Abilene Wylie's top-seeded Bontke, Crousen cruise into Region I-5A girls doubles finals

Wylie’s top-seeded girls doubles team of Carly Bontke and Stealey Crousen played like the favorites Monday at the Region I-5A tennis tournament in Lubbock.

The two juniors beat fourth-seeded Ella Hester and Elizabeth Hollabaugh of Canyon Randall 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals.

The Wylie duo plays second-seeded Allex Gonzales and Morgan Rose from Amarillo High in the title match at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Texas Tech’s McLeod Tennis Center.

"Carly and Stealey showed why they are the top seeds in the region," Wylie coach Mark Hathorn said. "They took care of business in all three matches. It's great to have girls who have been here before and gone to state last year. I expect, and I know, they expect to to go out tomorrow and play the best match match of the tournament."

Wylie sophomore Trever Short also will play for the boys singles title, while freshman Kate Delgado still has a shot at a state tournament berth. She’ll play for third place in girls singles, hoping to get a playback match for the second and final state berth.

“In this tough of a region, to get two into the finals and a third with a chance, that’s a good day in my book,” Hathorn said.

The top two in each event advance to the Class 5A state tournament April 26-27 in San Antonio.

Bontke and Crousen had little trouble reaching the finals. They advanced with wins over Wichita Falls Rider’s Kotomi Nishihara and Eleny Sandoval-Almuna (6-1, 6-2) and Saginaw’s Kat Adams and Lauren Santos (6-0, 6-0).

Wylie’s Makeda Marquardt and Suhejia Qinami dropped their first-round match 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 against Gonzales and Rose.

“I’m really proud of Marquardt and Qinami,” Hathorn said. “They played the No. 2 seeds first round, and we won that first set right off the bat. We played nearly a perfect set. That was my No. 3 doubles team playing their No. 1.”

Short, the second seed, beat fourth-seeded Leo Burmudez of El Paso Chapin 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.

“We had to change our game,” Hathorn said of Short. “The kid (Burmudez) was pretty hot. We were just missing lines and we got a little behind in the first set. The other boy just didn’t miss anything. He made us make some mistakes. Trevor is very coachable. He’s able to change his game and do what other kids can’t do. I was happy with our adjustments, and he rolled pretty well in the second and third sets.”

Short draws the defending region champion and No. 1 seed, Amarillo Tascosa’s Ethan Ruppanner, in the title match at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Short reached the semis with wins over Mansfield Legacy’s Mason Martin (6-1, 6-0) and Amarillo High’s Pranav Nambiar (6-3, 6-0).

Top-seeded senior Axelle Jacquemin of Wichita Falls Rider beat third-seeded Delgado 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in the girls singles semifinals.

“We had chances, but she was amazing,” Hathorn said of Delgado.

Delgado will play fourth-seeded Allison Leath of Denton Ryan in the third-place match Tuesday morning. A victory, coupled with a Jacquemin win over second-seeded Eleanor Archer of Amarillo High in the finals, would earn Delgado a shot at a playback against Archer.

“I think the seeds will hold up, and we will get a playback,” Hathorn said. “But the girl (Archer) is good. We still have to win that one. It’s hard to get psyched up for third after you could have won the semis. It was good tennis today. I’m glad to have players in three different events still playing.”

Delgado reached the semifinals with wins over Canyon Randall’s Scout Adams (6-1, 6-1) and Burleson Centennial’s Katelyn Moravec (6-1, 6-0).

Cooper’s Helena Bridge, the District 4-5A runner-up behind Delgado, lost her first-round match to El Paso High’s Daniela Ocaranza 6-0, 6-2.

Amarillo High’s Kelton Brown and Karli Lakey, the fourth seeds, beat Wylie’s unseeded team of Logan Bible and Kindall Alford 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of mixed doubles.

Region I-5A tournament

at Texas Tech's McLeod Tennis Center

BOYS

SINGLES

First round

No. 1 Ethan Ruppanner, Tascosa, def. Mike Briede, Justin Northwest, 6-0, 6-3; Wyatt Spencer, Wichita Falls High, def. Andres Espinoza, Fort Worth South Hills, 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 Andrew Azatian, Lubbock High, def. Kaleb Russell, Burleson, 6-1, 6-1; Varun Kamath, El Paso Chapin, def. Javier Hernandez, Clint Horizon, 6-2, 6-3; Girish Sundaresan, Grapevine, def. Chaitanya Reddy, Wichita Falls Rider, 6-2, 6-4; No. 4 Leo Bermudez, Chapin, def. Steven Diaz, El Paso Parkland, 6-0, 6-0; Pranav Nambiar, Amarillo High, def. Emil Zuniga, Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 6-3, 6-0; No. 2 Trevor Short, Abilene Wylie, def. Mason Martin, Mansfield Legacy, 6-1, 6-0.

Quarterfinals

Ruppanner, Tascosa, def. Spencer, Wichita Falls High, 6-0, 6-0; Azatian, Lubbock High, def. Kamath, Chapin, 6-4, 6-1; Bermudez, Chapin, def. Sundaresan, Grapevine, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2; Short, Wylie, def. Nambiar, Amarillo High, 6-1, 6-2.

Semifinals

Ruppanner, Tascosa, def. Azatian, Lubbock High, 7-5, 6-2; Short, Wylie, def. Bermudez, Chapin, 6-1, 6-2.

DOUBLES

First round

No. 1 Wade Bryant/Taylor Vigil, Amarillo High, def. Jacob Cooper/Gaines Harvey, Wichita Falls High, 6-1, 6-2; Tobias Pfeiffer/Aaron Shetty, Colleyville Heritage, def. Jaime Gomez/Jude Valdez, El Paso Del Valle, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 Jeb Kitten/Alan Mann, Coronado, def. Evan Garza/Alonzo Lalani, Heights, 6-1, 6-2; Andrew Cammack/Jackson Cooper, Burleson, def. Josiah Choi/Caleb Chung, Chapin, 6-1, 6-1; Abbas Halai/Owen Mueninghoff, Heritage, def. Miguel Carrera/Noah Garcia, El Paso Hanks, 6-1, 6-0; No. 4 Carson Dyess/Cutter Mason, Randall, def. Jax Joiner/Hogan Posey, Aledo, 6-3, 6-1; Santiago Garcia/Andres Inostroza, Chapin, def. Gus Harvey/Tanner Needham, Heights, 7-5, 6-2; No. 2 Harrison Bennett/Drayton Stanfield, Lubbock High, def. Aidan Cates/Noah Smith, Burleson Centennial, 6-0, 6-1.

Quarterfinals

Bryant/Vigil, Amarillo High, def. Pfeiffer/Shetty, Heritage, 6-3, 6-0; Kitten/Mann, Coronado, def. Cammack/Cooper, Burleson, 6-0, 6-0; Dyess/Mason, Randall, def. Halai/Mueninghoff, Heritage, 6-0, 6-4; Bennett/Stanfield, Lubbock High, def. Garcia/Inostroza, Chapin, 6-0, 6-0.

Semifinals

Bryant/Vigil, Amarillo High, def. Kitten/Mann, Coronado, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-3; Bennett/Stanfield, Lubbock High, def. Dyess/Mason, Randall, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

GIRLS

SINGLES

First round

No. 1 Axelle Jacquemin, Rider, def. Mariajose Garcia, El Paso Burges, 6-0, 6-0; Cathy Du, Grapevine, def. Lauren Hull, Heights, 6-4, 6-1; No. 3 Kate Delgado, Wylie, def. Scout Adams, Randall, 6-1, 6-1; Katelyn Moravec, Centennial, def. Fatima Baid, Canutillo, 6-4, 6-3; Lauren Pond, Wichita Falls High, def. Kaitlyn Huzy, Mansfield Timberview, 6-0, 6-4; No. 4 Allison Leath, Denton Ryan, def. Sofia Baez, Saginaw, 6-1, 6-2; Daniela Ocaranza, El Paso High, def. Helena Bridge, Abilene Cooper, 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 Eleanor Archer, Amarillo High, def. Andrea Ramirez, Del Valle, 6-0, 6-0.

Quarterfinals

Jacquemin, Rider, def. Du, Grapevine, 6-1, 6-1; Delgado, Wylie, def. Moravec, Centennial, 6-1, 6-0; Leath, Ryan, def. Pond, Wichita Falls High, 7-5, 6-1; Archer, Amarillo High, def. Ocaranza, El Paso High, 6-2, 6-2.

Semifinals

Jacquemin, Rider, def. Delgado, Wylie, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5; Archer, Amarillo High, def. Leath, Ryan, 6-3, 7-6 (0).

DOUBLES

First round

No. 1 Carly Bontke/Stealey Crousen, Wylie, def. Kotomi Nishihara/Eleny Sandoval-Almuna, Rider, 6-1, 6-2; Kat Adams/Lauren Santos, Saginaw, def. Abigail Hernandez/Alexis Hovis, El Paso Jefferson, 7-6, 7-6; No. 4 Ella Hester/Elizabeth Hollabaugh, Randall, def. Kylee Bacon/Jordyn Lewis, Burleson, 6-0, 6-1; Eera Mehrota/Aneri Patel, Heritage, def. Sareinah Gutierrez/Natalie Navarette, Del Valle, 6-0, 6-0; Bianca Harris/Mia Rodriguez, Heights, def. Nayelli Martinez/Reyna Mauricio, El Paso Austin, 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 Georgia Posey/Katie Siddons, Aledo, def. Sabrina Chums/Arshvi Patel, Heritage, 6-1, 6-1; Katelyn Conaway/Lilly Vick, Centennial, def. Jazmin Pacheco/Mariah Smith, Horizon, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-1; No. 2 Allex Gonzales/Morgan Rose, Amarillo High, def. Makeda Marquardt/Suhejla Qinami, Wylie, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Quarterfinals

Bontke/Crousen, Wylie, def. Adams/Santos, Saginaw, 6-0, 6-0; Hester/Hollabaugh, Randall, def. Mehrota/Patel, Heritage, 6-2, 6-1; Posey/Siddons, Aledo, def. Harris/Rodriguez, Heights, 6-3, 6-3; Gonzales/Rose, Amarillo High, def. Conaway/Vick, Centennial, 6-0, 6-0.

Semifinals

Bontke/Crousen, Wylie, def. Hester/Hollabaugh, Randall, 6-2, 6-4; Gonzales/Rose, Amarillo High, def. Posey/Siddons, Aledo, 6-4, 7-5.

MIXED DOUBLES

First round

No. 1 Hattie Berend/Steven Lee, Wichita Falls High, def. Sean Anderson/Avani Benegal, Grapevine, 6-2, 6-2; Jantzen Redwine/Tatum Sikes, Legacy, def. Olivia Guzman/Maximus Martin, El Paso High, 6-2, 6-2; No. 3 Aidan Gilbert/Melinda Thomas, Randall, def. Robi Hernandez/Josiah Leggett, El Paso Bel Air, 6-0, 6-2; Isaac Faske/Sydni Smith, Coronado, def. Edna Caballero/Eduardo Tiliano, South Hills, 6-0, 6-0; Rebecca Collins/John Nickel, Heritage, def. Emma Fritz/Katcher Meeks, Burleson, 6-2, 6-3; No. 4 Kelton Brown/Karli Lakey, Amarillo High, def. Kindall Alford/Logan Bible, Wylie, 6-3, 6-4; Max Milton/Julia Weeks, Heights, def. Anali Bailey/Axel Perez, Hanks, 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 Trooper Denson/Jessie Stephan, Wichita Falls High, def. Tosh Agness/Ashlynn Barclay, El Paso High, 6-1, 6-1.

Quarterfinals

Berend/Lee, Wichita Falls High, def. Redwin/Sikes, Legacy, 6-0, 6-2; Gilbert/Thomas, Randall, def. Faske/Smith, Coronado, 6-3, 6-4; Brown/Lakey, Amarillo High, def. Collins/Nickel, Heritage, 6-0, 6-2; Denson/Stephan, Wichita Falls High, def. Milton/Weeks, Heights, 6-0, 6-0.

Semifinals

Denson/Stephan, Wichita Falls High, def. Brown/Lakey, Amarillo High, 6-2, 6-2.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Wylie plays for two titles at Region I-5A tennis tournament