Local teams face tough route

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1999 | 10:34 a.m.

The four-day Southern Zone prep tennis tournament kicked off today, with a revamped format and a tougher road for local teams in search of state berths.

For the first time, the Sunset and Sunrise regions will compete in separate draws, in both team and individual competition. And with just two spots in next week's 4A state tournament going to squads from Southern Nevada, that means local teams will have to win their regionals to get in.

Things got started today with first-round team play, with the field paring from eight to four squads.

On the Sunrise boys' side, defending state champion Green Valley was paired with Valley and Silverado with Rancho. The Gators are heavily favored in the regional after breezing through the season with an undefeated record.

Sunset boys competition will at Palo Verde had Bonanza playing The Meadows and Bishop Gorman squaring off with the host Panthers. The Bengals defeated all three of the region's other teams during the season, including the Gaels, who downed Bonanza a year ago in the zone tournament.

"Certainly, we'd like to face Gorman again because they beat us last year to knock us out of state," Bonanza coach Rick Niemczewski said. "But we're not looking past Meadows or Palo Verde."

Sunrise girls action began this morning at Foothill, with Silverado and Rancho followed by Green Valley and Valley. The Gators were a state qualifier a year ago, but fell to the Skyhawks in the teams' lone regular season meeting this fall.

In the Sunset girls at Durango, defending state champion Bishop Gorman drew The Meadows at 9 a.m. and Bonanza was matched with Palo Verde. The Gaels have their eyes on a seventh state title in eight years.

"We're looking forward to next week, but we never overlook this week," Gorman coach Cindy Bennett said. "You can't assume anything."

Individual tournaments begin Thursday at 2:15 p.m. with singles competition at eight sites and doubles action at four locations. Sunrise championships will be played Saturday at Foothill, while the Sunset titles will be decided Saturday at Durango.

The state tournament gets under way next Thursday at UNLV's Fertitta Tennis Complex.