Gaels hope third time’s the charm in girls’ tennis

Steve Cunningham

Friday, Oct. 24, 1997 | 11:07 a.m.

Bishop Gorman's girls' tennis team has defeated defending state champion Green Valley twice this season.

The Gaels, if they want to wrest the hardware from the Gators, must do it one more time. Gorman and Green Valley won semifinal matches at the 4A state tournament Thursday and met this morning for the title.

Gorman coach Cindy Bennett expected another barnburner between the two schools.

"We've been stronger in singles and they've been stronger in doubles," Bennett said. "There are some questions ... can our girls beat Antonella (Realo)? Can our girls beat Gia (Cappiello and Kelly Kielbowicz in doubles)?

"It's going to be a good match. I expect it to be very close."

The Gaels had little trouble in their semifinal match with McQueen, rolling to a 18-4 1/2 victory. Gorman used a 12-1 1/2 advantage in doubles to cement the victory. Joy Dahlman and Jillian Allen won three sets and Amy Friedlander and Vanessa Casas won twice. Danielle Johnson and Kerry Bennett also won two sets.

Green Valley also had an easy time, disposing of the north's top seed, Reno, 17-5 1/2. Realo and Jenny Nelson won three times each in singles and the doubles teams of Cappiello and Kielbowicz, and Samantha Villanueva and Lisa Lester, won three sets.

Green Valley's boys also can successfully defend last year's state title. The unbeaten Gators downed Galena, 18-4 1/2, Thursday. Green Valley won all nine singles' sets and Ben Regin and Brian Schuchmann won two sets in doubles.

The Gators will meet Reno for the title. Reno downed Bonanza, 13 1/2-9. Theron Tingstad won two sets for the Bengals in singles and Josh Benson and Ryan Christensen won two sets in doubles.

Both championship matches are being played at Sunset Park. Individual competition begins today for the girls at Silverado and for the boys at Sunset Park.

* GIRLS' GOLF: Barring a total collapse, Green Valley will clinch its second straight 4A state championship today. The Gators fired a 391 Thursday in the opening round of the event at Canyon Gate and lead second-place Galena by 91 shots. Reno is third after one day of play (491) and is followed by Reed (493), Durango (503), Bishop Gorman (521), Carson (524) and Cimarron-Memorial (572). Green Valley's Asheli Pendleton leads the individual competition after her Thursday 72. She is followed by teammates Mary Fernandez (77), Emily De'Ath (78) and Kimberley Kindig (79). Cimarron's Amber Williams is at 79 and Erin Borcherts is at 80.

* BOYS' SOCCER: Valley downed Eldorado, 4-2, behind goals from Jeff Arthurholtz, Tommy Kozonas, Neil Mehta and Tyrone Gboloh . Eldorado's goals were scored by Mark Stewart and Edgar Tavares ... Green Valley blanked Silverado, 3-0 ... Bishop Gorman got goals from Mike Chituras, Aron Romo and Nino Mantico to beat Cheyenne, 3-2. Andy Romeo and Marcus Garcia scored for the Desert Shields ... Rancho downed Las Vegas, 3-1 ... Durango edged Cimarron-Memorial, 3-2, behind two Ian Garner goals and another from Sean Larkin. Justin Gaines and Chris Brown scored for the Spartans ... Matt Lambert scored the game's only goal, leading Bonanza to a 1-0 win over Western.