Two of the top Idaho 4A tennis programs clashed on neutral courts Saturday at Jerome when the Wood River Wolverines and Century Diamondbacks met for the second time.
Wood River, last year's Great Basin Conference team champion, had taken a pre-Spring Break skeleton crew to play 2008 Great Basin runner-up Century March 14 and were overwhelmed by a score of 10-2.
Playing with a stronger varsity this time, Wood River won five of the six doubles matches and picked up a clutch #3 girls' singles win to tie 2008 State 4A runner-up Century by a score of 6-6. In another dual meet the same day and at the same site, Wood River beat Pocatello 7-5.
It wasn't easy for Wood River to come away with the 6-6 tie against Century. Hailey's #2 boys' doubles and girls' doubles teams both won in split sets—by 10-8 scores in the third set. They were William Eagan and Jordan Niedrich, and Lauren Reutter and Tory Lakey.
Chelsey Souligny, Wood River's #3 girls' singles entry, also battled into the third set and won 10-7 for the only Wolverine singles' win against the Diamondbacks. But Wood River's #1 singles players gave Century a real tussle Saturday.
For instance, Century sophomore Shayan Zoghi prevailed in a 6-3, 6-4 battle with Wood River's #1 Morgan Pike. Zoghi was last year's Great Basin boys' singles champion and the State 4A runner-up. And Pike shared the State 4A boys' doubles title at Boise last May.
In #1 girls' singles, Century senior Liz Anderson, third at state last year, emerged victorious 7-5, 6-4 in a tough challenge with Wood River freshman Sloan Storey. Meanwhile, Wood River's #1 girls' doubles Jessica Hamilton and Ellen Davis stayed unbeaten 6-4, 6-3.
Against Pocatello, Wood River won four of six singles matches (Pike, Raleigh Grossbaum, Allie Freund and Souligny) and swept girls' doubles (Hamilton and Davis, Reutter and Lakey). The winning difference was the #2 mixed doubles triumph by Davis Matthews and Morgan Jones.
Statistically, Wood River was 15-9 in sets won and 118-87 in games won against Pocatello. The Century match was a different story, Century having the advantage 15-9 in sets won and 141-119 in games won. But it still ended in a tie.
Wood River (4-2-3) hosts Burley Thursday, April 16 in a Great Basin Conference West meet in Hailey. Results from Saturday's 7-5 and 6-6 dual meets at Jerome High School:
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WR 7, Pocatello 5
Boys' singles: #1—Morgan Pike (WR) 6-0, 6-0 over Brock Lanning (P). #2—Raleigh Grossbaum (WR) 6-0, 6-0 over D.J. Hendricks (P). #3—Andrew Worley (P) 6-1, 6-0 over Gardner Cord (WR).
Girls' singles: #1—Emily Cundick (P) 6-3, 6-1 over Sloan Storey (WR). #2—Allie Freund (WR) 6-1, 6-0 over Cindy Wadsworth (P). #3—Chelsey Souligny (WR) 6-1, 6-0 over Hannah Stinson (P).
Boys' doubles: #1—Nic Howell and John Byers (P) 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 over Brendan Freund and R.J. Forgeon (WR). #2—Kyle Street and Ryan Byers (P) 6-7, 6-2, 10-8 over William Eagan and Jordan Niedrich (WR).
Girls' doubles: #1—Jessica Hamilton and Ellen Davis (WR) 6-0, 6-0 over Anna Milder and Kim Green (P). #2—Tory Lakey and Lauren Reutter (WR) 6-3, 6-3 over Tasha Henderson and Natile Bringham (P).
Mixed doubles: #1—Sander Hadley and Karlie Standley (P) 6-0, 6-2 over Alex Henning and Kelsey Brennan (WR). #2—Davis Matthews and Morgan Jones (WR) 6-0, 6-1 over Ben Cundick and Marie Bare (P).
WR 6, Century 6
Boys' singles: #1—Shayan Zoghi (C) 6-3, 6-4 over Morgan Pike (WR). #2—Shervin Zoghi (C) 6-0, 6-0 over Raleigh Grossbaum (WR). #3—Mark Thatam (C) 6-0, 6-4 over Gardner Cord (WR).
Girls' singles: #1—Liz Anderson (C) 7-5, 6-4 over Sloan Storey (WR). #2—Michaela Dungey (C) 6-1, 6-1 over Allie Freund (WR). #3—Chelsey Souligny (WR) 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 over Monica Roberts (C).
Boys' doubles: #1—Brendan Freund and R.J. Forgeon (WR) 6-1, 6-1 over Alex Siciliano and Taylor Gordon (C). #2—William Eagan and Jordan Niedrich (WR) 7-6, 2-6, 10-8 over Tucker Golay and Kyle Kener (C).
Girls' doubles: #1—Jessica Hamilton and Ellen Davis (WR) 6-4, 6-3 over Mattea Gunter and Makenna Nolte (C). #2—Tory Lakey and Lauren Reutter (WR) 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 over Matlin Kleist and Madalyn Kener (C).
Mixed doubles: #1—Jordan Green and Kate Mills (C) 6-2, 6-0 over Alex Henning and Kelsey Brennan (WR). #2—Davis Matthews and Morgan Jones (WR) 6-3, 6-1 over Hayden Paulsen and Aubrey Burton (C).
Wood River senior Morgan Pike, a state champion in boys’ doubles last May, has been doing a pretty good job for the Wolverines at #1 boys’ singles this spring. He volleys during Thursday’s Community School meet on the Hailey courts. Photo by David N. Seelig
