price.
Feb. 21:
Safford – 9, Florence – 0
The Bulldogs opened the season with a shutout of the Gophers.
Green, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Tutor, Price, and Graham defeated senior Lillie Rodriguez (6-0 twice), Vasquez 6-0 twice, Mckissack (6-0, 6-1), An Le (6-0 twice), Ramirez (1-0), and Erhard (1-0), respectively.
In doubles, Alder – Alder, Price – Graham, and Green – Tutor had wins of 8-0 over Rodriguez – Vasquez, 8-2 over Mckissack – An Le, and 1-0 over Ramirez – Erhard, respectively.
