GIRLS TENNIS: Panthers roll into Division I final
RENO — Dominance has been a matter of routine this season for the Palo Verde girls tennis team.
That made Thursday just another day at the office for the Panthers, which is just the way coach Jane Centrella wants it.
Palo Verde dispatched Reno, 17-1 in the semifinals of the Division I state tournament at the Caughlin Athletic Club.
The Panthers (15-0), who finished second at last year’s state tournament, will face Douglas for the title at 9 a.m. Friday. Douglas defeated Coronado, 10-8 in the other semifinal match.
“It was definitely our goal because we’ve been so close for so long,” Centrella said of the possibility of winning a state title. “But I told them to just work hard, never take anything for granted, stay focused and fight for every single point.”
The Panthers swept the first two rounds to lead 12-0 before Centrella subbed a couple of players out to rest them and to give some less-experienced players a taste of the state tournament.
“We’re deep, so it’s nice,” Centrella said. “And they won, so it’s very exciting to see younger players win.”
Chloe Henderson in singles and the doubles team of Michaela Jackson and Alissa Till were the only Panthers to play all three rounds, going 3-0.
Henderson said the team is excited to be in the final, especially against a team the Panthers have never faced before.
“It’s really fun, and it’s nice to have the boys team go through the journey with us,” Henderson said.
Coronado narrowly missed out on a chance to challenge Palo Verde.
In the second round, the Douglas doubles team of Ingrid Carlson and Tara Contrill came back from a 5-1 deficit to beat Camille Solla and Samantha Ross, 7-5.
“That was the deal-breaker right there,” Coronado coach Luther Bohanan said. “That would have made it 7-5, and instead it was 6-6 (after two rounds), and then it was anybody’s match and we had to win four points out of six.”
Samantha Smith was 3-0 for Coronado, and Lauren Coons went 2-1, as did the doubles team of Nikoletta Nikoloff and Allie Doherty, but the Cougars won only one other match.
“We came up short, but we got here and everyone else is still home,” Bohanan said. “Hopefully we’ll gain some experience and come back next year.”
DIVISION I-A GIRLS
Faith Lutheran and The Meadows will vie for the girls team title at 9 a.m. Friday after both won handily Thursday at Reno Tennis Center.
Talia Graf and Kristina Berg went 3-0 in doubles to help the Crusaders down Churchill County, 15-3.
Madison Foley, Carolyn DiPasquale and Kathleen Wright each went 2-0 in singles for Faith Lutheran (16-1). The doubles teams of Dina Ciulla and Vanessa Lee, and Jayden Mattson and Michelle Reiss both went 2-0 for the Crusaders.
Erika Reiter was 3-0 in singles, and Olivia Waysack and Audrey Grigore went 3-0 in doubles in the Mustangs’ 16-2 win over Truckee.
Anuja Daulat and Ava Frazier each went 2-0 in singles, and the doubles teams of Shalini Shah and Samantha Gondy, and Sonia Vohra and Paige Malik each went 2-0 for The Meadows (13-3).