The easy part is over, and now The Community School tennis team faces a showdown with the Parma Panthers for the State 3A tennis championship starting Friday, May 18 at Fort Boise Community Center.
Coach Phil Huss' Cutthroats hardly broke a sweat capturing the Sun Valley school's ninth district tennis championship in 10 years Friday at Sun Valley Tennis Club. The Cutthroats swept singles and won girls' doubles en route to a 141-75 team victory over Sugar-Salem.
With the top three finishers advancing to the State 3A tournament May 18-19 in Boise, the Cutthroats qualified 15 of their 18 district entrants for the big state competition. Sugar-Salem sends eight to state.
Action in the Idaho High School Activities Association meet for the state's smaller schools begins Friday at 8 a.m. and finishes up Saturday. It's a 12-team and 12-player draw this year, instead of the usual 16.
The Cutthroats are the current dynasty in State 3A tennis, having won five state championships in six years and three in a row. But always-tough Parma will have a lot to say about whether The Community School comes out on top again.
Last May the Cutthroats with their 18 state qualifiers spanked Parma 120-79 in the final totals. That 41-point spread will shrink this time because Parma, traditionally tough in doubles, has taken aim at one of Sun Valley's usual strengths—girls' singles.
Parma dominated last week's Third District tournament in the Treasure Valley and will send 17 to state, compared to 16 in 2006.
Shooting for their first State 3A title since going back-to-back in 1993-94, the Panthers won the top three places in girls' singles at their district tourney and will return last year's state girls' doubles champs Logan Smyser and McKenzie Timmons, seniors.
But the Cutthroats have plenty of state experience returning, chiefly from the two sturdy seniors who will carry much of the load this weekend.
Those players, both district champions in singles, are Christian Cairncross and Mandy Alexander.
Cairncross is a two-time state boys' doubles king. Alexander won mixed doubles at state in 2004 and girls' doubles in 2005. Junior Jessie Curran is also a returning defending state champion, in mixed doubles.
Cairncross won three matches in straight sets to earn his first district boys' singles title Friday at Sun Valley, and junior Travis Stone also won three in straight sets including a 6-1, 6-1 victory for third place.
Alexander, hoping to join Lauren Drew and Tory Thornton as state girls' singles winners from Sun Valley, was tested with a couple of tiebreakers but won both including a close 9-7 first-set nail-biter with last year's state girls' singles runner-up, Cutthroat junior Cody Curran.
Perhaps the most exciting match of Friday's district action took place in the third-place girls' singles final.
Nailing down her first state trip was Cutthroat sophomore Emmy O'Reilly, who won four times. O'Reilly used a variety of clutch shots to outlast Sugar-Salem's senior veteran Cassie Dayley 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) for a ticket to the state tourney.
Two very young Cutthroat boys' doubles teams also made it to state Friday. They were Peter Atkinson and Tanner Flanigan, and John Martin and Wyatt Bunce. Joining them at state will be the district mixed doubles third-place Connor Brown and Jessie Curran.
District girls' doubles winners were Grayson Palmer and Courtney Hamilton, who will do their best to knock off Parma's Smyser and Timmons defending champions this coming weekend in Boise.
So will the other state qualifiers from Sun Valley, Emily Eshman and Marin Shepardson.
All in all, Huss will take a solid group to Boise. It will be the Sun Valley independent school's 23rd trip to state tennis. Of the 15 state qualifiers from The Community School, 10 were at state in 2006.
Results follow from Friday's Fourth District 3A meet. For a complete district tournament summary check today's Express Web site:
Final team standings
1—Community School 141 points—ninth district title in 10 years. 2—Sugar-Salem 75 points (16 points singles, 59 doubles) 3—Gooding 17 points (7 points singles, 10 doubles). 4—Valley 14 points
Points by singles/doubles
Community School (25-11 all matches)—72 points singles (13-5), 69 points doubles (12-6).
State qualifiers (three per class):
Community School (18 entrants)—15 to state (5 S, 10 D). Sugar-Salem (14 entrants)—8 to state (0 S, 8 D). Gooding (16 entrants)—0 to state (0 S, 0 D). Valley (1 entrant)—1 to state (1 S)
Boys singles
Final results (top 3 to state)
1—Christian Cairncross (CS senior, 1st district BD in 2005 and 2006)
2—Adriel Apter (Valley senior)
3—Travis Stone (CS junior)
4—Sam Neibaur (Sugar-Salem)
Championship—Christian Cairncross 6-2, 6-2 over Adriel Apter (Valley)
Third place—Travis Stone (CS) 6-1, 6-1 over Sam Neibaur (Sugar-Salem)
Girls singles
Final results (top 3 to state)
1—Mandy Alexander (CS senior, 1st district GD in 2005 and 2006)
2—Cody Curran (CS junior, 1st district GS 2006)
3—Emmy O'Reilly (CS sophomore)
4—Cassie Dayley (S-S senior)
Championship—Mandy Alexander (CS) 7-6 (7), 6-1 over Cody Curran (CS)
Third place—Emmy O'Reilly (CS) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) over Cassie Dayley (S-S)
Boys doubles
Final results (top 3 to state)
1—Steve Holman-Brian King (S-S)
2—Peter Atkinson-Tanner Flanigan (CS sophomore-freshman)
3—John Martin-Wyatt Bunce (CS sophomore-freshman)
4—Steven Coyne-Richard Kelley (Gooding)
Championship—Steve Holman-Brian King (S-S) 6-2, 6-2 over Peter Atkinson-Tanner Flanigan (CS)
Third place—John Martin-Wyatt Bunce (CS) 6-2, 6-1 over Steven Coyne-Richard Kelley (Gooding)
Girls doubles
Round-robin results (top 3 to state)
1—Grayson Palmer-Courtney Hamilton (CS senior-sophomore)
2—Emily Eshman-Marin Shepardson (CS junior-sophomore)
3—Price-Yardley (S-S)
4—Erin Kerr-Allison Bigler (Good)
Mixed doubles
Final results (top 3 to state)
1—Greg Grant-Katelyn Thueson (S-S juniors)
2—Giacomo Siciliotti-Bethany Romney (S-S)
3—Connor Brown-Jessie Curran (CS juniors)
4—Chet Stephens-Erica Eshman (CS sophomore-freshman)
Championship—Greg Grant-Katelyn Thueson (S-S juniors) over Giacomo Siciliotti-Bethany Romney (S-S)
Third place—Connor Brown-Jessie Curran (CS) 6-0, 6-1 over Chet Stephens-Erica Eshman (CS)
Emmy O?Reilly, Community School sophomore, was all business earning her first state tennis tournament berth with a 7-5 tiebreaker victory in the third set of Friday?s third-place match against Sugar-Salem senior Cassie Dayley. Photo by Willy Cook
