Dawgs host Wildkats on Tuesday

Eagles soar to No. 2 in state, first in section

By Raymundo Frasquillo

SAFFORD – The Katie Jones-coached Safford tennis boys (6-1 section) host the Duncan Wildkats (3-3) for a section match on Tuesday, April 22.

Thatcher (8-0), Willcox (6-2), Benson (2-6), and Morenci (0-8) each completed section matches last week.

Other remaining section matches this week (April 22-26) include Pima (4-3) hosting Globe (1-6) on April 22; and Duncan hosting Miami (3-4) on April 23.

Non-region pairings include Miami at Gilbert Classical and Benson at Desert Christian on April 22; and Benson at Eloy Santa Cruz and Coolidge at Globe (Miami courts) on April 23.

The Willcox at Morenci non-section pairing on April 21 was cancelled.

Division III – Section I standings

The section standings as of April 21 were Thatcher (13-1 seeding, 8-0 section) first, Safford (8-5, 6-1) second, Willcox (10-2, 6-2) third, Pima (9-3, 4-3) fourth, Duncan (5-6-1, 3-3) fifth, Miami (5-5, 3-4) sixth, Benson (5-7, 2-6) seventh, Globe (1-9, 1-6) eighth, and Morenci (1-11, 0-8) ninth.

Section match wins have Thatcher over Globe (9-0, Feb. 27), Morenci (8-0, March 27), Benson (9-0, April 1), Willcox (9-0, April 3), Pima (9-0, April 8), Safford (8-1, April 10), Duncan (9-0, April 15), and Miami (9-0, April 17); Safford over Pima (6-2, March 27), Willcox (6-2, April 7), Benson (8-1, April 8), Miami (9-0, April 15), Morenci (8-1, April 17), and Globe (9-0, April 21); Willcox over Morenci (9-0, April 8), Pima (5-4, April 10), Miami (8-1, April 14), Benson (9-0, April 15), Duncan (8-1, April 17), and Globe (7-2, April 18); Pima over Duncan (5-4, March 31), Miami (6-3, April 3), Morenci (9-0, April 15), and Benson (6-3, April 17); Duncan over Benson (5-4, March 11), Globe (5-4, March 27), and Morenci (5-2, April 10); Miami over Globe (9-0, March 11), Morenci (9-0, April 1), and Benson (6-3, April 10); Benson over Globe (6-3, March 31) and Morenci (9-0, April 3); and Globe over Morenci (6-3, April 4).

In non-region pairings to date, it was Thatcher over Sierra Vista Buena (7-2, Feb. 28), Safford (9-0, March 4), Tucson Sabino (8-1, March 5), Chandler Prep (8-1, March 6), and Tucson’s The Gregory School (6-3, April 14) along with a loss to Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian 4-5, March 26); Safford over Morenci (9-0, Feb. 27) and Tombstone (7-2, April 3) along with losses to Thatcher (0-9, March 4), Pusch Ridge (0-9, March 25), Sabino (6-3, April 4), and Tucson’s The Gregory School (0-9, April 11); Willcox over Duncan (9-0, Marchj 4), Saint David (8-1, March 11), Tombstone (9-0, March 18), and Patagonia (9-0, March 25); Pima over Duncan (7-2, March 10), Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (9-0, March 12), Patagonia (7-2, March 14), Globe (8-1, March 25), and Tombstone (9-0, April 14); Duncan over Morenci (4-2, March 25) and Patagonia (4-2, April 7) along with losses to Willcox (0-9, March 4), Pima (2-7, March 10), and Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (3-6, April 16) plus a tie with Patagonia (3-3, March 3); Miami over Apache Junction (9-0, March 4) and Globe (8-1, April 7) along with a loss to Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (0-9, Feb. 26); Benson over Andrada Polytechnic (9-0, March 6), Tombstone (9-0, March 26), and Patagonia (9-0, April 14) along with a loss to Saint David (0-9, March 13); Globe fell to Santa Cruz (0-9, March 6), Pima (1-8, March 25), and Miami (1-8, April 7); and Morenci over Tombstone (8-0, March 6) along with losses to Safford (0-9, Feb. 27), Saint John Paul II (0-9, March 4), and Duncan (2-4, March 25).

Division III rankings

The Division III rankings for the nine Section I member teams as of noon on April 18 were Thatcher (13-1 seeding, 14.4041 rating) No. 2, Willcox (9-2, 6.8541) No. 12, Safford (7-5, 6.2405) No. 15, Pima (9-3, 3.0570) No. 18, Miami (5-5, minus 1.4070) No. 25, Duncan (5-6-1, minus 4.1866) No. 30, Benson (5-7, minus 5.1018) No. 33, Globe (1-7, minus 10.5665) No. 39, and Morenci (1-11, minus 13.5511) No. 43.

No. 2 Thatcher Eagles (13-1)

Thatcher has a nine-member team: seniors Luke Allen, Eli McNiel, Chad Palmer, and Bryson Scorse; juniors Braden Huish, Isaac Palmer, Ranan Rubacalva, and Topher Rubacalva; and sophomore Jacob Reed.

The section leading Chris Cook-coached Eagles are 72-10 in singles (131-20 sets) and 38-3 in doubles

Top seed McNiel is 10-4 in singles and 17-6 in sets played, No. 2 Huish (12-2, 21-4 sets), No. 3 Isaac Palmer (13-0, 23-1 sets), No. 4 Scorse (12-2, 22-4 sets), No. 5 Topher Rubacalva (11-2, 13-5 sets), and No. 6 Luke Allen (12-0, 25-0 sets).

The No. 1 duo of Huish – Isaac Palmer is 12-1, No. 2 McNiel – Scorse 13-1, No. 3 Topher Rubacalva – Allen (12-1), and Allen – Chad Palmer 1-0.

No. 12 Willcox Cowboys (10-2)

Duncan has a 14-member team with seniors Nathaniel Aguilar, Elijah Bhasme, Kyle McClaine, Andy Osornio, Wade Owen, Luke Perolino, Alan Solis, and Gavin Valdez; sophomores Chris Calderon, Phillip Dodd, Juan Hernandez, and Rhett Rogers; and freshmen Ryan Burchett and Mariano Lazaro.

The Mike Kauffman-coached Cowboys are 50-12 in singles (71-25 sets) and 26-9 in doubles.

Top seed Aguilar is 8-4 in singles and 13-8 in sets played, No. 2 Bhasme (9-2, 12-4 sets), No. 3 Osornio (11-1, 16-2 sets), No. 4 Solis (10-2, 14-3 sets), No. 5 McClaine (9-3, 12-6 sets), No. 6 Hernandez (2-1, 3-2 sets), and Perolino (1-0, 1-0).

The No. 1 duo of Aguilar – Osornio is 10-2, No. 2 Bhasme – McClaine 6-5, and No. 3 Solis – Perolino 8-2, Solis – McClaine 1-0, Perolino – Hernandez 1-0.

No. 15 Safford Bulldogs (8-5)

Safford has an eight-member team with seniors Bo Bowman, Kyle Lines, Camden Montierth, and Xavier Owens;  juniors Hyrum Biggs and Owen Price; sophomore John Archuleta; and freshman Nathan Tarnutzer.

The section, second-place Katie Jones-coached Bulldogs are 46-29 in singles (85-64 sets) and 19-17 in doubles.

Top seed Montierth is 9-4 in singles and 18-10 in sets played, No. 2 Bowman (8-5, 14-11 sets), No. 3 Price (7-6, 14-13 sets), No. 4 Owens (9-4, 17-8 sets), No. 5 Lines (7-4, 12-8 sets), and No. 6 Archuleta (6-6, 10-14 sets).

The No. 1 duo of Bowman – Owens is 4-5, No. 2 Montierth – Price 7-2, No. 3 Archuleta – Lines 5-5, Montierth – Bowman 2-2, and Price – Owens 1-3.