Moses Lake boys fall to Eisenhower in CBBN tennis slugfest

MOSES LAKE — He’ll worry about Jack Yount and the Wenatchee Panthers another day. But for the time being, Moses Lake senior Canon Gregoire settled into his match with Thomas Oplinger of Eisenhower in the first match of the Columbia Basin Big Nine schedule on Thursday afternoon at Moses Lake High School.

The Chiefs No. 1 singles player found his rhythm on the forehand side early, pounding away with consistency, mixing up power with the topspin and a nice change of pace with a slice. His backhand was less threatening, but the four-year varsity player was able to maneuver his way through a challenging second set to beat Oplinger 6-3, 6-3.

“Thomas is a really good player and he read that my backhand isn’t up to snuff right now. I struggled some in the second set,” Gregoire said. “I like to throw in a lot of slice stuff, but I’m working on power from that side.

“My service was OK today. I felt good on serve in the first set. I got behind in the second because of the inconsistency. But I got it back and finished strong.”

The Chiefs boys dropped a close one to the Cadets, 4-3. Tyler Wiseman defeated Javier Rodriguez 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in one of the most competitive matches of the day at No. 4 singles. Josh Banda and Kade Greenburg won in straight sets in the No. 1 doubles match, beating Giovanni Partida and Jorge Hernandez 6-4, 6-3.

“Canon has been our No. 1 (singles player) for the past four years and he should be competitive with Yount and a couple west side guys when it comes to state. With the rest of our singles, we’re going to move them around to see where we have the best chance to win,” Chiefs coach Rich Gregoire said. “Kade and Josh have solidified themselves at No. 1 doubles and we’ll do the same thing with a mix and match to see where the other teams can have success.”

The day was determined with a couple of slugfests. Wiseman won in three sets after falling behind with a 7-5 first set. Jed Young and Austin Hyer stood toe-to-toe with Jeffrey Brookes and Camden Wilson in the No. 2 doubles match.

It was one or the other through the first two sets, both teams winning a 6-1 set. But things heated up in the third where the Eisenhower pair eventually won 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in what proved to be the deciding match.

Cora Bruneel won her No. 1 singles match 6-3, 6-2 over Linda Huang, but the Moses Lake girls fell victim to a more experience Eisenhower team, 6-1 at McCosh Park.

“We have a lot of new girls this season, so they’re still learning” Gregoire said. “We hope to get a couple more that aren’t in the lineup today out.”

Moses Lake is on the road March 20 at Eastmont.

Eisenhower boys 4, Moses Lake 3

Singles: Canon Gregoire, ML, d. Thomas Oplinger, 6-3, 6-3; Isaac Rivera, E, d. Jordan Roth, 6-4, 6-3; Isaac Cordova, E, d. Mark Fedorchuck, 6-3, 7-6 (5-3); Tyler Wiseman, ML, Javier Rodriguez, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles: Josh Banda/Kade Greenburg, ML, d. Giovanni Partida/Jorge Hernandez, 6-4, 6-3; Jeffrey Brookes/Camden Wilson, E, d. Jed Young/Austin Hyer, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4; Brysen Parker/Jade Phillips, E, d. Chris Hetletvedt/Jacob Mardis, 6-1, 6-2

Eisenhower girls 6, Moses Lake 1

Singles: Cora Bruneel, ML, d. Linda Haung, 6-3, 6-2; Sara Gonzalez, E, d. Daniela Valdivia, 6-0, 6-0; Jayme Fisher, E, d. Sage Roylance, 6-4, 6-1; Lucia Cuevas-Ramos, E, d. Eliza Bowen, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles: Dayja Sanchez/Jardy Aragon-Ramirez, E, d. Alaynna Cole/Sara Mengist, 6-4, 6-4; Angela Gonzalez/Eyleen Hurtado, E, Kat Cooper/Allison Davis, 7-5, 6-1; VAlentina Aznar/Marinna Sanchez, E, d. Julia Pimentel/Natalie James, 6-0. 6-0