Tennis: Division I-III Championship results
May 1, 2016 by Jose Garcia, AZPreps365
The rain in Glendale tends to stay out of plain sight when the tennis singles and doubles Division I-III state championships take center stage at the Paseo Racquet Club.
But an uncustomary spring shower swept through Glendale Saturday, dampening the chances of completing some of the state championship matches. It was the first time in more than 20 years that rain postponed a portion of the tennis championships, Corona del Sol tennis coach Rick Wanta said.
For those that didn’t complete their matches, they will pick up right where they left against their opponents when they reunite this week. Fortunately, the small school doubles and singles championships wrapped up before the rain arrived.
Thatcher High juniors Dallin Cook and Logan McMaster were seeded No. 1 and was first duo to check in as a champ at the scorer’s table. The Division III boys doubles winner defeated Desert Christian’s Noah Baker and Samuel Baker 6-4, 6-0 for its first state doubles title.
(Thatcher's Dallin Cook and Logan McMaster)
“We’ve known each other since we were in third grade so that makes it extra special,” Cook said.
McMaster joined his brothers Brandon, a two-time singles champ, and Nathan, a former two-time doubles partner state champ, in the championship family circle. Cook and McMaster credited the strong serving of teammates Tate Wright and Shawn Turley for helping them prepare for the doubles state tournament.
Cook and Wright aren’t done just yet. Their team is seeded No. 2 in the team tournament, and Thatcher is seeking to three-peat this season. In the D-III doubles final for girls, The Gregory School’s Carly Caylor and Brandi Swenson continued to play well and flash the chemistry that didn’t take them long to develop.
(The Gregory School's Carly Caylor and Brandi Swenson)
Caylor and Swenson teamed up at midseason and didn’t look back. They capped a 15-0 campaign with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over unseeded Hailey Greer and Brooklyn Angle of Thatcher.
Greer and Angle topped the No. 1 seed of A.J. Wakefield and Braylee Scarborough of Thatcher, 6-4, 7-6, in the state semifinals. Neha Alety of Rancho Solano Prep took home D-III singles championship honors with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Northland Prep’s Sofie Linskey.
In Division II boys doubles, Thunderbird’s Derek James and partner Scott Rower stuck to their script of starting off slow — they trailed 0-3 and 0-2 in the first two sets — but finishing with a flurry. James and Rower joined forces just three weeks ago, and on Saturday the No. 1-seeded team was crowned state champs, rallying for a 7-6, 6-4 win over the No. 2 seed of Michael Lee and Mason Lee of Catalina Foothills. Catalina Foothills’ Abby Watson and Halle Zadro almost let Game 2 slip away after leading 4-1 in the Divison II girl’s doubles state championship match against the No. 1 seed.
(Thunderbird's Derek James and Scott Rower)
But Watson and Zadro, the No. 2 seed, held on for a 6-2, 7-5 win over Notre Dame’s Alexandra Lehman and Alyssa Heid. One of the big school finals that ended before play stopped was the Division I girls tournament, which a freshman won.
No. 1 seed Josie Frazier swept Horizon’s Liza Isayev 6-0, 6-0 to cap a perfect season for Frazier. The freshman made quite an impression in her first season by not dropping a set this year.
“It’s exciting winning a championship, and it was a fun regular season,” Frazier said.
Here’s rundown of who else won Saturday and when the rest of the championship matches will be completed:
No. 1 Jesse Miritello def. No. 2 Cole Stofflet of Horizon 6-3, 6-3 in the Division I singles final for boys.
--The D-I boys doubles championship match between No. 1 Jeremy Auh/Cameron Krimball of Desert Mountain and No. 2 Stefan Koester/Tripp Dillon of Chaparral will resume this week.
--No. 1 Yash Parikh of Salpointe def. No. 2 Carlos Hassey of Shadow Ridge 7-5, 6-1.
--Florence’s Gabriel Stadelman was up 6-4, 0-1 against Fountain Hills’ David Rothwell in the D-III singles boys final when it was called. Play will resume on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Scottsdale Ranch Park.
--No. 2 Lindsey Pesquiera of Rincon def. No. 1 Alexa Cooke of Notre Dame 6-2, 6-3 in the D-II girls singles final.
--No. 1 Anya Lamoreaus/Madeline Lamoreaux of Mesa Mt. View def. No. 2 Rebecca Salaway/Grace Koester of Chaparral 6-2, 7-5 in the D-I doubles finals.