Green Valley, Gorman ready to defend titles

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Oct. 21, 1999 | 9:36 a.m.

Drama will likely be at a minimum during this week's 4A State Tennis Team Tournament, but don't tell it to Green Valley's Luther Bohanan or Bishop Gorman's Cindy Bennett.

Although Bohanan's Gator boys and Bennett's Gael girls are heavy favorites to defend their state championships, neither coach is ready to talk title just yet.

"We're looking forward to it, but I've told them all season that on any given day, anybody can beat anybody," Bohanan said.

Agreed Bennett, "We definitely have the power to win, but we're not sure what's coming back from the north so we're definitely not relaxed."

The three-day event kicked off this morning at UNLV's Fertitta Tennis Complex, with the four-time defending champion Gators opening boys play against Reno's Galena High. In the other 9 a.m. boys match, Bonanza squared off with Northern Zone champion Reno High.

Green Valley breezed through the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record, thanks to a balanced attack in singles and doubles play. The Gators are led by singles players Chasen Cohen, Ben Regin and Todd Cox, along with the No. 1 doubles team of Joel Keilbowicz and Mike Schuldt and the No. 2 combo of Lloyd Del Mundo and David Kwon.

"I've told the kids if they play their game, they're going to win," Bohanan said. "They just have to play their game."

The Gorman girls, winners of six of the past seven state team titles including the past two, got started with a 1:30 p.m. match today against Reno, while Green Valley took on McQueen in the other match.

The Gaels' 12-0 record this year included an impressive 15-7.5 win over Green Valley, a team Gorman beat by just one-half point in last year's state title match.

Among the Gaels' top individuals are No. 1 singles player Jennifer Kuhle, who placed third in the state last year, and the No. 1 doubles pairing of sisters Christian and Catrina Thompson -- freshman twins who did not drop a set during the season.

"(The Thompsons) are incredible and they've been such great team players" Bennett said. "I've played them together, with other people or in singles, and they raise the play of people they play with."

Boys and girls team finals will take place Friday at 9 a.m., followed by the opening round of individual singles and doubles competition.

Cohen is among the favorites in the boys singles draw, but he will have a tough road into the finals. Standing in his way are northern individual champion Andy Sweatt of Galena, perennial contender Adrin Himmelheber from the Meadows and a potential rematch with Foothill freshman Lew DeLeon, who handed Cohen his first loss of the season in last week's zone final.

The girls bracket also looks strong, with four of last year's eight competitors back in the fold: Kuhle, Green Valley's Antonella Realo, Silverado's Jamie Marshall and Douglas' Amber Oglesby. Tahoe-Truckee's Sandra Brunner could also figure into the mix after winning the northern title last week.

In boys doubles, Green Valley's top two teams will try to meet for the second week in a row in the finals, although they could get pushed by the Reno High combo of Dan Scafidi and Evan Buell. And in girls doubles, seven teams will take their best shot at knocking off the nationally ranked Thompson twins.