Lily Ford (5-4) used her backhand to return the ball across the net during a recent match in Morenci. The Duncan freshman is 6-1 in doubles with five different partners. Duncan is in Thatcher on Thursday, April 11, and hosts Benson on April 16 to close the regular season.
Cowgirls near perfect, sit atop section standings
By Raymundo Frasquillo
WILLCOX – The Mike Kauffman-coached No. 2 Willcox Cowgirls welcomed the No. 14 Safford Bulldogs on Monday, April 8, and left victorious 7-2.
The Thomas Biggs-coached Bulldogs are second and Willcox first in the Section I standings following the results of April 4 pairings.
Eight section matches remain as the week begins, five this week (April 8-13), and three the following week (April 15-20). Benson and Thatcher have three section matches left; and Duncan, Morenci, Pima, and Safford have two section matches left.
Other section matches this week include Benson at Thatcher and Morenci at Safford on Tuesday, April 9; Duncan at Thatcher and Benson at Pima on Thursday, April 11.
Non-section matches have Morenci hosting Tombstone on Friday, April 12.
The remaining section matches include Thatcher at Safford, Benson at Duncan, and Morenci at Pima on April 16. Non-section pairings are Safford at Tucson Sabino on April 15, Willcox hosting Globe on April 16 and Pima hosting Globe on April 17.
Division III – Section I standings
The standings through April 5 are Willcox (11-0 seeding, 5-0 section) first, Safford (6-3, 3-0) second, Thatcher (7-3, 2-1) third, Duncan (6-4, 2-2) fourth, Morenci (1-9, 1-3) fifth, Pima (4-6, 0-4) sixth, and Benson (3-6, 0-3) seventh.
Division III State Rankings
The Division III State Top 16 Rankings at noon on April 5 were Phoenix Country Day School (6-0 seeding, 16.4780 rating) No. 1, Willcox (11-0, 15.0865) No. 2, Scottsdale Prep (8-1, 14.3275) No. 3, Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (8-2, 12.8501) No. 4, Yuma Catholic (5-0, 12.7023) No. 5, Scottsdale Cicero Prep (6-1, 11.3845) No. 6, Tucson Tanque Verde (7-1, 11.0347) No. 7, and Flagstaff Northland Prep (7-0, 9.5096) No. 8.
Chandler Prep (5-2, 8.7996) was No. 9, Thatcher (7-3, 8.1901) No. 10, Glendale Prep (6-1, 7.6460) No. 11, Phoenix Veritas Prep (9-2, 6.9241) No. 12, Tucson’s The Gregory School (8-2, 5.9805) No. 13, Safford (6-3, 4.5627) No. 14, Gilbert Christian (4-3, 4.3698) No. 15, and Miami (5-3, 2.7220) No. 16.
No.2 Willcox (12-0 seeding, 15.0865 rating)
Willcox (6-0) has section wins over Duncan (6-0, March 7), Pima (9-0, March 26), Morenci (9-0, March 28), Benson (9-0, April 2), and Thatcher (6-3, April 4). The Mike Kauffman-coached Cowgirls are 63-3 (86-9 sets) in singles and 29-1 in doubles. Three doubles matches were not played.
Individually, senior Mia Mungarro is 11-0 (17-2 sets), senior Valerie Durazo 9-1 (13-2 sets), senior Teresa Trujillo 11-0 (15-1 sets), senior Alexa Hernandez 11-0 (15-0 sets), junior Keira Lentz 10-1 (13-2 sets), Mabrisa Tona 10-1 (12-2 sets), and freshman Lorenca Tr 1-0 (1-0 sets).
In doubles, Mungarro – Durazo is 8-0, Trujillo – Hernandez 8-0, Lentz – Tona 8-0, Mungarro – Trujillo 1-0, Hernandez – Lentz 1-0, and Tona – Tr 1-0.
No.10 Thatcher (7-3 seeding, 8.1908 rating)
Thatcher (2-1) has section wins over Pima (9-0, March 28) and Morenci (9-0, April 2). The Emily Meehl-coached Eagles are 43-13 (82-26 sets) in singles and 20-7 in doubles. Four singles pairings with Sabino and three doubles with Gilbert Classical were not played.
Individually, sophomore Sophie Haynie 4-4 (9-8 sets), senior Maddie Scarborough 6-3 (11-6 sets), junior Emily Sampson 6-3 (12-6 sets), senior Zoey Damron 7-2 (13-4 sets), junior Kayla Turley 7-1 (14-2 sets), junior Audrey Smith 8-0 (16-0 sets), junior Cambria Wakefield 2-0 (3-0 sets), senior Carly Keith 2-0 (3-0 sets), and freshman Sarah Sampson 1-0 (1-0 sets).
In doubles, Haynie – Emily Sampson 4-4, Scarborough – Damron 7-2, Turley – Smith 7-1, Wakefield – Keith 1-0, and Sampson – Sampson 1-0.
No. 14 Safford (6-4 seeding, 4.5627 rating)
Safford (3-1) has section wins over Benson (8-1, March 28), Duncan (9-0, April 2), and Pima (7-2, April 4). The Thomas Biggs-coached Bulldogs are 38-16 (69-32 sets) in singles and 14-13 in doubles.
Individually, senior Hazel Green is 7-2 (13-4 sets), senior Rachel Peterson 6-1 (12-2 sets), senior Brynlie Alder 6-2 (11-4 sets), senior Camille Alder 6-2 (11-4 sets), senior Ella Price 6-3 (10-6 sets), senior Zoey Tutor 4-3 (7-6 sets), junior Charlotte Graham 1-0 (1-0 sets), junior Alexis Neal 1-1 (2-2 sets), freshman Iris Green 0-1 (0-2 sets), freshman Amanda Neal 0-1 (0-2 sets), and sophomore Kimberly Taylor 1-0 (2-0 sets).
In doubles, Alder – Alder is 3-5, Green – Peterson 6-1, Price – Tutor 2-4, Price – Graham 1-0, Green – Tutor 1-0, Green – Green 0-1, Price – Alexis Neal 1-0, Graham – Amanda Neal 0-1, and Price – Taylor 0-1.
No. 23 Duncan (6-4 seeding, minus 2.2102 rating)
Duncan (2-2) has section wins over Pima (8-1, March 12) and Morenci (9-0, April 4). The Shannon Kempton-coached Wildkats are 35-22 (52-37 sets) in singles and 19-6 in doubles. There were three singles and five doubles not played.
Individually, junior Emily Kempton is 6-3 (11-5 sets), junior Camille Miller 4-5 (7-9 sets), sophomore Brendy Paz 4-2 (6-3 sets), freshman Heidi Miller 4-3 (6-5 sets), sophomore Emily Evans 5-2 (8-3 sets), freshman Lily Ford 4-4 (6-6 sets), sophomore Ari Ford 2-0 (2-0 sets), freshman McKenzie Jones 0-2 (0-4 sets), and sophomore Madison Chatman 0-1 (0-2 sets).
In doubles, Kempton – Camille Miller is 5-2, Heidi Miller – Evans 2-2, Evans – Lily Ford 3-0, Kempton – Paz 2-0, Miller – Miller 1-0, Camille Miller – Lily Ford 1-0, Paz – Heidi Miller 2-0, Paz – Lily Ford 0-1, Paz – Evans 1-0, Ford – Ford 1-0, Jones – Chatman 0-1, and Lily Ford – Jones 1-0.
No. 28 Pima (4-6 seeding, minus 2.3825 rating)
The Torrie Baldwin-coached Pima Roughriders (0-4) are 23-39 (40-65) in singles and 15-15 in doubles.
Individually, junior Kennedy Minor is 5-5 (10-10 sets), junior Mia Ashby 4-6 (9-11 sets), junior Brookie Burk 3-6 (6-11 sets), sophomore Merrell DeCrow 4-5 (6-8 sets), sophomore Miley Preston 3-7 (4-12 sets), freshman Paizli Payne 3-7 (4-11 sets), sophomore Lily Johnson 0-1 (0-2 sets), and freshman Emily DeCrow 1-0 (1-0 sets).
In doubles, Minor – Ashby is 7-3, Burk – Merrell DeCrow 1-2, Preston – Payne 0-3, Merrell DeCrow – Payne 2-2, Burk – Preston 0-3, Payne – Johnson 0-1, Payne – Emily DeCrow 2-0, Burk – Payne 2-0, and Merrell DeCrow – Preston 1-1.
No. 34 Benson (3-6 seeding, minus 5.7991 rating)
The Audrey Chapman-coached Benson Bobcats (0-3) are 20-34 (27-58 sets) in singles and 11-16 in doubles. the records included 17 forfeits, 11 in singles and six in doubles.
Individually, freshman Alexis Cooper is 6-3 (11-5 sets), sophomore Andrea Hummel 1-6 (1-12 sets), senior Sierra Brooks 3-6 (4-10 sets), sophomore Juana Macias 3-5 (4-8 sets), junior Daisy Yamarino 3-6 (3-10 sets), sophomore Cali Mendez 3-5 (3-8 sets), and freshman Ireland Towne 1-3 (1-5 sets).
In doubles, Cooper – Macias is 4-1, Hummel – Brooks 1-4, Yamarino – Mendez 0-3, Cooper – Hummel 2-0, Cooper – Brooks 0-1, Cooper – Towne 1-0, Brooks – Yamarino 0-1, Brooks – Mendez 1-0, Macias – Brooks 0-1, Yamarino – Towne 2-2, Macias – Yamarino 0-1, Macias – Towne 0-1, and Mendez – Towne 0-1.
No. 37 Morenci (1-9 seeding, minus 6.8103 rating)
Morenci (1-3) has a regional win over Benson (6-3, April 3). The Brenda Street-coached Wildcats are 7-49 (9-59 sets) in singles and 3-22 in doubles. There were four singles forfeited, three doubles forfeited, and two doubles not played.
Individually, senior Anita Gonzalez is 1-9 (1-11 sets), sophomore Ariza Espinoza is 0-8 (0-10 sets), junior Izzalana Gobert is 1-9 (1-11 sets), sophomore Alannah Suarez is 2-8 (3-9 sets), freshman Alana Demieville 1-6 (1-7 sets), sophomore Blanca Macario 2-6 (3-7 sets), and freshman Adriana Dorame Galindo 0-3 (0-3 sets).
In doubles, Espinoza – Gobert is 0-7, Gonzlaez – Macario 1-3, Suarez – Demieville 1-5, Gonzalez – Espinoza 0-2, Gobert – Macario 0-1, Gonzalez – Suarez 0-2, Gonzalez – Galindo 1-1 and Gobert – Galindo 0-1.
April 4:
Duncan – 9, Morenci – 0
The host Wildcats were shut out by the visiting Wildkats.
Emily Kempton, Camille Miller, Brendy Paz, Emily Evans, Lily Ford, and McKenzie Jones defeated Anita Gonzalez (8-3), Izzanlana Gobert (8-0), Alanna Suarez (8-1), Alana Demieville (8-1), Blanca Macario (8-6), and Adriana Dorame Galindo (8-4).
In doubles, Kempton – Miller, Paz – Evans, and Ford – Jones bested Gonzalez – Macario (8-2), Suarez – Demieville (8-2), and Gobert – Galindo (8-4), respectively.
Willcox – 6, Thatcher – 3
The host Cowgirls took four singles and two doubles from the visiting Eagles.
Mia Mungarro, Valerie Durazo, Teresa Trujillo, and Alexa Hernandez defeated Sophie Haynie (3-6, 6-3, 10-1), Maddie Scarborough (6-3 twice), Emily Sampson (4-6, 6-4, 11-9), and Zoey Damron (6-3 twice), respectively.
In doubles, Mungarro – Durazo and Trujillo – Hernandez defeated Haynie – Sampson (8-6) and Scarborough – Damron (9-7), respectively.
For Thatcher, Cambria Wakefield and Carley Keith defeated Keira Lentz (6-2, 7-5) and Mabrisa Tona (6-0 twice), respectively, and the Kala Turley – Audrey Smith duo downed Lentz – Tona 8-2.
Safford – 7, Pima – 2
The host Bulldogs swept the singles and included a doubles while the visiting Roughriders won two doubles.
Hazel Green, Rachel Peterson, Brynlie Alder, Camille Alder, Ella Price, and Zoey Tutor defeated Kennedy Minor (8-5), Mia Ashby (8-0), Brookie Burk (8-4), Merrell DeCrow (8-2), Miley Preston (8-2), Paizli Payne (8-0), respectively.
In doubles, Green – Peterson blanked Merrell DeCrow – Preston 8-0.
For Pima, the Minor – Ashby and Burk – Payne duos downed Alder – Alder (8-2) and Price – Rogers (8-6), respectively.
Benson – 9, Patagonia – 0
The host Bobcats won three head-to-head pairings from the visiting Lobos, two singles and a doubles. They received forfeits for the other four singles and two doubles.
Alexis Cooper and Sierra Brooks defeated senior Betty Regan (6-0, 6-1) and freshman Isela Valenzuela (8-4), respectively while the Cooper – Juana Macias duo shut out Regan – Valenzuela 8-0.
Macias, Daisy Yamarino, Cali Mendez, and Ireland Towne as well as Brooks – Mendez and Yamarino – Towne received forfeits.