Experiment doesn't change Colt tennis outcome

Karen Boehler
NMMI Sports Press

Colt tennis coach Will Cavin mixed up his boys doubles lineups a little bit Thursday vs. Piedra Vista, and one NMMI player was recovering from a stomach bug, so the Colts lost a few matches. But they still won the dual match, closing the afternoon up 6-3.
“We did a little experimenting today with our doubles,” Cavin said.
The coach moved Luis Fontes down to No. 2 doubles with Angel Reyes, and put Allen DeGroot at No. 1 with Francisco Saracho. But because DeGroot was coming off a 24-hour illness, the sophomore had a tough time on the court.

“He was playing under a little bit of duress today, and it didn’t help me with my experiment,” Cavin said. “But you always have to be ready for something that may happen where you have to move players up into different positions.”
Despite losing at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles, Cavin said DeGroot played well.
“Allen did a really good of playing through it,” the coach said. “He was discouraged that he didn’t do as well as he wanted to today, but he’s got to understand when you’re coming off a stomach bug like that, you’re not going to be the best that you could be.”
The No. 2 doubles team also lost, but in a close 7-5, 6-4 match. Saracho, Fontes, Spencer Treat, Reyes and Felix Higuera all won in singles, and Treat and Higuera combined to win at No. 3 doubles.

Nothing much changed on the girls side, with Megan Lynch and JinXiu Dong getting the only victories.
“Megan and Jin just keep rolling with their doubles. Megan with her singles,” Cavin said. “The other girls, it’s an improvement. It sounds like a broken record, but they’re improving every day. That’s what we’re looking for.”
And overall, he was pleased with the effort against the Panthers.

“It was a good test today. Good experiment. Kind of showed me some things. It’s always a learning deal, especially with high school kids. Then you toss in someone having a 24 hour bug.”
NMMI will see a few other different schools at the Roswell Invitational Friday, with the boys opening against 6A Cleveland and the girls 5A Farmington. Cavin will move his boys doubles back to their usual slots, but knows it could be a tough tourney.
“It should be an interesting weekend. It should be an interesting test,” he said.
Results:
Boys
NMMI 6, Piedra Vista 3
Singles
No. 1, Francisco Saracho, NMMI, def. Zander Halgryn, PV, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2, Luis Fontes Plascencia, NMMI, def. Kalani Aligarbes, PV, 6-0, 6-3
No. 3, Pol Nicolai, PV, def. Allen DeGroot, NMMI, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4, Spencer Treat, NMMI, def. Kyler Edwards, PV, 6-2, 6-2
No. 5, Angel Reyes, NMMI, def. Kaden Weisheit, PV, 6-1, 7-5
No. 6, Felix Higuera Rodriguez, NMMI, def. Justin Allen, PV, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1, Halgryn/Aligarbes, PV, def. Saracha/DeGroot, NMMI,6-2, 6-2
No. 2, Nicolai/Edwards, PV, def. Fontes/Reyes, NMMI, 7-5, 6-4
No. 3, Treat/Higuera, NMMI, def. Weisheit/Allen, PV, 6-3, 6-1
Girls
Piedra Vista 7, NMMI 2
No. 1, Megan Lynch, NMMI, def. Alyssa Baker, PV, 6-0, 6-1
No. 2, Sam Begay, PV, def. JinXiu Dong, NMMI, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3, Angelica Sabol, PV, def. Flor Toscano, NMMI, 6-2, 6-0
No. 4, Josie Howard, PV, def. Sofia Brassea Flores, NMMI, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5, Sarah DeKay, PV, def. Claudia Gerhardus, NMMI, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6, Leann Harris, PV, def. Savannah Lee, NMMI, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1, Lynch/Dong, NMMI, def. Baker/Howard, PV, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2, Begay/Sabol, PV, def. Toscano/Brassea, 6-0, 6-4
No. 3, Dekay/Rebecca Faulknor, PV, def. Gerhardus/Lee, NMMI, 6-2, 6-0