Fullhart earns berth in state finals

The boys tennis team finished third at the Special District 3 Tournament held at North Bend on Monday and Tuesday, May 7-8. North Bend placed first, and St. Mary's was runner-up.

Paul Fullhart, at No. 1 singles, ended with a fourth-place finish to win a trip to the state finals next week.

Fullhart had a bye in the first round and in the second round defeated Grady Snelgrove of North Bend 6-0, 6-4. In the third round, Fullhart beat Zachary Lewis of St. Mary's 6-2, 6-2. Paul advanced to the semi-finals and lost to Wil Chochrane, the No. 1 seed from Phoenix, with scores of 1-6, 1-6. Fullhart played a playoff for third place and lost to Cody Phillips, the No. 3 seed, 2-6, 2-6.

"Paul's game has continued to grow all year," said Coach Garth Tosello. "It was no surprise that he is going to state. A big first serve and forehand are his main weapons, but his biggest weapon is his mental attitude that he takes onto the court. He's a balanced mix of fun, competitiveness and smart tactics. This was all evidenced with his district performance. Even when he's behind, Paul shows good tenacity in always working his way back into a match."

Ryan Houston, No. 3 singles, defeated Kayla Winter from Cascade Christian 6-0, 6-0 in the first round. Houston lost his match against Pablo Matamro of North Bend 3-6, 6-4, 2-6 in the second round. According to Tosello, the match against Matamro was a dogfight that was highlighted by long points and well-placed ground strokes.

No. 2 singles player Luke Gnos defeated Fulsan Morrison of Cascade Christian 6-2, 6-0 in the third round.

The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles team each won one match. Evan Rickards and Devon Calvin had a great second-round match and defeated Scott and Toombs of Cascade Christian 7-5, 6-3.

"Evan and Devon won the match, but not without a strong effort and good tenacity," said Tosello. "They hung in on the long points until they could close in on the net and put it away."

Tyler Baldessari and Trevor Standen (No. 2 doubles) beat Zomerchoe and Daily of North Bend in three sets in round one with scores of 3-6, 6-0, 6-4. Baldessari and Standen started the match a bit slow, but as the match wore on they began to gel as a team and covered the court well.

"Their groundstrokes got more accurate and their net play aggressive," said Tosello. "They were too strong and quick for the North Bend team in the second set. In the second round they played a team (Morse and Pena of Cascade Christian) who will probably win state, but even so, they had a number of deuce games, and winning two games, off such a great team was a respectable achievement."