Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Cutthroats roll to district honors

Qualify 17 players for state tennis


Rain washed out many of The Community School's dual tennis meets this spring, but the Cutthroats got a little lucky with the weather during last weekend's Fourth District 3A tournament in Ketchum.

The rain held off for two days until the very end of the four-school tournament staged at Warm Springs Tennis Club. The way it turned out, the Cutthroats didn't need good luck at all. They dominated. They rolled.

Winning every individual event and placing 1-2 in four of the five categories, coach Mark Scribner's Cutthroats piled up 165 points and earned the school's seventh district championship in eight years.

Seniors Tyler Martin and Caitlin Cairncross swept singles. Wes Flanigan and Christian Cairncross upheld their top seed in boys' doubles. Devon Bunce and Mandy Alexander had no problems in girls' doubles. And J.P. McNeal and Jessie Curran cleaned up in mixed doubles.

When all was said and done, the Cutthroats qualified 17 of their 18 players for the State 3A tennis tournament Friday and Saturday at Timberline High School in Boise. Scribner's teams have captured three of the last four State 3A team titles.

There's every reason to believe the Cutthroats will bring home another first-place trophy, particularly since their Boise visit is the swan song for coach Scribner. He is leaving after nine years at the Sun Valley helm to take over a tennis program in Leavenworth, Wash.

Scribner is leaving behind for incoming coaches Phil Huss and Ryan Drew a program that is strong with talented underclassmen and promising players. Boys' singles, Scribner's foundation for building the Cutthroat program, was a good example at the recent district meet.

Tyler Martin's experience and serving superiority were the differences in a tightly-contested boys' singles final with junior teammate Scooter Sabel on Saturday. Defending state singles champion Martin, bound for Chapman University in southern California, won his first district title 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 over Sabel.

Martin and Sabel gave a clinic in shot-making that treated the crowd.

A sophomore, Ryon Campbell, finished fifth and is going to state.

Second-seeded Caitlin Cairncross went 3-0 with three straight-set girls' singles triumphs including her 7-5, 6-2 championship match success over unseeded freshman teammate Cody Curran (3-1 in her first state-qualifying tournament).

The Cutthroats picked up 73 points in singles and 92 in doubles.

Boys' doubles winners Wes Flanigan and Christian Cairncross lost only nine games in claiming their championship.

In girls' doubles, the Cutthroats boasted two players who had already been state champions—sophomore Mandy Alexander, who won last year in mixed doubles, and junior Devon Bunce, who prevailed at state in girls' doubles last May for Wood River.

They cruised to victory.

The fifth and final Cutthroat victory Saturday came from senior J.P. McNeal and freshman Jessie Curran in mixed doubles. Their toughest match came in the championship, which they squeaked out 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 over freshman and junior teammates Connor Brown and McKenzie Hart.

For more complete tournament results and outcomes for all Community School players, who won 32 of their 41 matches last weekend, check this week's Express Web site:

Final team totals

1—Community School 165—seventh district title in eight years (36 BS/37 GS/28 BD/32 GD/32 MD). 2—Sugar-Salem 50. 3—Declo 33. 4—Gooding 23.

State qualifiers

Community School (18 entrants)—17 to state (5 S, 12 D). Sugar-Salem (11 entrants)—8 to state (4 S, 4 D). Declo (18 entrants)—10 to state (0 S, 10 D). Gooding (18 entrants)—5 to state (1 S, 4 D).

Boys' singles (top five to state)

Championship—Tyler Martin (CS) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 over Scooter Sabel (CS).

Third place—Aaron Fleming (S-S) 6-1, 6-2 over Brian King (S-S).

Fifth place—Ryon Campbell (CS) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 over Kyle Severance (G).

Girls' singles (top five to state)

Championship—Caitlin Cairncross (CS) 7-5, 6-2 over Cody Curran (CS).

Third place—Laurel Moore (Gooding) by default over Cassey Dayley (S-S).

Fifth place—Bethany Romney (S-S) by default over Priscilla Chapa (Declo).

Boys' doubles (top five to state)

Championship—Wes Flanigan-Christian Cairncross (CS junior, soph) 6-3, 6-1 over Mark Kam-Cody Yardley (S-S).

Third place—Tyler Chandler-Ben Roth (CS sophomore, junior) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 over Devin Cobia-Clay Yardley (S-S).

Fifth place—Braden Turner-Eric Olson (D) 6-2, 6-0 over Ethan Peterson-Cameron Searle (Declo).

Girls' doubles (top five to state)

Championship—Devon Bunce-Mandy Alexander (CS junior, sophomore) 6-2, 6-1 over Emily Stephens-Guin Frehling (CS juniors).

Third place—Kassi Mitchell-Holly Hamilton (Declo) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 over Jayci Garner-Lacey Freeman (Declo).

Fifth place—Kimmi Strout-Ashley Kelley (Gooding) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 over Infanger-Alissa Reed (Gooding).

Mixed doubles (top five to state)

Championship—J.P. McNeal-Jessie Curran (CS senior, freshman) 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 over Connor Brown-McKenzie Hart (CS freshman, junior).

Third place—Adam Olson-Lacey Mangum (Declo) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 over Steve Coyne-Nicole Kasimatis (Gooding).

Fifth place—Dustin Smith-Danica Koyle (Declo) 6-0, 7-5 over Shane Ball-Katie Robertson (S-S).




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.