The No. 1-ranked Mingus Union High School boys tennis team wasted no time in disposing of No. 16 Cortez High School in opening action of the 4A-II conference state team tennis tournament Tuesday, April 27, defeating the lowly Colts, 7-2.
“They weren’t that strong and our boys played well. The next round will be much tougher for us for sure,” Mingus Head Coach Jeff Knight said after the match Tuesday.
Mingus’ date with Notre Dame Preparatory in the second round of the state tournament will have to wait until next week, since the individual singles and doubles competitions are scheduled to begin Friday, April 30, at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale.
One thing is for sure, the Marauders won’t be counting on how well they played Tuesday against Cortez when it comes to Notre Dame next Tuesday, May 4, right here in Cottonwood.
For now, however, the boys will celebrate their first-round victory.
In doubles action, senior Alexander Lineberry teamed with fellow senior Bobby Lee to defeat their opponent, 8-0.
Andrew Hickey and Jonathan Witt had no problem in the
No. 2 match, winning 8-0, while Travis Duwyenie and Austin Strobel were bothered more by the wind than the two Cortez players across the way, winning 8-2.
In singles, Lineberry continued his dominance of 4A-II opponents, winning 6-0, 6-0, while his doubles partner Lee won his singles match, 6-1, 6-1.
Duwyenie had no problem with his opponent, winning 6-2, 6-2, while Strobel managed to get a victory as well, 6-2, 6-1.
As for the No. 5 and No. 6 matches, senior Tyrus Kirby did his best but wound up losing in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-10.
At No. 6, junior Logan Kitchen tried to work his magic with a comeback after losing the first set, but ended up with the short end of the stick, 5-7, 6-2, 7-10.
Grand Canyon Regionals
Before sitting down to watch Mingus play in the first round of the state tournament, Knight revealed his Marauders were the newly crowned 4A-II Grand Canyon region champions.
Witt and Strobel took third at the Grand Canyon regional meet, bringing the total to five players being sent to the individual state championships this coming weekend, the most a Mingus team has ever sent according to Knight.
“It’s the most we’ve ever sent to state from here and our guys are proud of that,” Knight said.
In singles Friday, Lineberry is scheduled to face Reid Blakely of Coronado High School at 12:30 p.m. at the Paseo Racquet Center.
In doubles at the same location, Witt and Strobel are scheduled to face Kyle Drake and Connor McRae of Liberty High School while Lee and Hickey will face Anthony Mancine and Spencer Draper of Thunderbird High School.
Both matches are scheduled for 2 p.m.
