DIVISION I BOYS: Coronado, Palo Verde advance to all-South final

RENO — Southern Nevada schools dominated the Division I state boys tennis tournament on Thursday at Caughlin Athletic Club, setting up a showdown between the Sunrise Region and Sunset Region champs.

Sunrise champ Coronado defeated the North’s No. 1 seed Reno 11-7, and Sunset champ Palo Verde routed Bishop Manogue, 18-0.

The Panthers dominated in every aspect, winning 17 of 18 sets by scores of 6-3 or better, including six 6-0 sets.

Singles players provided the spark for the Panthers, as Trevor Johnson, Ozzy Abraham and Rhett Bossung each went 3-0.

“Their performance was definitely what we needed to get things started, because we feed off the singles guys,” Palo Verde coach Zach Brandt said. “They always seem to finish so quickly so when they come off with everyone knowing they’ve won, our doubles guys feel a little less pressure, and it allows them to be more comfortable.”

Palo Verde’s only doubles team that stayed together for three sets was Jordan Baduria and Bruno Sunago, who won 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.

The teams of Wesley Mann and Conor Safbom, and Zack Surmacz and Bailey Swainston each went 2-0.

Doubles play was less dependable for Coronado, which earned eight of its 11 total points in singles play.

Sam Cohen shined in singles, winning his three sets 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 for the Cougars.

“Doing well in the semis helps me a lot in particular, because I have talent, but a lot of my game is mental so this just helps me get in my groove,” Cohen said. “I’m going to need that tomorrow, because I know Palo is going to play hard.”

The matchup of the area’s region champs will take place at 9 a.m. today.

“Now we can relax and just have fun,” Coronado coach Luther Bohanan said. “We got to the final, which was our goal, so there’s no pressure, and we can just go out there to play our game, have fun and see what happens.”