The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The boys' tennis team was in top form and earned a 6-1 victory in their match against Crook County on Friday, April 6.

Number-one singles player, Johannes Traut, split sets with Lex Romine and had to play a third set tie-breaker. Scores were 6-3, 3-6 and 6-1.

Coach Boyd Stuwe told The Nugget that this was the first time all season that Traut lost a game and noted that this match with Romine was the strongest competition Johannes has seen all season.

Even Sims (No. 2 singles) defeated Mikey Cutuli 7-6, 6-4. Stuwe noted that Cutuli was a very strong player and the match was a real test for Sims.

Will Newport (No. 4 singles) earned a decisive and easy win in straight sets of 6-2, 6-2 over John Morgan.

The No. 1 doubles team of Shyama Ellis and Ryley Newport defeated Paul Robideau and Zack Thompson 6-1, 5-7 and 10-6 in the tiebreaker. Dylan Stuwe and Eric McKinley (No. 2 doubles) defeated Mike Bates and Ricardo Bohle 6-2, 4-6 and 10-7 in the tiebreaker.

Stuwe thought the boys should have won more handily.

"They both let down a bit and then were forced to go to a tiebreaker," he said.

Oscar Wiegand and Charlie Phillips (No. 3 doubles) earned a decisive win over Jorge Toledo and Joe O, 6-0, 6-4.

"This was a great preparation match for league play for the top tier of our varsity," said Stuwe. "It showed us what we need to work on, and our concentration is the biggest thing. We need to learn how to stay focused when you're up against seasoned and stronger players. It was apparent today that we haven't worked on that enough and that is partly due to the fact we haven't seen strong teams up to this point."

The Outlaws have a packed week coming up, starting with a home match against Marist on Wednesday, April 11. On Thursday, Sisters plays host to Summit, and Stuwe told The Nugget it will be their toughest match of the season.

Stuwe stated that Summit will probably win the Inter-Mountain Conference this year.

On Friday, Sisters hosts North Bend and will have the opportunity to match up against the top No. 1 singles player in the state, Cody Ferguson. Ferguson has been the state champion at the No. 1 singles spot for the past two years. The Outlaws will finish their week at a tournament in Madras on Saturday.