By AL STOVER
Staff Reporter 

Fillmore, Gerber finish third at 2A district tennis

 

Last updated 5/18/2017 at 3:44pm



The Cheney High boys tennis team wrapped up their season after competing in the District 7 tournament, May 13.

Four days earlier, the Blackhawks finished the regular season with a 4-3 win against East Valley.

At districts, the team of Aaron Fillmore and Dixon Gerber finished third in the doubles bracket.

After a first-round bye, Fillmore and Gerber defeated Pullman’s Henry Ward and Jared Anderson (6-1, 6-1) then lost to the Greyhounds’ Tim Watts and Casey Crow (6-2, 6-4) in the semifinals. The duo rebounded and defeated East Valley’s Eli Holecek and Brock Phillips (6-4, 6-4) in the third-place match — avenging their loss from the May 9 match.

“I’m happy to see them (Fillmore and Gerber) ending their season on a high note,” head coach Jesse Erickson said.

In singles action, Eric Van Wig defeated West Valley’s Dylan Almeida (6-1, 6-4) in the first round. He was eliminated from the tournament after his loss to the Knights’ Josh Lee (6-1, 6-4).

Cheney players Jared Adams and Hunter Pohl were eliminated in the first round of the singles bracket. The Blackhawk doubles teams of Saul Bautista and Logan Ray, and Daniel Lamas and Ayden Henderson also lost their first round matches. In team scores, Cheney was fourth with 17 points.

During the East Valley match, Pohl, Adams and Ray all earned singles wins. The duo of Bautista and Henderson defeated Josh Glubrelet and Gage Edens (7-5, 6-4) to clinch the win for Cheney.

“They played aggressive and came back from a 4-1 deficit to win six straight games (in the second set),” Erickson said. “It’s good to see two first year players finish the regular season like that.”

Cheney, 3-6 in Great Northern League play and 5-6 overall, finished third in the league. Despite his team not winning another league title, Erickson felt the season was a success, especially with most of the team being comprised of first-year players and athletes who were on JV for the 2016 season, which he said “bodes really well” for next year. He expects a strong core group to return next year, including Gerber, Fillmore and Van Wig — all of whom received all-league honors.

The Blackhawks lose only two seniors to graduation, Bautista and Liam Thomas, who both contributed to big wins for Cheney this year.

“We’re not going to be losing as many players as the other schools,” Erickson said. “I think we have a real shot at being league champs next year.”

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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