Wildkats visit Morenci on Thursday

Eagles first in Section I, No. 4 statewide

By Raymundo Frasquillo

MORENCI – The Shannon Kempton-coached No. 22 Duncan Wildkats (3-3-1 seeding, minus 0.1976 rating) visit No. 37 Morenci (1-6, minus 8.3741) tennis boys on Thursday, April 10. But first, Morenci journeys to No. 11 Willcox (4-1, 6.2809) on Tuesday, April 8.

This week (April 7-12) in section pairings, No. 11 Willcox (4-1, 6.2809) hosts No. 13 Safford (3-2, 5.3462) and No. 24 Miami (3-2, minus 0.5324) hosts No. 41 Globe (0-6, minus 10.7051) on Monday, April 7; No. 4 Thatcher (8-1 seeding, 12.9578 rating) hosts No. 15 Pima (6-1, 5.0805) and No. 13 Safford hosts No. 29 Benson (4-3, minus 1.8587) on April 8; Thatcher hosts Safford and Pima hosts Willcox on April 10.

Non-region pairings include Duncan at Patagonia and Miami hosting Globe on April 7; and Safford at Tucson’s The Gregory School on Friday, April 11.

Division III rankings

The Division III rankings for the nine Section I member teams as of noon on April 4 were Thatcher (8-1 seeding, 12.9578 rating) No. 4, Willcox (4-1, 6.2809) No. 11, Safford (3-2, 5.3462) No. 13, Pima (6-1, 5.0805) No. 15, Duncan (3-3-1, minus 0.1976) No. 22, Miami (3-2, minus 0.5324) No. 24, Benson (4-3, minus 1.8587) No. 29, Morenci (1-6, minus 7.8432) No. 37, and Globe (0-6, minus 10.7051) No. 41.

Division III – Section I standings

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

Section match wins have Thatcher over Globe (9-0, Feb. 27), Morenci (8-0, March 27), Benson (9-0, April 1), and Willcox (9-0, April 3); Safford over Pima (6-2, March 27); Pima over Duncan (5-4, March 31) and Miami (6-3, April 3); Duncan over Benson (5-4, March 11) and Globe (5-4, March 27); Miami over Globe (9-0, March 11) and Morenci (9-0, April 1); Benson over Globe (9-0, March 31) and Morenci (7-2, 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), and Chandler Prep (8-1, March 6) 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), and Sabino (6-3, April 4); Pima over Duncan (7-2, March 10), Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (9-0, March 12), Patagonia (7-2, March 14), and Globe (8-1, March 25); Duncan over Morenci (4-2, March 25) and tied Patagonia (3-3, March 3); Miami over Apache Junction (9-0, March 4) along with a loss to Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic (0-9, Feb. 26); Benson over Andrada Polytechnic (9-0, March 6) and Tombstone (9-0, March 26) along with a loss to Saint David (0-9, March 13); Globe fell to Santa Cruz (0-9, March 6) and Pima (1-8, March 25); Willcox over Duncan (9-0, Marchj 4), Saint David (9-0, March 11), Tombstone (9-0, March 18), and Patagonia (9-0, March 25); and Morenci over Tombstone (6-3, 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).

No. 4 Thatcher Eagles (8-1)

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 Chris Cook-coached Eagles are 46-5 in singles (83-15 sets) and 23-3 in doubles

Top seed McNiel is 6-3 in singles and 10-6 in sets played, No. 2 Huish (8-1, 14-2 sets), No. 3 Scorse (8-1, 14-2 sets), No. 4 Isaac Palmer (8-0, 15-1 sets), No. 5 Topher Rubacalva (7-1, 14-4 sets), and No. 6 Luke Allen (9-0, 16-0 sets).

The No. 1 duo of Huish – Isaac Palmer is 7-1, No. 2 McNiel – Scorse 8-1, and No. 3 Topher Rubacalva – Allen (8-1).

No. 13 Safford Bulldogs (3-3)

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 Katie Jones-coached Bulldogs are 17-16-1 in singles (32-33 sets) and 15-10 in doubles.

Top seed Montierth is 3-3 in singles and 6-6 in sets played, No. 2 Bowman (3-3, 5-6 sets), No. 3 Price (3-3, 6-5 sets), No. 4 Owens (4-2, 8-4 sets), No. 6 Archuleta (2-3, 3-7 sets), and No. 5 Lines (2-2-1, 4-5 sets).

The No. 1 duo of Bowman – Isaac Owens is 7-1, No. 2 Montierth – Price 2-0, and No. 3 Archuleta – Lines (2-3), Montierth – Bowman 2-2, Bowman – Owens 1-1, Price – Owens 1-3.

Section I Matches (April 14-19)

Remaining section matches next week (April 14-19) include Miami hosting Willcox on April 14; Duncan hosting Thatcher, Miami hosting Safford, Willcox hosting Benson, and Morenci hosting Pima on April 15; Thatcher hosting Miami, Safford hosting Morenci, Benson hosting Pima, and Willcox hosting Duncan on April 17; and Globe hosting Willcox at Miami on April 18. 

Non-region pairings include Thatcher at Tucson’s The Gregory School, Pima at Tombstone on April 14, and Duncan at Tucson Andrada Polytechnic on April 16.

Section I Matches (April 21-26)

The remaining section matches, which are two weeks away (April 21-26), include Safford hosting Globe and Morenci hosting Willcox on April 21; Safford hosting Duncan and Pima hosting Globe on April 22; and Duncan hosting Miami on April 23.

Non-region pairings include Miami at Gilbert Classical, Benson at Desert Christian on April 22, and Benson at Eloy Santa Cruz on April 23.