Bonanza boys, Gorman girls earn shots at championships

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 10:35 a.m.

All games 7 p.m.

Basic at Chaparral

Foothill at Silverado

Desert Pines at Eldorado

Las Vegas at Valley

Bishop Gorman at Bonanza,

Clark at Western

Centennial at Cheyenne

Cimarron-Memorial at Palo Verde

Green Valley at Rancho

Mojave at Durango

Boulder City at Pahrump Valley

Tonopah at The Meadows

Lincoln County at Faith Lutheran

Bonanza's boys tennis team got the semifinal victory it needed, and the title matchup it most certainly wanted.

After eking out a tough 11.5-11 victory over Green Valley Thursday, the Bengals were scheduled to take on Galena today in the NIAA/U.S. Bank 4A State Championship at UNLV's Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Last year, the Grizzlies bested the Bengals by half a point for the title.

"I don't know if this is fate, but it would be nice to see us come out on top after what happened last year," Bonanza coach Rick Niemczewski said. "We had such a tough match today. They were thankful to survive."

The Bengals trailed 5.5-2 after the first rotation, but managed to rally past the Gators largely on the strength of their singles play. Bonanza's Chris Wilson, Ernie Domanico and Morgan Taylor won six of eight sets, while Green Valley took six of eight doubles sets.

The match's critical points may have come when Ryan Phillips and Hunter Campbell, the Bengals' No. 3 doubles duo, toppled Scott Moon and Jeremy Hynds -- one of two Gators' doubles teams to qualify for the upcoming individual state tournament -- 7-5.

Galena returned to the title match with a 14-8.5 victory over Silverado. Grizzlies' top singles player Andrew Eklov swept his three singles sets by perfect 6-0 scores, and Josh Roach and Daryl Gasca went 3-0 in doubles.

On the girls side, Bishop Gorman avenged last year's championship loss to Silverado, ousting the Skyhawks 15-7.5 in the semifinal round.

The Gaels captured eight of nine doubles sets, with sisters Catrina and Christian Thompson splitting up to help key the attack. Catrina and partner Allison Davis dropped just one game in three victories, while Christian and Kristin Turner were nearly as good, losing just three games in three wins.

"That was a big one for us. It was like making up for last year," Gorman coach Gordon Hammond said. "It meant a lot to the girls who were on last year's team."

Jamie Marshall and Lauren Martines both swept their three singles matches for the Skyhawks.

The Gaels were slated to face Northern Region champion Galena. The Grizzlies got past Green Valley 12.5-10, winning eight of nine singles sets in the victory.

Individual boys and girls singles and doubles action also begins today, with first round matches at 2 p.m. Play continues Saturday, with semifinals scheduled for the morning and the finals slated for noon.