Before traveling to districts in Pullman this Friday, May 7, the Cheney High School boys tennis team had two wins against East Valley and West Valley while also falling to Clarkston.
The first match was at Clarkston on Tuesday, May 1, where Cheney lost 5-2.
“It was kind of a mixed bag,” head coach Jesse Erickson said about the lineup.
Hunter Pohl played at the No. 1 singles spot and fell 6-1, 6-2. Logan Ray lost 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 while Jared Adams lost 6-1, 6-3 and Jairus Kuhn lost 6-1, 7-5 in their respective single spots.
“Hunter played really well against the one of the top kids in the league,” Erickson said. “Logan had a lot of close deuce games. Jared started to feel sick and that had an impact on his game. Jairus also played his first singles match. He made for a great match in the second set.”
In doubles is where the Blackhawks earned their two wins of the game with Dixon Gerber and Aaron Fillmore teaming up at No. 1 and won 6-4, 6-2. Ayden Henderson and Trevor Stewart competed at No. 2 and won 6-3, 6-2. Rounding off doubles was Alex Rose and John Laufenburger, falling 6-1 in both sets.
“Dixon and Aaron had a big win and it was a good match,” Erickson said. “Ayden and Trevor have been playing for awhile and they played aggressive start to finish. Alex and John also gave their best effort, I couldn’t complain about their effort.”
Against East Valley, the Blackhawks had a nearly perfect match with a 6-1 win on May 3.
Cheney swept in singles with Gerber playing at the top spot and winning 6-0, 6-2. Fillmore won 6-0 in both of his sets at No. 2 while Adams won 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in the third spot. Rounding off singles was Ray, winning 6-2, 6-1.
“Dixon served really well from start to finish,” Erickson said. “Aaron pretty much had a flawless match, too. Jared had a three-set battle and he was very patient in the third set. Logan played really smart and consistent.”
In doubles, Pohl and Kuhn teamed up at No. 1 and won 6-4, 5-7, 6-0. Henderson and Steward played at the second spot and won 6-1, 6-3. Cheney lost the third doubles spot by default due to not having enough players.
“Hunter and Jairus had a great match and came out firing away in the third set,” Erickson said. “Ayden and Trevor had even more solid play and were able to hold off their opponent.”
The Blackhawks defeated West Valley 4-3 on May 7 in their regular season finale.
Cheney’s next match will be at the district tournament on May 11 at Washington State University. The tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m.
Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.
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