SWEETWATER COUNTY — Green River and Rock Springs took dominant victories over Rawlins and Cheyenne South last week as the Wyoming fall tennis season continues on.
Green River swept Rawlins 5-0 on both the boys and girls sides, while the Rock Springs girls won 3-2 and the boys won 4-1. Against South, the Wolves rallied for a 5-0 win over the boys and a 3-2 win on the girls side. The Tigers topped the Bison boys 4-1 and the girls 3-2.
The teams also suffered hard-fought defeats to Laramie. Green River battled, but the boys fell 3-2 and the girls fell 4-1. Rock Springs suffered a 5-0 loss for the boys and a 4-1 loss for the girls.
The Wolves girls won all five of their matches against Rawlins in two sets. Rylin Arnell beat Caitlin Anderson 6-1, 6-2; Sydney Lopez beat Charli Smith 6-0, 6-0; Brynley Beutel and Meghan Thomas beat Paislee Morgan and Abby Spenny 6-2, 6-0; Bianca Maez and Taylor Kendall beat Paige Riddell and Lia Bauer 6-0, 6-0; and Emma Johnson and Katelyn Tanner beat Tereza K and Aubrey Hoffman 6-0, 6-0.
Rawlins’ boys were a little tougher to take down, but Green River still completed the sweep. Lucas Arnold battled Tim Philo in the No. 1 singles match and came away with a 7-5, 6-3 victory. Kaiden Olson and Zander Chavez fought through three sets, with Chavez winning the first one 6-0. Olson came from behind to win the next sets 6-4 and 6-2 to claim the victory for the Wolves. All doubles matches were settled in two sets, with Jacob Britton and Quentin Bundy beating Owen Meyer and Bayden Meyer, Blaise Taylor and Lucas Hokanson beating Tyler Spenny and Connor Rothenberger, and Kyler Steiss and Joe Lovato beating Bridger James and Jacob James.
The Outlaws gave the Tigers a run for their money as Rawlins won both of the girls singles matches. Addie Aanderud fell to Aizlee Jenkins 6-1, 6-3, and Olivia Davies battled Anderson to a 6-4, 7-5 defeat. The doubles pairs avenged the singles players in dominant fashion. Tahlia Knudsen and Emery Punches-Mickelson shutout Smith and Morgan 6-0, 6-0. Sophia Pugmire and Braelyn Harris also took a two-set victory in their match over Spenny and Searls, 6-0 and 6-1. Ella Wiig and Makenna Wren clinched the team victory by beating Bauer and Riddell in three sets, falling 6-3 in the first one but winning the final two by 6-1 scores.
Rock Springs’ only loss to Rawlins on the boys side came in the No. 1 singles. Matthew Wren took on Philo, who treated him to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat. Wren’s teammates had his back, though, and won every other set that day. Clint Copsey downed Chavez 6-0, 6-3; Gentry Swafford and D. Conover beat Meyer and Waite 6-2, 6-3; Trevor Thompson and A. Conover topped Meyer and Spenny 6-0, 6-4; and Schumacher and Jaxon Wheatley bested James and Rothenberger 6-1, 6-2.
Green River continued their commanding performances with their wins over Cheyenne South. The girls fell in their singles matches, Arnell losing 6-1, 6-3 to Rio Barr and Lopez falling 6-4, 6-0 to Eliza Moore, but earned the team win in the doubles matches. Beutel and Thomas took a 6-3, 6-1 win over Thaliah Serrano and Robin Sarvey while Maez and Kendall beat Katana Trujillo and Jane Pivik 6-0, 6-0. The Wolves got the No. 3 doubles win by default.
The Wolves boys were near perfect against the Bison. Arnold got a 6-1, 6-0 win over Brandon Aviles and Olson beat Cullen Whetham 6-1, 6-0 to dominate the singles matches. They still showed no mercy in the doubles, as Britton and Bundy beat Nesto Simons and Landyn Boutelle, Taylor and Hokanson beat Max Valentine and Jose Flores, and Steiss and Lovato beat Michael Weisbrook and Gunther Buckendorf, all in two sets.
Rock Springs saw similar results. On the girls side, Aanerud fell to Barr and Davies fell to Moore for the Bison victories. Wren and Punches-Mickelson claimed a 6-1, 6-2 win over Serrano and Sarvey to keep the Tigers alive. Harris and Pugmire then downed Trujillo and Pivik 6-0, 6-0 in the final match, with Rock Springs’ No. 3 doubles default victory solidifying the win.
The Tigers boys had another strong showing against South. Whetham claimed the Bison’s only victory in the No. 2 singles match with his 6-4, 6-2 win over Copsey. Wren won the other singles match for Rock Springs, downing Aviles 7-6, 6-3. The doubles pairs cruised to victory, Ogden and Swafford over Simons and Boutelle 6-1, 6-0; Conover and Trevor Thompson over Valentine and Flores 6-0, 6-1; and Noah George and Koda Thompson over Weisbrook and Buckendorf 6-1, 6-2.
Lopez earned the Wolves girls only win against Laramie as she beat Jovee Stender in three sets, taking the last two 6-4 and 7-6. Green River managed to push all but one match into their third sets, even in the losses. Arnell, Kendall and Maez, and Tanner and Johnson were each just a few points away from victory.
The Green River boys edged Laramie even closer than the girls did. They won two matches in the form of an Olson victory over Henry Shuman and a Hokanson and Taylor victory over Niels Wiederholt and Jayden Zhu, both in just two sets. Arnold fought against Cody Litynski in the No. 1 singles match, but fell 6-4, 6-4. Britton and Bundy were tied one set each with Heiden Cho and Bryce Asher before an injury gave the Plainsmen pair the win.
Rock Springs was 1-9 in their Laramie matches. That one victory ccame courtesy of Harris and Pugmire, who downed Valerie Milam and Riley Clower in a 6-2, 6-3 decision. All other matches, girls and boys, resulted in two-set victories for the Plainsmen.
This weekend, the teams are back out east to face Cheyenne Central and East.