Boys tennis off to strong start

The boys tennis team kicked off their week with a 4-4 tie against Madras on Monday, April 4, and a day later the Outlaws notched two wins; a 7-0 victory over Cascade and a 6-2 win against Canyonville. Sisters finished out their packed week of tennis at the White Buffaloes Invitational on Saturday, April 9.

In Monday's action against Madras, Ben Fullhart, No. 1 singles, dominated his match against Ryan Fine and won in two straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Austin Williams (No. 2 singles) beat Carlos Garcia in his first singles match of the season in a third set 10-4 tie break. Scores of the first two sets were 6-3, 2-6.

Coach Garth Tosello noted that Williams' good approach shots coupled with some exciting overhead smashes helped Austin come back after his second-set loss.

Devon Calvin (No. 3 singles) defeated Jesus Vasquez 6-0, 6-4. Solid net play and dropshots earned Devon his first singles win of the season.

Tyrell Gilmore and JT Harris (No. 4 doubles) defeated Colby Jack-Parks and Kody Turner 6-4, 6-3.

Colby Gilmore and Paul Fullhart (No. 1 doubles) lost in a very exciting and action-packed match. The duo lost their first game to Alexsis Peneloza and Caleb Freshour but came back and won six straight games to win the set 6-1. The White Buffs answered with a great performance at the net to take the second set 6-2. Sisters had two match points in the match-break game but couldn't convert, and Madras recorded the 13-11 match-break win.

A day later, Sisters cleaned house in their pro set match against Cascade.

Ben Fullhart (No. 1 singles) defeated Dennis Reutor 8-1 and Austin Williams (No. 2 singles) beat Truman Clark 8-5.

Tosello said, "Austin stayed focused and used his forehand to make his opponent run."

Devon Calvin defeated Jonah Netland 8-6. Calvin's footwork helped him get well-placed angled shots, which resulted in the win.

Aggressive play contributed to JT Harris' first singles win of the season. Harris played great at the net and hit accurate shots to help him notch the 8-5 victory over Matthias Hawkin.

The three doubles teams, Colby Gilmore and Paul Fullhart (No. 1), Sam Quinn and Evan Rickards (No. 2) and Alex Cristiano and Trevor Standen (No. 3) also won their matches against Cascade, with scores of 8-5, 8-6, and 8-5, respectively.

Sisters played full matches against Canyonville and tallied another win in the record book. Sisters' doubles teams swept the courts with four wins.

Colby Gilmore and Ben Fullhart dominated their match against Paul Lin and Steven Huang and easily won in two sets with scores of 6-1, 6-0.

Tosello told The Nugget that Sam Quinn and Evan Rickards (No. 2) put on a show of athleticism at the net in their match against Emily Bates and David Liu. The duo, with excellent footwork, tracked down their baseline shots which helped earn them the win in two straight sets, 6-1,6-3.

Alex Cristiano and Trevor Standen (No. 3) lost their first set 5-7 but controlled the net in the second set to win 6-3. The team went on to defeat Jane Koryeskova and Korolien Calie 10-6 in the tie break.

JT Harris and Tyrell Gilmore (No. 4) won their match against Pieter DeVries and Paul Zhu in two sets, 6-4, 6-3.

In singles play, Austin Williams (No. 2) and Devon Calvin (No. 3) both earned wins for the Outlaws. Williams defeated Jason Ma 6-1, 6-0 and Calvin beat Samanth Stalford 6-1, 6-0.

On Saturday, the Outlaws sent their No. 1 and No. 2 singles and doubles players to the White Buffaloes Invitational in Madras and finished fourth. Ben Fullhart (No 1 singles) and Paul Fullhart (No. 2 singles) both finished in second place and brought home medals.

Ben won five of seven matches for the second-place finish. Fullhart highlighted his day with two 7-0 victories, the first over Jordan Dobney of Vale and the second over Dennis Reutov of Cascade. Ben dictated the play in both matches with strong first serves and aggressive attacks on his ground strokes.

Paul Fullhart finished the day at 6-1 and defeated Casey Watson, who went on to take first place. Paul won his match against Watson with a score of 5-2. Fullhart started off quick and took a 4-1 lead. Paul was able to keep more balls in play and also came into the net and put pressure on Watson to get the win.

Trevor Standen and JT Harris, who normally play at the No. 4 doubles spot, stepped up and played at No. 2 for the Outlaws. The duo finished the day 4-7, just short of second place.

Tosello was very pleased with their performance.

"These guys played way over their heads and they did fantastic," said Tosello. "These guys are what got us the fourth-place finish. They played way above my expectations."

Tosello told The Nugget that the Outlaws are exceeding his expectations at this point in the season and hopes his team finishes in the top three at Districts.

The Outlaws will play at home at Black Butte Ranch against Redmond on Thursday, April 14, and on Saturday, April 16, the squad will travel to Central.