Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High junior Madita Ewert hits a backhand during No. 1 doubles in Friday's District 4-5A girls dual against Carlsbad at the CHS tennis courts. Ewart and partner Hannah Heath defeated the Cavegirls' Olivia Glissen and Marial Aguilera 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Had things gone according to plan, Clovis High's tennis girls might be looking at a big District 4-5A win over Carlsbad.
Illness limited junior Madita Evert, the Lady Wildcats' No. 1 singles player, to just doubles against the Cavegirls. Then sophomore Emily Bjorklund had to default at No. 4 singles due to a leg injury with a 6-1, 2-1 lead over Carlsbad freshman Charise Young.
The final result was a 6-3 victory for the Cavegirls in the district opener for both sides. Carlsbad also won the boys' matchup 8-1.
CHS girls coach Andi Fells held Ewert, an exchange student from Germany, out of singles, forcing her to juggle the lineup. Ewert did play No. 1 doubles with senior Hannah Heath, and they emerged with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 triumph over junior Olivia Glissen and senior Mariel Aguilera.
Fells said the injury to Bjorklund deflated the team.
"We did well until Emily got hurt," she said. "We weren't at the right place mentally."
Junior Hansini Lingala posted the Lady Cats' only victory in singles, a 6-1, 6-1 verdict against junior Claire Navarrete at No. 3. Clovis' other win came at No. 3 doubles, with Bjorklund and sophomore Gigi Greer posting a 6-2, 6-1 victory over freshman Charise Young and sophomore Myka Chas.
Both teams appear to be chasing Hobbs in district play, so the result was important towards possible postseason consideration. The Lady Cats welcome Hobbs on Thursday.
"We've competed well with Hobbs in our tournaments, so I think we'll do all right," Fells said.
The boys were competitive in some matches, but only senior Christian Wilson came up a winner, defeating Cavemen senior Ryan Wood 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, (10-4).
"Our mental game is what made it difficult," CHS boys coach Tristan Pautler said. "Christian is probably one of the most level-headed kids on the team, and that's one of the reasons he won today.
"We still have two (district) matches to go. Hobbs is a tough team, but they can be beaten."
Although some of the matches were relatively close, the only Wildcats entry go three sets were junior Francisco Dell'Antonia and eighth-grader Ryan Case, who lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to Wood and junior Gavin Otto at No. 3 doubles.
It was the third home outing of the week for the Cats and Lady Cats. They posted 9-0 non-district sweeps of badly undermanned district rival Roswell High on Wednesday.
Next up are the district home duals against Hobbs on Thursday. CHS travels to Roswell High on April 26 to close out the regular season, then goes to Hobbs for district tournament competition on May 3.
