Boys tennis off to good start

The Outlaws boys tennis team lost 6-2 at home against Redmond on Monday, March 11, in their first match of the season, but three days later swept the Crook County Cowboys at Black Butte Ranch.

Although the Outlaws lost their match to Redmond, half of the matches went to a tiebreak. Sisters tallied tie-break victories in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Redmond recorded tie-break wins in No. 1 singles and No. 4 doubles.

Paul Fullhart, Sisters No. 1 singles player, battled Zach Powell for almost two hours before Powell finally prevailed in a 10-5 tie-breaker. Scores of the first two sets were 6-2, 4-6.

Coach Bim Gander stated, "Paul totally dominated the match with his ground strokes, but to Powell's credit he never wavered under the storm and was able to pull out an extremely hard-fought match through sheer determination."

The No. 1 doubles match was even closer, as Sisters' combo of Evan Rickards and Devon Calvin had two match points in the tie-breaker before falling 13-11 to Justin Camper and Stephen Witherow. Scores of their first two sets were 3-6, 7-6.

Sol Ling-Scott and Trevor Standen (No. 2 doubles) defeated Damon Escamilla and Javen Rollins with scores of 6-3, 4-6, and 6-3.

"Sol is a first-year player and the only senior on the team," noted Gander. "His maturity carried the day in the No. 2 doubles match. The guys gutted the match out and were extremely competitive."

Tyrell Gilmore and Ethan Stengel, the No. 3 duo beat Riley Powel and Dakota Schmidt in two quick sets with scores of 6-4, 6-3. The returning veterans used their prior tennis experience to pull through for the victory.

Outlaws dominated the courts on Thursday in their matches against the Cowboys.

Paul Fullhart (No. 1 singles) defeated Jack Stubblefield in two quick sets with scores of 6-0, 6-0. Paul's relentless groundstroke attack never allowed his opponent to find his rhythm.

Devon Calvin and co-captain Evan Rickards, formerly the Outlaws' No. 1 doubles team, moved to the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots. Calvin defeated Oliver Peterson 6-4, 6-1 and Rickards beat Brick Woodward 6-4, 6-3. Both players prevailed in very competitive first sets, and then pressed their advantage by winning their seconds sets more easily.

Cleaning up at the No. 4 spot, Shawn Horton beat Jose Ojeda 6-2, 6-3.

Sol Ling-Scott and Trevor Standen moved up to No. 1 doubles. They responded well to the challenge and consistent service returns from the duo resulted in a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Nate Kaping and Ryan Houston teamed up for the first time at No. 2 doubles. The duo was in sync immediately, dominated play and pulled off a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over Hayden Boyd and Garrette Harper.

Ethan Stengel and Tyrell Gilmore (No. 3) and Levi Anderson and Reno Nichols (No. 4) both won by default.

Coach Gander said, "Although the scores for this contest appear lopsided, many of the individual matches were very competitive. The Outlaws overcame early season jitters by setting into good form and prevailing against a very worthy Cowboy team.

"All of the Outlaws' players were moving better and hitting more consistently during their second matches this week," added Gander. "I'll be quite pleased if we can continue to improve like that as the season progresses."