Moses Lake boys tennis team handles Davis 7-0

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake boys swept all four singles matches in straight sets as well as all three doubles matches to put away Davis in Columbia Basin Big Nine tennis action Thursday afternoon, while the girls fell to 2-6 on the year with a 5-2 loss.

Patience is not a big part of Canon Gregoire’s game, but the Chiefs No. 1 singles player made the necessary adjustments to hold off Zach Bethel in a second set tiebreaker for a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory. Bethel’s game is a steady diet of slice and ball movement. Gregoire likes to end points quickly, but as the points became more drawn out in the second set he had to manage his game with a better strategy. “I’d played (Bethel) before.

He doesn’t go for anything big, usually. He’s content to stay out there for as long as it takes to get the point,” Gregoire said. “I had a lot of places where I gave up dumb points, but I tend to play pretty situational. In the second set, I really had to stay patient because he doesn’t make unforced errors.” Each player had a break in the second set and it eventually went to a tie-break, where Gregoire took the early lead. But Bethel stayed the course before falling. “It wasn’t one of my best matches mentally, but I stayed with it,” Gregoire said.

At No. 2 singles, David Hernandez cruised through the first set of his match with Ben Urlacher, 6-1. But he found himself in a fight in the second set, winning 7-5 to close out the straight-set match.

“The second set I tried more offensive shots and tried to finish with balls in the corners,” Hernandez said. “My game is more of a neutral style, a little more patient. I move it side to side. I only rip it when coach wants me to. I hadn’t seen this guy before, so I had to make some adjustments as we went along.”

Brian Nguyen defeated Asael Diaz 6-0, 6-2 and Trent Vance handled Jason Borges 6-0, 6-1 to round off the sweep in singles for the Chiefs (3-4, 3-3 Big 9). Vaughn Koreis and Garrett Vance won one of the most contested matches of the day, defeating Anthony Maldonado and Chandler Thomas 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.

The Moses Lake girls (2-6, 1-6 Big 9) picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Elle Sanislo and Sara Kersey defeated Joana Ortiz and Jackie Flores 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 2 match. Shamra Roylance and Sidney Robinson handled Maryam Sanchez and Natalie Padilla in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.