Othello tennis bests Quincy

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies tennis squad was able to win overall against the Quincy Jacks on Saturday morning, with the girls going 3-2 and the boys 4-1. 

“My girls right now, they’re all really strong, so they all play well,” said Huskies girls’ coach Priscilla Tovar. “Tennis is such a head game, so (they’re) keeping a positive attitude and just going out there and finishing.” 

The girls were able to win all three of their doubles matches, going 6-1, 6-3 in the first one and 6-0, 6-2 in the second. Their third doubles match was getting tighter, with the results being 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. The Huskies girls team is also currently undefeated for the season. 

“Our doubles movement is great,” said Priscilla Tovar. “They had great net play and (were) sticking to the basics, making sure they’re eliminating errors.” 

Priscilla Tovar said the first doubles team, Launa Mallotte and Rylan Jones, did exceptionally well in Saturday’s match and have been impressive since they joined the team. 

“I’m just really proud of them; they went from third doubles to first doubles and they’ve just been killing it,” she said. “This season, they’ve been really strong.” 

The boys' side experienced similar success on the day, losing only their first singles match and going undefeated in doubles. Their second singles were close, with the final score being 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, with the first doubles being 6-0, 6-2, the second was 7-5, 6-4 and the third being 6-0, 6-0. 

Huskies boys coach Caleb Tovar said their success came from the boys’ ability to read the court and place themselves accordingly when the time came in the match. 

“They did what was asked, what we’ve been practicing, and it showed in the match,” said Caleb Tovar. 

Caleb Tovar said that last year, a lot of their players graduated and even more are going to graduate this year, so they’re spending time working on the other guys and building to the future. 

“Traditionally, we don’t really condition a whole lot in tennis and we’ve kind of been implementing at least a day each week,” said Caleb Tovar. “We’re going to amp that up and keep on that track just because I think it does them good.” 

The Huskies girls' side will work on similar improvements, continuing to hone their skills on their understanding of the game and working on doubles movement. The big thing for the girls will be to make sure that they are working on their mental game, said Priscilla Tovar. 

“I have a really strong girls team, so I’m just excited to watch them grow,” said Priscilla Tovar. 

Othello Boys 

Miguel Vilchis 

Jose Torres 

Riley Rodriguez 

James Risenmay 

Jace Ritchie 

Ernesto Duran 

Camilo Mendez 

Armani Zuniga 

Othello Girls 

Olivia Harris 

Elizabeth Maldonado 

Launa Mallotte 

Rylan Jones 

Faith Risenmay 

Shaylee Freeman 

Grace Roylance 

Hazel Roylance 

Quincy Boys 

Jacob Bishop 

Luis Gutierrez 

Saidt Alvarez 

Manuel Torres 

Ian Shin 

Alejandro Barajas 

Quinten Martinez 

Michael Pascual 

Quincy Girls 

Caia Williams 

Vanessa Quintero 

Caroline Tafolla 

Melanie Alcaraz 

Kimberly Solano 

Maria Ortiz 

Diana Aguilar 

Kara Townsend 

    Caia Williams, Quincy, keeps the ball in play against Othello’s Olivia Harris.
  

    Jacob Bishop, Quincy, volleys the return during his match in Othello.
  

    Othello’s Miguel Vilchis reaches for the ball during his match.