Rams notch four wins in tournament

SANTA FE — Except for Mesilla Valley, Portales High’s boys were dominant in tennis over the weekend in the Northern New Mexico Invite, hosted by Capital High School.

The Rams won four of the five duals, losing only to the Son Blazers 4-0 on Friday.

Meantime, the girls bracket had eight teams, who were split into two pools on Friday and then seeded for semifinals and finals on Saturday.

The Lady Rams went 2-1 on Friday, but lost to Mesilla Valley 3-1 in Saturday’s semifinals and 3-1 to Moriarty in the third-place match.

The PHS boys swept Capitol 4-0 on Friday, losing only one game n the process. They also defeated Moriarty on a games tiebreaker after the teams split the four matches, and beat St. Michael’s and Espanola Valley by identical 3-1 counts.

The Rams went 6-4 in singles, with freshman Zeke Aguirre going 3-0 and junior Gerardo Calderon 2-0. PHS used numerous combinations in doubles, going 7-3 an led by freshman Drake Long and Brett Horton (2-0) and senior Zach Laurenz and Calderon (2-0).

The Lady Rams blanked Capital 4-0, lost to St. Mike’s 3-1 and won a games tiebreaker from Raton after a 2-2 split on Friday. In Saturday’s bracket play, PHS lost to Mesilla Valley 3-1, then dropped a 3-1 decision for third place to Moriarty.

Junior Sarah Blaeser was in on both of the Lady Rams’ wins on Saturday, beating her Mesilla Valley opponent 3-1 in singles and teaming with freshman Timberlyn Neece for a doubles win against Moriarty.

Portales squads will play at home today in 3 p.m. duals against Artesia.