Jacks sweep Tigers on Ephrata courts

EPHRATA — The Quincy Jacks boys and girls tennis teams each earned a victory on the road Thursday over the Ephrata Tigers. The Boys won 5-0 while the girls won 3-2, earning their first win of the season.  

“It felt good for them,” Girls Head Coach Joahan Fregoso said. “They were very excited, especially against their rivals. We came out on worked hard and talked to them about how we got to keep this momentum within the next couple of weeks.” 

Their win came in a competitive matchup between the two rivals, where the Jacks were successful in trying out some new lineups, according to Fregoso. 

“So far, it's been pretty good with this new lineup; they've been pretty strong coming out of the beginning. A lot of communicating within the court, which helps a lot, but overall, they've been doing a lot better since the beginning of the season,” Fregoso said.  

While it was a shutout win, the Tigers made the Jacks earn all five match wins. Three of their five matches at one point were split sets, setting up tight finishes throughout the afternoon. However, the Jacks were ultimately able to pull it out and seal the road win.  

For the Jacks, boys Head Coach Rollie Ronish said it provided his players a valuable experience by playing in longer matches.  

“They were really long matches, and it was really close. So it was good to see them all persevere and win,” Ronish said. “It felt good to see success, because a lot of our guys are kind of new still, especially on our second and third doubles, (they) are pretty fresh players, so to see them win in competitive matches was nice.” 

Ephrata Tigers Boys Head Coach Greg Becker was proud of his players for their efforts, despite the loss.  

“Guys fought hard,” Becker said. “We need to work on that mental toughness of not shutting down, not getting behind, and giving up and giving in. That's something that comes with more maturity and I think we're going to grow.” 

The Tigers' last season rostered an experienced team that went 15-2 in the regular season. This year, a lot of those players have graduated, and now the Tigers are a much younger team, according to Becker.  

“We were hot last year,” he said. “We filled a number of positions with freshmen. So they're seeing their first tennis action. We've got some real young talent. A real positive is in terms of for the next two to three or four years or two or three years, we've got some talent to work on and to teach and coach.”  

The Tigers boys and girls traveled to play Selah Saturday; however, results were not available at the time of press. Their next match is March 31 at the Othello Huskies at 4 p.m. 

The Jacks hosted the Huskies Saturday, and the results for that match were also not available at the time of press. Their next home match is set for April 2 at 4 p.m. against East Valley.  

    The Tigers’ Mitch Morford prepares to take his next serve against the Quincy Jacks Thursday.
  

    The Jacks’ Luis Gutierrez, in blue, and Francisco Sandoval, behind in gray, eye the ball as it’s served over the net during their match against Ephrata Thursday.
  

    A Tigers player fires off a serve against Quincy Thursday.