Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Gene Huish eyes his forehand return against during a recent match. The Thatcher senior was paired up with brother Braden for the state doubles championship earlier in the week. Thatcher faces Pusch Ridge for the state team title in Glendale on Saturday, May 4. Starting time is 5 p.m.
Eagles earned fourth straight team semifinal berth
By Raymundo Frasquillo
GLENDALE – The season-long goal of returning to the state finale has been realized, but they are not celebrating yet as the title match looms ahead.
Thatcher permeates with pride in what those before have done. It will not only be for themselves and each other, but for their Class of 2020 team members who were denied an opportunity to show what they could do. It had to do with a global health crisis.
The Chris Cook-coached top-ranked Thatcher Eagles meet the No. 6 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian Lions for the state championship at the Paseo Racquet Center, 6268 W. Thunderbird Rd., starting at 5 p.m.
Thatcher advanced to the state title match with wins over No. 16 Florence (5-0, April 24) in the first round, No. 8 Tucson’s The Gregory School (5-0, May 1) in the quarterfinals, and No. 5 Tanque Verde (5-2, May 3) in the semifinals.
Pusch Ridge reached the championship match with wins over No. 11 Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (5-0, April 24) in the first round, No. 3 Anthem Prep (6-0, May 1) in the quarterfinals, and No. 2 Phoenix Country Day School (5-4, May 3) in the semifinals.
Thatcher and Pusch Ridge have been finalists six times in the previous 13 seasons (2011-23), with the Eagles topping the Lions twice (2012, 2014) and falling in 2011. In the same span, the Graham County boys have earned four titles (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) versus three by the Pima County boys (2011, 2013, 2018).
The Chris Cook-coached Eagles have been semifinalists in each of the previous state meets, as No. 3 in 2021 along with No. 1 Phoenix Country Day, No. 2 Scottsdale Prep, and No. 4 Willcox; No. 4 in 2022 along with No. 1 Phoenix Country Day, No. 2 Chandler Arizona College Prep, and No. 3 Scottsdale Prep; and as No. 2 in 2023 along with No. 1 Phoenix Country Day, No. 3 Pusch Ridge, and No. 4 Scottsdale Prep.
Thatcher finished with a 4-5 semifinal loss to Scottsdale Christian in 2021, a 2-5 semifinal loss to Phoenix Country Day in 2022, and a 4-5 championship match loss to PCDS in 2023.
Division III State Team Tourney
The Division III state tourney semifinals paired No. 5 Tucson Tanque Verde (9-3 seeding) with No. 1 Thatcher (14-0). The Eagles advanced with a 5-2 win and No. 6 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (12-3) upset No. 2 Phoenix Country Day (12-0) 5-4 on May 2.
Quarterfinal results were No. 1 Thatcher over No. 8 Tucson’s The Gregory School 5-0, No. 5 Tucson Tanque Verde over No. 13 Tucson Sabino 8-1, No. 6 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian over No. 3 Anthem Prep 6-0, and No. 2 Phoenix Country Day School over No. 7 Gilbert Classical 5-1 on May 1.
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. 6 Pusch Ridge Christian Lions (12-3 seeding, 11.0194 rating)
Pusch Ridge (12-3 seeding, 11.0194 rating, 5-1 section) had seeding wins over Tucson Desert Christian (9-0, Feb. 27), Benson (9-0, March 19), Safford (8-1, March 21), Tucson Santa Rita (6-0, March 26), Tucson Canyon del Oro (6-3, March 27), Casa Grande (9-0, April 1), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (9-0, April 2), Tucson Sabino (6-3, April 9), Nogales (7-2, April 10). Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (5-0, April 11), Saint David (9-0, April 15), and Eloy Santa Cruz (9-0, April 16). Two singles with Palo Vere Magnet along with three doubles with Santa Rita and two with Palo Verde Magnet were not played. The losses were to Thatcher (3-6, March 6), Tucson Salpointe Catholic (4-5, April 3), and Tucson Tanque Verde (2-7, April 4).
The Andy Fetsis-coached No. 6 Lions were 69-19 (136-38 sets) in singles and 32-8 in doubles.
Individually, sophomore Lukas Herndon was 9-4 (19-8 sets), freshman Nick Herndon 9-4 (21-8 sets), senior Logan Leister 13-2 (26-4 sets), senior Brennon Seiferth 10-3 (21-6 sets), senior Collin Tompkins 10-1 (20-2 sets), senior Daniel Jung 4-1 (8-2 sets), senior Donovan McGehee 9-3 (16-6 sets), and sophomore Aviel Arellno 5-1 (5-2 sets).
In doubles, Herndon – Herndon was 9-4, Leister – Seiferth 12-0, Tompkins – McGehee 7-1, Leister – Jung 2-0, Tompkins – Jung 1-1, and McGehee – Arellno 1-2.
No. 1 Thatcher (14-0 seeding, 20.7760 rating)
Thatcher (14-0 seeding, 20.7760 rating, 6-0 section) 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), junior Eli McNeil 11-2 (21-4 sets), sophomore Braden Huish 11-1 (22-2 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.
Quarterfinals, May 1:
No. 1 Thatcher – 5, No. 8 The Gregory School – 0
The Eagles defeated the Hawks 5-0 in singles flights No. 2-6. Junior Eli McNeil defeated junior Jack Borens 6-0 twice while sophomore Braden Huish, sophomore Isaac Palmer, senior Brock Smith, and junior Bryson Scorse defeated freshman Marcus Swanson, sophomore Anthi Christoforidid, junior Lucas Clemens, and junior Emil Yepiz, respectively, by identical 6-0 and 6-2 scores.
Top seed Gene Huish did not complete his pairing with sophomore John Samil and doubles were unnecessary.
Round One, April 24:
No. 1 Thatcher – 5, No. 16 Florence – 0
The Eagles defeated the Gophers 5-0 in singles flights No. 1 and 3-6. Senior Gene Huish defeated junior Evan Quick (6-1, 6-0),
Braden Huish defeated junior Jackson Potter (6-0 twice), Palmer defeated senior Michael Katsouras (6-0, 6-2), Smith defeated senior Ty Thomas (6-0 twice), and Scorse defeated freshman Alfred Zaklit (6-0, 6-).
Third seed McNeil did not complete his pairing with senior Vasili Apoatoloa and doubles were unnecessary.
No. 2 PCDS – 5, No. 15 Safford – 0
The Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 5-0 in singles flights No. 1-5. Senior Jacques Sevrain defeated junior Camden Montierth (6-1, 6-4), junior Linus Gino-Griffiths defeated senior Kody Gluyas (6-0 twice), junior Dasch Gorcyca defeated junior Bo Bowman (6-0, 6-2), freshman Garrett Valdes defeated senior Thomas Biggs (6-0 twice), and junior Dylan Grosman defeated senior Brayden Bowman (6-2 twice).
Sixth-seed sophomore Kongkasem Suchart did not complete his pairing (2-6, 5-3) with junior Xavier Owens and doubles were unnecessary.
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 both 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.
Second seed Thatcher senior Gene Huish – sophomore Braden Huish succumbed to No. 1 Phoenix Country Day School senior Jacque Sevrain – junior Linus Gino-Griffiths 6-7 (2) and 3-6 for the state title on April 29.
The Huish – Huish duo defeated Glendale Prep senior Judson Terpstra – 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 – freshman Nick Herndon (3-6, 6-3, 10-6) in the semifinals.
Sevrain – Gino-Griffiths ousted Safford junior Camden Montierth – 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 – freshman Jon Hetland (6-1, 6-2) in the quarterfinals, and No. 5 Thatcher sophomore Isaac Palmer – senior Brock Smith (7-6, 6-3) in the semifinals.
Fifth-seeded Thatcher sophomore Isaac Palmer – 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 – 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 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.
