Last week being spring break didn’t slow down the high school tennis team as both the boys and girls went on to scratch two more matches off their spring schedule.

The girls won matches against San Tan Foothills and Bourgade Catholic while the boys had a split performance, losing to Bradshaw Mountain and besting Bourgade.

The teams played Estrealla Foothills yesterday afternoon, March 18, and will take on Miami High School next Tuesday, March 25. That match will be on the road for both squads and is set to begin at 3 p.m.

San Tan

Play began last week for the local ladies in a home showdown versus the squad from San Tan Foothills on Tuesday, March 11.

San Tan is only beginning its program this year and, therefore, they only managed to bring five athletes to the court.

The Lady Falcons won all of their singles matches 6-0, 6-0, with victories coming from Jenny Fisher, Haley Braun, Jena Serrano, Lauren Nazarro, Megan Coveney and Taylor James.

The doubles pairings of Taylor James/Dagny Paulson and Charlotte Tornee/Luisa Pinter also both won their matches 8-0.

With the match already won through singles competition, coach Jean Serrano said she saw an opportunity to field some of her additional athletes in the doubles competition, adding that they did very well, winning their matches handily.

Bradshaw

That same day, the boys tennis team traveled to Bradshaw Mountain High School to play what Coach Larry Schmit described as a “very tough match at a mile high elevation near Prescott.”

The wind was another huge factor, affecting the direction of the ball and, eventually, the boys lost 8-1.

Jacob Strayer was the Falcons’ sole singles winner at 6-3, 6-1, his first victory for the season. Other singles competitors were Tim Schlum, Matt Siewert, Reid Sanchez, Dillon Nash and Ethan Green.

The doubles teams of Schlum/Siewert and Sanchez/Nash also suffered defeats at 8-4 and 8-3, respectively, with Green/Strayer falling behind by a close 8-5.

“The boys fought throughout doubles even though the match was already lost,” Schmit explained.

“They struggled with the higher elevation and the wind and cold that the Bradshaw Mountain boys were quite used to. Although the team was outplayed, they gained valuable experience to be used in their own division, as Bradshaw is D II.”

Bourgade

On Thursday, March 13, the Falcons traveled to Paseo Tennis Courts to compete against Bourgade Catholic.

“This was going to be a very interesting match, as we were short players due to spring break and, as the week progressed, we kept losing players to sickness and injuries,” Serrano said.

“The girls’ team only had two starters and the boys’ team only had four starters, so we were relying heavily on the depth of our bench.”

Serrano said this served as a big eye opener for the coaching tandem, as the match showed how far the team has come in just four weeks, bringing former non-players up to the varsity level already.

The event featured Pro-10 singles matches due to daylight restriction and, in the end, the girls and boys both earned a victory, besting Bourgade Catholic 6-3 and 5-4 respectively.

Winning matches in singles for the ladies were Haley Braun, Jena Serrano, Rachel Strayer and Dagny Paulson. Losses went to Taylor James and Charlotte Tornee.

“Taylor, Charlotte, Rachel and Dagny all played this match as their very first singles match on varsity,” Serrano explained.

“Coach Schmit and I were impressed how well they played right to the end, especially with Rachel and Dagney earning wins that were needed.”

In doubles play, all three Falcon pairings found a win, including Braun/Serrano, James/Paulson and Tornee/Luisa Pinter.

The boys earned a slightly more narrow victory, with singles wins going to Tim Schlum, Matt Siewert, Reid Sanchez and Ethan Green. David Strayer and Roland Henta suffered a defeat.

“This was also David and Roland’s first singles match and first time being doubles partners together,” Schmit said.

“They both played well, which was shown in their score and taking three games in doubles matches.”

In doubles play, Schlum/Seiwert found a win with Strayer/Hentz and Sanchez/Green suffering a defeat.

“This was an extremely exhilarating match for both coaches to watch, as we got to see how well our players were learning the game and how competitive our entire team is,” Serrano added.

“We would like to thank our alumni tennis players, Kaitlyn Abramczyk and Katie Paulson, and parents who came to cheer our team on. What a win.”