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Incline tennis teams reach postseason

Incline High’s tennis teams will look to make a push toward landing players in the state tournament, with the boys and girls competing in the Class 3A Northern Region Tennis Championships over the next two weeks.

The girls (6-4, 6-4 Northern League) will send their whole squad to battle it out at Truckee on Thursday, Oct. 6, while the boys’ team will send a handful of players into the individual tournament the following week.

Senior Viki Valente has led the Lady Highlanders in singles play this season. Valente, a French foreign exchange student, has been one of the top players in the Northern League throughout the year, rarely dropping a game during her matches. Going into individual singles play, she should be a favorite out of the Northern League to reach the state tournament.



Sophomore Katherine Tong has also played well both in singles play this season, and in doubles in teaming up with junior Taylor Redfern. Sophomore Lucy Donohue and freshman Millie Jenkins could also make some noise in the postseason.

Incline finished the season as the No. 3 seed, and will face a difficult task in taking on No. 2 seed Truckee (9-1, 9-1 Northern League). The Highlanders dropped a pair of close contests against the Wolverines this season, losing both matches 10-8.



The highlight of the regional semifinal matchup should come down to Valente and Truckee’s top player, senior Rebecca Ziegler.

The regional semifinal between Incline and Truckee will take place at the Tahoe Donner Tennis Center on Thursday, Oct. 5, at noon.

Finals for the tournament are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Reno Tennis Center — Plumas Courts. The top two teams out of the four regional qualifiers will earn a trip to Las Vegas for the state championship on Oct. 19 – 20.

The individual girls’ tournament will start at 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, according to Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, with singles and doubles play taking place at the Tahoe Donner Tennis Center for the 16-girl tournament.

Semifinals for the tournament are scheduled to take place the following day at 9 a.m., with the finals and consolation matches held at noon.

Boys

The Highlanders boys (6-4, 6-4 Northern League) finished the regular season on a high note with a pair of wins against Churchill County and Sparks to climb into third place in the league standings .

The boys’ team would’ve entered the Class 3A Northern Region Tennis as the No. 3 seed against South Tahoe, a team that beat Incline 12-6 and 13-5 during the regular season, but, according to the Incline’s sports’ website Highlanders.org, the squad will forego the regional tournament because several players are out of town for the school’s weeklong fall break layoff.

The Highlanders will, however, send their full squad to the individual tournament the following week.

The Highlanders have been led this year by senior Lucas Tong, who was the only player this season to take a game from reigning state champion, Truckee junior Zach Haas. Tong managed to pick up a game each time he faced Haas this season. Tong finished his season 18-2 in singles play with both losses coming to Haas.

Junior captain Colin Drewes has also provided solid play during the year, finishing out his regular season with a 14-8 record in singles play. Junior Dalton Fry could also play a factor in the individual tournament. Fry finished the season with a 15-8 record.

The boys’ individual tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday Oct. 13, at the Tahoe Donner Tennis Center. The times for the boys’ singles and doubles tournament will be based on court availability due to the girls’ tournament beginning at 9 a.m.

The semifinals and finals will also be at the Tahoe Donner Tennis Center, and will begin at 9 a.m. the following day, with the regional championship scheduled for noon.


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