Ephrata Tigers tennis team surged into a tie for second place

OTHELLO - Behind a strong singles advantage, the Ephrata Tigers tennis team surged into a tie for second place in the Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) with their Othello Huskies counterparts in Saturday's 3-2 win.

The Lady Huskies evened the score with a 3-1 win over the Lady Tigers as Othello moved to 6-3 on the season while the Ephrata girls dropped to 3-6.

Michael Bosnar won 6-1, 6-0 over Andrew Logan at No. 1 singles, while Tiger Thomas Pheasant won 6-2, 6-1 over Juan Guitierrez.

Othello's usually dominant doubles play did have the edge in winning two out of the tree matches but they couldn't pull off the needed sweep for team victory.

No. 1 doubles team, Connor Sears and Hunter Sears, won 6-1, 6-4 over Marcus Garza and Wesley Cogswell to clinch Ephrata's win.

Winning at No. 2 doubles for Othello was Ben Taff and Alec Montemayor, 6-1, 6-1 over Mauricio Contreras and Michael McDonnell, while the No. 3 Othello teams of Austin Roylance and Gabe Harris held on for a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jordan Brzezny and Calvin Callahan.

"We are really happy with the level of play our boys singles have been displaying on the court," Ephrata head coach Deanna Brown said. "We have switched up the line-up quite a bit this season and all the boys have adapted to their positions, often on short notice.  We have really noticed that Hunter and Connor are stepping up the intensity of their play as the district tournament approaches.  Today was a good win for them as they handed the Othello pair their first loss of the season."

On the girls side, Ephrata's sole win came at No. 3 doubles, as Aubrey Denley and Emily Sween won 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 over Jennifer Murillo and Brooke Roylance.

"It was great to see Aubrey and Emily really fight to take the lone win at the third doubles position," Brown said.

The No. 2 doubles match was rained out but the Othello No. 1 team of Yanitta Cantu and Amelia Roylance rolled 6-0, 6-0 over Kim Beck and Allison Pheasant.

In singles, Othello's Ashley Almaguer beat Naomi Kooistra, 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1, while in the next flight, Emma Hymus earned a 6-3, 6-4 win over Giang Bui, for the Lady Huskies.