DIVISION I TENNIS: Palo Verde girls end state title drought

RENO – Considering how easily it came, it’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Palo Verde won a girls state tennis championship.

But after disappointing losses to Bishop Gorman in 2011 and 2013, the Panthers finally broke through and ended their drought Friday morning.

Palo Verde, which won every match this season by at least 10 points, defeated Douglas 16-2 in Friday’s Division I state final at the Caughlin Athletic Club.

“It means everything to us,” Palo Verde coach Jane Centrella said. “This was our goal, and we obtained it.”

Palo Verde (16-0) was so dominant through the first two rounds, leading 12-0, that one Douglas doubles team left the court celebrating that they had taken a game to deuce. Eight of Palo Verde’s 12 wins in the first two rounds were by 6-0 scores, and none by less than 6-2.

“We definitely showed how focused we were,” Palo Verde’s Chloe Henderson said. “In the second round we’d already won. It was tears.”

In singles, Henderson and Annie Walker each went 3-0, as did the doubles team of Sophie Henderson and Abby Lewis.

Centrella said many of the Palo Verde players have been developing their games for years in tournament play, and her job was to turn a group of talented individuals into a team. Thirteen Palo Verde players saw action in the state tournament, and 22 played during the season.

“They all bought into it right away, and I’m very proud and impressed how they pulled together as a tennis team, and they stayed focused and enjoyed the game throughout the entire year,” Centrella said.

Chloe Henderson said she was surprised by the margin of victory in their two state matches, but she described her team as relentless.

“It was finally time to collect the victory after 10 years,” Henderson said. “Especially after losing to Gorman twice and having some tough losses.”

BOYS

Conor Safbom knew that for Palo Verde to end a run of three straight state tournament appearances without a title, the Panthers’ doubles teams would have to play a big part.

But by that, he figured maybe scoring six points.

Instead, Palo Verde swept the nine doubles sets on their way to an 11-6 win over Coronado, which beat the Panthers in each of the last two title matches.

“We had discussed strategy and figured doubles had to be our workhorse,” Safbom said. “But I thought maybe go 6-3, so to contribute that much, the whole team should be so proud.”

Safbom teamed with Brandon Sulzberg to win their first two sets by 6-0 scores.

Teijiro Nishimura and Kota Cook provided a key turning point by winning a tiebreaker in the first round and allowing the Panthers (16-0) to take a 4-2 lead.

In the second round, Danny Patho won another tiebreaker over Coronado’s Connor Vermeys despite an injured shoulder.

“That kind of reminded me of what happened last year, when we won all the tiebreakers,” Coronado coach Luther Bohanan said.

Patho said he injured his shoulder a week ago and wasn’t able to serve well or hit his backhand.

“That was the gutsiest performance I’ve seen in eight years by a player for his team,” Palo Verde assistant coach Steven Mann said.

Ryland McDermott was 3-0, and Sam Grant 2-0 in singles to lead Coronado (15-1). Verymeys went 2-1.

Palo Verde coach Zach Brandt and Mann said the team realized three weeks ago that if it was going to win a state title, it had to be on the back of its doubles teams, so they focused on a strong service game and hard crosscourt shots.

“We worked on it for three weeks, and it all came together here,” Mann said.

Bohanan said he’d hoped Coronado’s advantage in singles would be enough.

“I thought if we could get seven or eight points in singles, then we’d just need three or four in doubles, but that didn’t work out,” he said. “They were just better in doubles. Take your hat off to them, they’re a great team.”

Along with the teams of Safbom and Sulzberg, and Nishimura and Cook, Davis Waid and Sam Soderborg also went 3-0 for the Panthers.

Brandt said he asked his four captains, who all played in the last two losses to Coronado, to lead the team

“I’ve been in every single defeat, which makes this so sweet,” Safbom said. “And if we’re going to do it, we wanted it to be Coronado, or else it wouldn’t seem the same.”