Coronado, Bonanza advance to boys team final

Bonanza and Coronado’s boys tennis teams have already played against each other once this season.

When they meet Friday morning at Carson High School, it’ll have far more meaning.

The Bengals and Cougars both won a semifinal match Thursday to set up a showdown for Class 4A state title. Coronado downed Reno 11-7 in one semifinal. Bonanza throttled Bishop Manogue 16-2 in the other.

“It’s going to be a good match,” Coronado coach Luther Bohanan said. “Either way, I just hope the kids play well.”

Bonanza beat Coronado, 15-3 on Sept. 2 at Bonanza, but the Cougars were without two of their top players.

Both teams were at full strength Thursday.

“We’re playing like a team,” Bonanza coach Erik Davis said. “We’re together. We’re united. We feel like we can put anybody in any position now.”

Brenden Aguilar and Tommy Lettero each went 3-0 in singles for the Bengals.

Andrew Whiting and John Grady were 3-0 in doubles. Nate Tanner won three doubles matches, two when paired with Aashish Daulat and one with Scott Davis.

Bonanza, which lost to Palo Verde in last year’s state final, has won four of the last seven state titles and returned the bulk of last year’s team.

“We just have so much experience,” Erik Davis said. “A lot of these kids have match experience and have tournament experience, but there’s nothing like having high school tennis experience. It’s a whole different feel.”

In the morning match, Colton Pate and Marc Feldman, who spent much of the season as Coronado’s top two singles players, made an unbeatable doubles team, finishing 3-0.

Reno’s Jeff Mullen, a 6-foot-9-inch powerhouse, was 3-0 in singles.

“I knew Mullen was really good. I knew he’d win three no matter what,” Bohanan said. “Colton and Marc are both good players. It didn’t take a lot for them to get in sync with each other. They both have good serves and good volleys. I wasn’t worried about them.”

Michael Seitz and Matthew Dees also went 2-0 in doubles for Coronado, which led 9-3 after two rounds.

“We did very well in doubles,” Bohanan said. “My main kids who I thought would win, won. The kids I counted on playing well came through.”

Brian Foley was 2-1 in singles for Coronado.