Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Kevin Wilson Clovis High senior Richard Hernandez blasts a return in his No. 3 doubles match with sophomore J.J. Alvarado against Enrique Cabral and Gerardo Calderon of Portales at the CHS courts. Hernandez and Alvarado defeated Cabral and Calderon 6-2, 6-1.
Staff photo: Kevin Wilson Clovis High senior Shaylee Warner reaches for a ball during her No. 2 doubles match with junior Samantha Lee against Samantha and Mireya Lopez of Portales on Tuesday at CHS. Warner and Lee posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Sports writer
Experience won out over relative youth on Tuesday.
link Staff photo: Kevin Wilson
Clovis High senior Richard Hernandez blasts a return in his No. 3 doubles match with sophomore J.J. Alvarado against Enrique Cabral and Gerardo Calderon of Portales at the CHS courts. Hernandez and Alvarado defeated Cabral and Calderon 6-2, 6-1.
Clovis High’s senior-laden boys, despite missing No. 1 player Tristan Pautler, cruised to an 8-1 victory over Portales at the CHS courts while the Lady Wildcats notched a 7-2 dual win over PHS.
Pautler is out, probably for at least this week, after he was bitten by a dog over the weekend and suffered a punctured right hand which became infected. He’s scheduled to see a doctor again on Thursday.
The Wildcats, though, didn’t miss a beat as everyone moved up a notch.
“We’re having to mix things up again,” CHS coach Brenna Silveira said. “But I still think the boys should be pretty strong.”
link Staff photo: Kevin Wilson
Clovis High senior Shaylee Warner reaches for a ball during her No. 2 doubles match with junior Samantha Lee against Samantha and Mireya Lopez of Portales on Tuesday at CHS. Warner and Lee posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Clovis begins District 6-4A play on Friday with duals at Alamogordo.
“We had a good day,” Silveira said. “We’re just focused on getting ready for district.”
The Cats and Lady Cats begin District 4-6A play on Friday with duals at Alamogordo.
Portales, meantime, has a District 4/1-4A quad on tap Friday and Saturday in Roswell, hosted by New Mexico Military.
“We’ve enjoyed playing Clovis,” PHS boys coach Logan Brown said. “This definitely will help prepare us for district.”
The Rams went with three freshmen against the Cats. Their lone win came at No. 3 singles, where sophomore Zac Laurenz defeated R.J. Alvarado 6-4, 6-3.
“There was quite a bit of an age gap (between the teams),” Brown said. “But I’ve been impressed with my boys; they all have risen to the occasion.”
Both Lady Rams wins came in super-tiebreakers — senior McKenzie Bucksath at No. 3 singles and freshman Zamorye Cox at No. 5. Outside of those matches, the Lady Cats won everything in straight sets.
“We didn’t play our best tennis by far, but Clovis played very well,” said Lady Rams coach Ann-Marie Bucksath, who is also McKenzie’s mother. “We had a lot of double-faults and some ground-stroke errors. But a match like this is good for us.”
