Tigers boys tennis slips past Othello

OTHELLO — Ephrata travelled to Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) rivals Othello on Saturday and came away with a crucial 3-2 win.

Ephrata’s victory was keyed by their sweep in singles as their No. 1 Tyler Van Heusden held on to beat David Charles 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) and Thomas Pheasant won 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 over Alec Montemayor.

“David lost a heartbreak of a set,” Othello coach Robert Pruneda said. “He was down in the first set and was able to apply some changes in his game to go up early in the second but was unable to hold the lead and win the second set.  I liked the way he didn’t give up.  He was totally drenched from that match. One thing is to lose playing tight but David left it all on the court.  If you lose a match the way he lost, I’m okay with that.”

The Huskies took the doubles tally 2-1, behind wins from the No. 2 team Parker Davis and Taylor Vigneri 7-5, 6-3 over Chris Ortega and Scott Hornsby, while Marcus Garza and Wesley Cogswell recorded a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Cgrustaub Nickolls and Michael Busnar at No. 3.

Ephrata’s No. 1 doubles team of Connor and Hunter Sears defeated Max Harris and Ben Taft 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to clinch the Tigers’ victory.

Granger boys 3, Royal 2

GRANGER — A lack of doubles teams doomed Royal to defeat as they fell 3-2 at Granger on Saturday.

Royal’s No. 1 singles player Candelario Peraza won 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), while his teammate, Rumaldo Carrasco fell at No. 2, 6-0, 6-0.

The Knight’s No. 1 doubles team of Chase Hebron and Noah Grant won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, to give Royal a 2-1 lead but the squad had forfeits at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, giving Granger the win.

Othello Girls 4, Ephrata 1

OTHELLO — A dominating doubles performance allowed Othello to cruise to a 4-1 CWAC win over Ephrata on Saturday.

Jody Walker and Kayla Spor defeated Sara Ratigan an Anna Martell 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1, Emily Morgan and Jocelyn Cantu defeated Diang Bui and Delci Koorstra 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 at No. 2, and the No. 3 team of Yanita Cantu and Amerlia Roylance defeated Courtney Bergmen and Allison Phesant, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).

The two teams split their singles matches at Ephrata No. 1 Chloe Schmidt knocked off Ashleigh Synder 6-2, 6-1, while Othello’s No. 2 Ashley Almaguer won 7-5, 6-2 over Sheulyn Beierman.

Granger girls 4, Royal 1

GRANGER — Breahna Weissen recorded Royal’s only win, at No. 1 singles, as the Lady Knights fell 4-1 at Granger in their season opener.

Weissen defeated Brenda Velasco 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 to give Royal (0-1) their sole match point from the dual.