Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Thatcher senior Lacie Whitmer stretches to return the ball during an earlier home match. Whitmer and teammate Ashlyn McMaster are in the state doubles final in Tempe on Monday, April 29. The next day, the pair is in the team quarterfinals as the top-ranked Eagles face No. 8 Tucson Sabino in Thatcher.
Thatcher girls host team quarterfinal pairing Tuesday
By Raymundo Frasquillo
TEMPE – Thatcher senior Lacie Whitmer and sophomore Ashlyn McMaster will be vying for the Division III state doubles championship in Arizona State University’s Whitman Tennis Center on Monday, April 29, beginning at 5 p.m. Fourth-ranked Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian senior Emma Reilly and sophomore Colleen Harris will be on the other side of the court.
The Whitmer – McMaster duo (3-0) drew a first-round bye, eliminated Tucson Desert Christian senior Abby Maguire – junior Sydney Martin (6-0 twice) in the second round April 26, Scottsdale Prep sophomores Tessa Beer – Aria Bossone (6-2, 7-5) in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Flagstaff Northland Prep seniors Bri Biddle – Kate Bailey (6-1, 6-2) in the semifinals April 27 at Glendale’s Paseo Racquet Center.
Harris – Reilly (3-0) reached the finale by ousting Duncan senior Brooklyn Kempton – junior Kaitlyn Lunt (7-6, 6-1) during the second round, No. 5 Phoenix Country Day School sophomores Katie Bartolino – Kiran Tuli (6-1 twice) during the quarterfinals, and No. 1 Buckeye Odyssey Institute juniors Emma Uhlig – Atlanta Kishbaugh (6-0, 7-6) during the semifinals.
Willcox seniors Abby Bull – Allison Melton (2-1) defeated Gilbert Classical seniors Keely McGettigan – Mercedez Fernandez (6-2 twice) in the first round and No. 8 Thatcher seniors Savanna Turley – Lexee Scarborough (6-0, 7-6) in the second round before falling 6-1 and 6-2 to Uhlig – Kishbaugh in the quarterfinals.
The Kempton – Lunt duo (1-1) downed Safford juniors Alissa Carter – CeAirra Bowmen (6-3, 7-6) in the first round.
Singles Tourney
In singles, the championship match is between the top two ranked players, No. 1 Pusch Ridge Christian senior Sofia Fetsis and No. 2 Chandler Prep freshman Sangeet Bhalla, at ASU on April 29 with a 5 p.m. start.
Fetsis (3-0) defeated Gilbert Classical sophomore Eugenia Trakal (6-0 twice) in the second round, No. 8 Scottsdale Prep sophomore Eliana Yuke (6-0 twice) in the quarterfinals, and No. 4 Phoenix Country Day freshman Daniela Castro-Martinez (6-3, 6-0) in the semifinals.
Bhalla (3-0) reached the championship match via wins of 6-0 and 6-1 over Tucson Sabino sophomore Adrianna Zamora, 6-0 and 6-2 over No. 7 Flagstaff Basis freshman Aeliana Ricci in the quarterfinals, and 6-0 twice over No. 3 Gilbert Classical sophomore Katerina Stender in the semifinals.
Unranked Thatcher sophomore Sydney Alder (2-1) eliminated Scottsdale Cicero Prep sophomore Qin Nebgen (6-0 twice) in the first round and The Gregory School freshman Zari Williams (7-5, 6-0) in the second round before succumbing 6-2 and 6-0 to Castro-Martinez in the quarterfinals.
Miami junior Mycala Stapleton (1-1) ousted Safford junior Ella Peterson (6-3, 6-2) in the first round and fell 6-1 and 6-2 to Ricci in the second round; No. 6 Benson senior Kay Lee Merrill (1-1) downed Yuma Catholic senior Anna Arce (6-2, 6-3) in the second round before falling in a tie-breaker (4-6, 6-3, 7-6) to Stender in the quarterfinals.
Ten of 24 entrants in both singles and doubles were from public schools.
Team Tourney
The top-ranked Thatcher girls’ tennis team hosts No. 8 Tucson Sabino for the Division III state quarterfinals Tuesday, April 30. The Eagles eliminated No. 16 Gilbert Classical in Thatcher and Sabino ousted No. 9 Safford in Tucson by identical 5-2 scores during the first round April 23.
Other quarterfinal pairings include No. 12 Chandler Arizona College Prep at No. 4 Scottsdale Prep, No. 11 Phoenix Country Day at No. 3 Chandler Prep, and No. 7 Sahuarita at No. 2 Pusch Ridge Christian.
The results of the other first-round pairings were Arizona College Prep 5-4 over No. 5 Flagstaff Basis School, Scottsdale Prep 5-1 over No. 13 Tucson The Gregory School, Chandler Prep 5-0 over No. 14 Tombstone, Phoenix Country Day 5-2 over No. 6 Northland Prep, Sahuarita 5-1 over No. 10 Page, and Pusch Ridge Christian 5-0 over No. 15 Yuma Catholic.
