3A TENNIS: The Meadows boys, girls sweep state titles in Reno

The Meadows’ boys tennis team didn’t get the usual results from its singles play Friday, as the Mustangs combined to go 2-7 in the three rounds against Boulder City in the Class 3A state final at Reno Tennis Center.

But they certainly got the most important singles win.

Daniel Pereira — the team’s No. 3 singles player — upset Boulder City’s Breton Erlanger 6-1 in the second round to break a tie, remove a potential tiebreaker and help the Mustangs capture their first state title with a 10-8 win over the Eagles.

“He played the best tennis of his life,” The Meadows coach Frideric Prandecki said. “Smart, great strategy of bringing the guy into the net. It was magical. He was focused. This was his moment. He was ready. He knew it was his time. He believed he could beat that kid. Like a tiger. He came out strong.”

Pereira finished just 1-2 on the day, as did standout teammate Nate van der Post for The Meadows (18-1). But Pereira gave his best when it counted, and the team’s doubles play more than made up for it, winning eight of the nine possible points.

“Believe it or not, I’ve been telling the kids it was going to come down to doubles,” Prandecki said. “So the kids have been staying extra and they really came through.”

Pereira, who had just lost 6-0 against Boulder City’s Andre Pappas in the first round, bounced back to give The Meadows what turned out to be the match’s most important point. Had Pereira lost and the other scores remained the same, both teams would’ve finished with 9 points and gone to a tiebreaker.

“We didn’t expect Daniel to beat that kid 6-1,” Prandecki said. “So that was a huge thing.”

The Mustangs, fortunately, didn’t have to play a fourth round. The teams of Edward Rastgoo and Justin Finseth, and Ahmed Nadeem-Tariq and Peyton Sachs each finished 3-0.

Prandecki credits Rastgoo — a four-year varsity player — for helping the team with his play and leadership.

“Edward has been the pillar of our team,” Prandecki said. “He’s a captain and he came out and led the boys. Without him, we wouldn’t have won that today. All of the boys were focused, too. They came out and were hungry.”

Brian Capp and Ryan Chang also went 2-1 in doubles for The Meadows, which finished as the state runner-up the past two seasons before winning Friday.

“We’ve been open for 30 years and have never gotten one so it’s amazing,” Prandecki said. “It was our goal. Two second-place finishes in a row definitely is tough, so it’s magical to see this happen.”

Pappas paced Boulder City by going 3-0 in singles.

Erlanger, who played out of the No. 1 singles position, was 2-1.

Preston Jorgensen was also 2-1 in singles for the Eagles (13-2).

GIRLS

New stage, same result.

Much like it has done all season, The Meadows was able to use a full lineup Friday en route to dominating its tennis match.

Using several substitutions, the Mustangs won their second consecutive state championship with a 16-2 victory over Desert Pines in the Class 3A state final at Reno Tennis Center.

It was their fourth state title in five years.

“It’s great to have kids for four years and see them all play in the state tournament,” Prandecki said. “We have seven seniors and they all got to play. We also had young girls who stepped up and played amazing. Overall, it was great to see. I’m just proud of them.”

Anuja Daulat and Abbigail Klein each went 3-0 in singles to pace The Meadows (17-2), which dropped two points in the final round to miss out on the sweep.

Desert Pines’ Shelly Alvarado and Yazaret Arredondo defeated Sophie Isaacs and Grace Nemec 6-4 in a doubles match, and teammate Veronica Palacios topped Shaina Indyg 6-2 in singles play to help the Jaguars (17-6).

For The Meadows, Daulat won all three of her singles matches, 6-0.

“She was focused,” Prandecki said. “She went out there and wanted to get the state title, especially after having a bad experience two years ago. All the girls played well today.”

Jessica Lelah and Caroline Liu, and Peyton Barcel and Sara Blenkiron each went 2-0 in doubles, and Olivia Waysack was 2-0 in singles for the Mustangs, who used six doubles combinations in the match.

Isaacs and Nemec finished 1-1 in doubles, and the teams of Jenny Yao and Hillary Giang, Natalie Bahrami and Allison Stone, and Erica Michaelian and Elena Paradiso each went 1-0 in doubles for The Meadows.