Boys tennis runner-up at district tournament

The boys tennis team tied for a second-place finish with Henley (both with 22 points) at the Sky-Em 4A District Tournament held at South Medford High School on Monday and Tuesday, May 6 and 7. Powerhouse North Bend took first-place honors with a team total of 28 points. Cascade Christian tallied 16 points and St. Mary's posted 14.

Paul Fullhart was the lone Outlaw to make it to the semifinals and secure a berth to the state tournament in Eugene next week.

Fullhart beat Jack O'Hara of Cascade Christian 6-2, 6-1 in the first round. In the second round Paul blanked Jacob Pendleton of Hidden Valley 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jacob Mangan of Henley.

Fullhart lost to No. 2 seed Kevin Johnson of North Bend in the semifinals with scores of 0-6, 2-6. Paul then played for third place against Avery Kerwin and lost in a very close match with scores of 6-7, 7-5, 4-6. The loss gave Fullhart a fourth-place finish in the tournament.

Coach Bim Gander said, "Paul was behind in all three sets. He was down a service break in all three sets but managed to take the first set all the way to the tie-breaker, only to lose. He did the same in the second set and won, and then lost the final set. He battled hard and showed a lot of heart, and will play in the state tournament next week."

Ryan Houston had a bye in the first round, and in the second round defeated Blake Preston of Henley 6-1, 6-5. In the quarterfinals, Ryan lost to No. 1 seed Keaton Baker of North Bend, 6-0, 6-2.

Devon Calvin beat Steven Chan of North Bend 6-0, 7-5 in the first round and went on to defeat Elise Gardner of Cascade Christian 6-1, 6-1. Calvin lost to Avery Kerwin of St. Mary's (No. 4 seed) with scores of 6-4, 6-1.

Evan Rickards had a bye in the first round and in the second round beat Tristain Carmichi of St. Marys 6-2, 6-2. Evan fell to No. 2 seed Kevin Johnson of North Bend 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

All Sisters players made the quarterfinals and all of the other schools combined for the remaining four positions.

The Outlaws' best doubles team, Trevor Standen and Sol Ling-Scott, were unable to travel to the tourney so Sisters was at a bit of a disadvantage with only three doubles teams.

Shawn Horton and Ethan Stengel won their first match against Williams and Aguayo of Henley 6-1, 6-4. In the second round, the duo defeated Canyonville's Tuan and Munyokazi 6-1, 6-4. Horton and Stengel lost to No. 3 seed Thompson and Morse of Cascade Christian 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

The Outlaws' other two teams, Nate Kaping and Tyrell Gilmore, and Michael Commins and Andrew Stengel, lost their first match which put them in the consolation round. Both teams won their first round of consolation and then lost in the second.

Gander said, "Everybody played at least three matches and won at least one match. The whole team performed extremely well and we had a very good showing. In spite of the fact we didn't have our best doubles team, we still finished second only to North Bend, who was by far and away the best team at the tournament this year."

Fullhart will play in the state tournament held at the University of Oregon in Eugene Thursday through Saturday, May 16-18.