Faith Lutheran girls, Palo Verde boys advance to Class 4A state tennis tournaments

Jade Mayweather went 3-0 in singles Monday to help Faith Lutheran’s girls tennis team to a 13-5 win over Green Valley in the Class 4A state play-in match at Darling Tennis Center.

Faith Lutheran (16-4), which won the Division I-A state title in 2014 and last appeared in a state tournament in 2015, will face Sunrise Region champion Coronado (13-0) in a state semifinal at 8 a.m. Thursday at Darling Tennis Center. Sunset Region champion Bishop Gorman (15-1) will meet Northern Region champion Reno (13-0) in the other semifinal at 10:30 a.m.

The Crusaders dominated the opening round against Green Valley on Monday, dropping just eight games en route to a sweep of the six sets.

The doubles teams of Summer Stadtlander and Kelsie Seigel, and Courtney Martin and Elyse Dulaine both went 3-0 for Faith Lutheran.

Daria Shalina was 2-1 in singles for the Gators (10-4).

BOYS

Denim Richardson was 3-0 in singles, and Palo Verde’s boys swept the first two rounds of play on their way to a 16-2 win over Green Valley (10-4) in the boys play-in match at Darling Tennis Center.

Jack Kostrinsky and Axel Botticelli each went 2-0 for the defending state champion Panthers (14-3), who will face Sunrise Region champion Coronado in a state semifinal at 1 p.m. Thursday at Darling Tennis Center. Sunset Region champion Clark (17-0) will meet Northern Region champion Reno (14-0) in the other semifinal at 3:30 p.m.

The doubles teams of Jayden Atkin and Sam Soderborg, and Hayden Huckfeldt and Benjamin Waid both went 3-0, and Jack Hughes and Travis Clingman paired to go 2-0 in doubles for Palo Verde, which will make its ninth consecutive appearance in the state semifinals.