Team wins 23 of 27 matches
By Raymundo Frasquillo
DUNCAN – The Brenda Carabeo-coached Morenci boys tennis captured the title in the four-team 2017 H.T. Clothier Invitational Tournament on Saturday, March 4, to conclude its initial week of competition. The Wildcats won 23 of 27 matches for a total of 23 points; runner-up Tombstone Yellow Jackets had 16, while the host Duncan Wildkats had 14, and the St. David Tigers one.
Morenci (4-0) defeated St. David, 9-0, and both Duncan and Tombstone by identical 7-2 scores. Tombstone edged Duncan, 5-4, and blanked St. David, 9-0. Duncan bested St. David, 8-1.
Individually, sophomore Matthew Garcia (4-0) at No. 1, senior Marcus Aguallo (4-0) at No. 3 and junior Luis Tejada (4-0) at No. 5 each went 3-0 to win singles titles, while the duos of sophomores Tanner Hudman and Andrew Vigil at No. 1 plus Garcia and Aguallo at No. 2 both won three doubles pairings.
The other singles winners were Tombstone No. 2 Adam Sebastian and No. 4 Jon Michael Bulan plus Duncan No. 6 Lucas Basteen. The Wildkats’ No. 3 doubles team of Nate Rapier and Basteen also finished in first place.
Morenci downed the Cowboys, 8-1, in Willcox during the season opener March 2.
Morenci at DHS tourney
The Wildcats won 8-9 doubles matches plus 15-18 singles matches during the all-day Duncan tourney.
Photo By Raymundo Frasquillo: The No. 1 Matthew Garcia – Marcus Aguallo duo (4-0) won three matches in the Duncan tourney to place first. Aguallo returns the ball as Garcia awaits the return from the net.
Garcia’s wins were 6-0 over Steve Daley of St. David, 6-1 over Nathan Jones of Duncan, and 7-3 in the tie-breaker after a 6-6 deadlock with Joey Schaub of Tombstone; Aguallo’s wins were 6-0 overt Thomas Haynie of Saint David, 6-2 over Nate Rapier of Duncan, and 6-4 over Alberto Garcia of Tombstone and Tejada’s wins were by forfeit over St. David, 6-4 over Jose Saiz of Duncan, and 6-1 over Bobby Phillips of Tombstone.
The Hudman – Vigil duo (3-1) defeated Daley – Jun Hung of St. David 7-4 in the tie-breaker after a 6-6 deadlock, Jones – Hunter Rapier of Duncan 6-2, and Schaub – Bulan of Tombstone 7-5 and the Garcia – Aguallo duo (3-0) posted wins over St. David by forfeit, 6-3 over Nate Rapier – Saiz of Duncan and 7-3 in a tie-breaker over Sebastian – Garcia of Tombstone after a 6-6 deadlock.
Singles No. 2 Hudman (3-1) shutout Hung of St. David and Hunter Rapier of Duncan, both 6-0, before succumbing 2-6 to Sebastian of Tombstone; No. 4 Vigil gained a forfeit from St. David, downed Chase Carnes of Duncan, 6-1, and was edged 7-5 in the tie-breaker to Bulan of Tombstone after a 6-6 deadlock and No. 6 Shaun Espinoza also gained a forfeit from St. David, fell 1-6 to Basteen of Duncan and blanked Sebastian Merlos of Tombstone.
The No. 3 duo of Tejada – Espinoza (2-1) also gained a forfeit from St. David, fell 4-6 to Nate Rapier – Basteen of Duncan and defeated Phillips Merlos of Tombstone, 6-4.
Morenci at Willcox
All six singles and two of three doubles matches resulted in Morenci wins.
Garcia and No. 3 Vigil both had 8-6 wins over sophomore Chase Childers and senior David Krause, respectively. Hudman and No. 4 Ryan Williams (1-0) both had 9-7 wins over juniors Javier Garcia and Oliver Rodriguez, respectively. Tejada downed senior Mark Rios, 8-5, and No. 6 Aguallo received a forfeit.
Garcia – Aguallo prevailed 9-7 over Krause – Rodriguez, No. 3 Williams – Tejada (1-0) received a forfeit and Hudman – Vigil fell 4-8 to Childers – Garcia.
