CHS boys tennis has 2-2 week

After being rained out for a week, the Cheney High School boys tennis team played in four matches within five days along with a tournament in Post Falls. CHS is currently in third-place in the Great Northern League with a 2-2 conference record and 6-3 overall.

The Blackhawks went 2-2 on the week by defeating East Valley and Clarkston. Cheney also lost to undefeated Pullman and West Valley.

"You really don't want to do that many in a row," head coach Jesse Erickson said. "I am really proud of the way the guys performed."

Cheney started the week on Tuesday, April 17 at Pullman where the Blackhawks lost 7-0.

"The effort was there for the whole day," Erickson said.

The team rebounded quickly and defeated East Valley 5-2 the next day.

Against the Knights, the Blackhawks went 4-0 on the singles side with wins from No. 1 Dixon Gerber (6-1, 7-5), No. 2 Aaron Fillmore (6-0, 6-1), No. 3 Hunter Pohl (6-0, 6-0) and No. 4 Jared Adams (6-0). The No. 1 doubles team with Jairus Kuhn and Ayden Henderson also won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

"Dixon came out roaring and he played much better than the other kid," Erickson said. "Aaron also continued to have a solid win and effort. I couldn't have asked for a better game from Hunter either. Jared stepped up to play singles and he played really well."

The only losses against East Valley were in the second and third doubles spot. Alex Rose and John Laufenburger fell 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 2 spot while the third position was dropped due to a lack of players.

The next day, Cheney fell to Clarkston 4-3. Pohl (6-4, 6-2) and Adams (6-3, 6-4) both collected two more wins for singles. In doubles, Rose and Trevor Stewart defeated their opponents 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the No. 2 position.

"Hunter was just steady," Erickson said. "He has been an anchor to the team and I can rely on him winning. Jared played really well again at singles too. Our doubles team had a great come from behind win. They stormed in during the second and third sets."

Gerber and Fillmore both fell to their opponents on the singles side while Kuhn and Ray lost in the doubles spot. The match ended up tied at 3-3, but Cheney didn't have enough players in the No. 3 doubles, so the Blackhawks had to forfeit the point.

"Dixon lost to the undefeated player in the league," Erickson said. "Aaron had a great match. It was just marathon points. I couldn't have asked for a better effort."

Rounding out the week of competition, the Blackhawks hosted West Valley on April 20 and won 4-3.

"This match was a solid way to end the week and it was a nail bitter," Erickson said.

Gerber won his first set 6-2 and lost his second 6-3. In the third, his opponent rolled his ankle and wasn't able to play anymore, so Gerber won the match.

Fillmore (6-0, 6-2) and Adams (6-3, 6-3) were the other players to win on the singles side. Pohl lost in three sets 7-6, 2-6, 3-6.

On the doubles side, Steward and Rose defeated their opponents 6-3, 6-1 in the third doubles. No. 1 doubles Kuhn and Henderson (6-4, 2-6, 2-6) lost their match in three sets along with No. 2 Ray and Laufenburger (5-7, 6-3, 0-6).

The Blackhawks finished the week on Saturday, April 21, at the Post Falls tournament and placed fourth out of eight teams.

Cheney continued GNL competition on Tuesday, April 24 against Pullman and participates in the Inland Empire this Friday and Saturday. There are only three more matches remaining until the district tournament on May 11-12.

"We are going to work hard this week and just keep improving," Erickson said.

Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.