SUNRISE TENNIS: Olmos, Kachen capture key sets as Patriots win girls title
Marisa Olmos and Sheen Kachen won only one set apiece for Liberty's girls tennis team Friday.
They couldn't have been more important.
Olmos battled a stomach ailment but won her first set, and Kachen — a third-round substitute — secured the team's 10th point as the Patriots won the Sunrise Region title with an 11-7 victory over Green Valley at Darling Tennis Center.
"It's pretty amazing," said Liberty coach Kih Gourrier, whose team won its first region title since 2009. "These last two days of going into matches against teams that probably have better overall teams than us and coming in and beating Coronado and Green Valley to win region, these girls just worked hard."
Olmos gutted through a 6-1 win in the first set to help Liberty take a 4-2 first-round lead.
"Marisa is a softball girl who just came out with an 'I'm a winner' attitude," Gourrier said. "She has worked her butt off the last couple of years and has just been great for us."
The Patriots (11-1) maintained a 7-5 lead after two rounds, and Gourrier inserted Kachen in the third round. Liberty won two doubles sets before Kachen won her set, 6-4, to give the Patriots the clinching point.
"I wanted to make sure I got the right matchup for her at the right time," Gourrier said.
Gourrier set up his lineup to put his top two players — twins Parker and Payton Burk — on separate doubles teams. Parker Burk teamed with Jada Whited to go 3-0, and Payton Burk and Katerina Singh went 3-0 in doubles.
"I knew they had a strong doubles team, so I really wasn't sure what I was going to get against that team, but I knew I couldn't get six points in singles against their Nos. 1 and 2," Gourrier said. "That was the only chance we had."
Megan Quandt and Breanna Alvarez also were 3-0 in doubles for Liberty, which will compete in the Division I state semifinals on Oct. 22.
Dasha Shalina and Racquel Holder each went 3-0 in singles for Green Valley (12-1), which will try to earn a berth at state via a play-in match on Oct. 20.
BOYS
Luther Bohanan is almost out of fingers to hold Sunrise Region championship rings.
The veteran Coronado coach rode the strength of his singles players to his 10th straight and the Cougars' 11th consecutive region title Friday with an 11-7 victory over Green Valley.
Seniors Ryland McDermott and Sam Grant each went 3-0 in singles for Coronado (11-2) with Grant's third-round win — against Green Valley No. 1 singles player Mackay Boman — earning the team's 10th point.
"That's why I wanted to coach these guys again this year," said Bohanan, who hinted at retirement after last season. "They just come to play. I know Boman is a great singles player, and it's no disgrace to lose to him. Sam lost to him at Green Valley, but for him to come back and win against him on a big stage is huge.
"To get six points with those two guys is huge. It's a luxury that most teams don't have."
Kyle Harris went 2-1 in singles, losing only to Boman, and lightened the load on the Cougars' doubles teams.
"That's eight points right there," said Bohanan, whose team bounced back from early-season losses to Foothill and Green Valley when McDermott and Grant did not play.
Coronado won the state title in 2012 and 2013 and was the runner-up last year. The Cougars will play in the state semifinals on Oct. 22.
"We knew that the championship still had to come through us," Bohanan said. "When we have all of our kids here, we're hard to beat."
Martin Rizov and Ethan Quandt went 2-1 in doubles for Coronado.
John John and Jack Johnson were 3-0 in doubles, and Ryan Elezera and Brandon Farber were 2-1 in doubles for Green Valley (11-2), which will try to earn a berth to state via a play-in match on Oct. 20.
FOR SIDEBAR
Summaries:
BOYS
Coronado 11, Green Valley 7
https://nevadapreps.com/scoreboard?site=default&tpl=Boxscore&ID=27314&Sport=37&TeamID=&SearchType=Teams
GIRLS
Liberty 11, Green Valley 7
https://nevadapreps.com/scoreboard?site=default&tpl=Boxscore&ID=27117&Sport=38&TeamID=&SearchType=Teams
