Chiefs record break through with win

PASCO — A break through is great regardless of where or how it is achieved in many instances.

After struggling to an 0-13 mark in 2009 the Moses Lake High School girls tennis team came out on top in their opening match of the new campaign with a 7-0 defeat of Chiawana on Saturday.

“Confidence is another thing for them and winning builds that aura,” Moses Lake coach Jon Wrigley said. “We beat them pretty soundly and they had some girls who could hit. You would see in singles the first set was closer and then we would mentally wear them down. In tennis you are out there by yourself and its nice to see them have that success to get in the heads of their opponents and make them crack.”

In singles play, the Chiefs were led by No. 1 Rachel Korth in a 6-4, 6-0 win, while Rachel Hoffstetter took a victory at No. 2 of the identical score.

Melissa Calder registered a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 3 and Audrey Ramsden pulled out a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 4

The doubles teams also recorded convincing sweeps as No. 1 Iris Banks and Micaiah Stones won 6-0, 6-0, the No. 2 duo of Courtney Kunjara and Emily Roth win 6-1, 6-3, and No.3 players Kelli Clark and Erin Frey cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win.

“Our goal with the girls this year is unity because it can go a long way,” Wrigley said. “They were really excited about each others’ matches. They were definitely invested in the teams’ success.”

Against Pasco in the second dual of the day, the Chiefs couldn’t keep their momentum as they fell 5-2 to the Bulldogs.

Wins were recorded by Hoffstetter (6-4, 6-1) and Calder (6-3, 6-0).

“It was exactly like the first matches,” Wrigley said. “They just continued to make shots and make the other girl wear down.”

The doubles lineup was identical at the top two spots while Amanda Hart and Hayley Nye competed at No. 3, dropping a tough 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) decision.

“We’ve already won more this year then last year,” Wrigley said. “We were close with a solid Pasco team and so it tells me the girls are heading in the right direction.”

Othello drops narrow contest

OTHELLO — Strong doubles play wasn’t enough for the Othello Lady Huskies who dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Ellensburg on Thursday.

Othello was led by the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams while they were swept in singles and dropped a three-set decision at No. 1 doubles after holding a 1-0 match lead.

Emma Hymas and Jocelyn Cantu took a 6-7 (8-10), 6-2, 7-5 come-from-behind win at No. 2 doubles and Petra Delgado and Ashley Almaguer blew past Ellensburg at No. 3 doubles, 6-1, 6-1.

“The girls showed good things,” Othello coach Steve Parris said. “The highlight of the matches was the three set marathon of Emma and Jocelyn’s.  They lost a heart break first set tie breaker, took the second set, then were down 1-5 but were able to win six games in a row and win 7-5.  They didn’t give up and fought back one game at a time.”

Ephrata pulls out win at Quincy

QUINCY — A veteran Ephrata lineup took advantage of Quincy’s inexperience en route to a 4-1 win over their rivals on Saturday.

Ephrata Lady Tiger Chloe Schmidt took a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles over Quincy’s Ciara Rasmussen.

Quincy’s only win on the day came at No. 2 singles where Tiffany Yeates handled Ephrata’s Shealyn Beierman 6-2, 6-2.

The Tigers clinched the win in doubles play as they swept all three matches.

Ephrata’s No. 1 doubles team of Sara Ratigan and Anna Martel defeated Claudia Hernandez and Blanca Corona 7-5, 6-1, while the No. 2 team of Giang Bui and Delci Kooistra defeated Lily Blancas and Olivia Arizmendi 6-2, 6-2.

At No. 3 doubles, Ephrata’s Courtney Bergman and Allison Pheasant routed Patty Romero and Ayla Medina 6-0, 6-0 to secure the Tigers’ win.