Carson boys tennis falls just short

The Carson High boys tennis team came within a few points of picking up its biggest win in recent memory, if not in the history of the program.

Carson lost to Reno High 10-8 on Tuesday at the CHS courts in what is also the closest loss the Senators have had against the traditional Northern 4A power in recent memory. The loss sets up another key Sierra League showdown for Carson (6-1, 4-1), which will play at South Tahoe on Thursday.

The Vikings also lost to Reno 10-8."It went right down to the wire," Carson coach Pat Houlihan said. "The kids played their hearts out. I'm really proud of them.

"You can tell they were ready to play. You're talking about a couple of points here and there. A point here and there. I'm very, very pleased. It was fun to watch."

Carson couldn't overcome a 1-5 deficit after the first round. The difference between being down 1-5 and being even 3-3 was two 4-6 losses in doubles as Spencer Trapp and James Pelz lost 4-6 and Alex and Tyler Wing lost 4-6.

The Senators played Reno on even terms in the second round, but were down 8-4. They almost pulled off the comeback in the third round, trailing 9-8 with the final match still on the court.

Pelz and Trapp were tied 3-3 and a couple more games went to deuce before Pelz and Trapp fell 3-6. That's how close Carson came to forcing a 9-9 tie and the match coming down to tiebreakers. "The bottom line is we're there to play," Houlihan said. "We're starting to play better."

Brad Cobler and Jordan Rogers were impressive in doubles, sweeping 6-2 against Reno's No. 1 team and 7-5, 6-3. "They played some very intense, concentrated tennis," Houlihan said.

Also in doubles, Trapp and Pelz won 6-4 and Jon Kane and Ricky Nyguen won 7-5. "I think we play good doubles with anybody," Houlihan said.

Spencer Brinson also played well in singles. After losing 2-6 to one of the Northern 4A's top players in Jeff Mullins, Brinson won 6-3, 6-0. Thomas Hollenbeck-Pringle picked up a key 6-3 win in singles as well.

RENO 14, CHS GIRLS 4

Hannah Dudley and Elise Hansen picked up the only win for Carson in the first two rounds, winning 7-5 in doubles. Alyssa Corda and Hannah Shaw and Jenna Greenburg and Joanna Xie also played well in doubles in 4-6 losses in the first two rounds.

After Reno substituted in the third round, Tiffany Moore won 6-4 in singles and Hansen and Dudley won 6-1 and Corda and Shaw won 6-3 in doubles. Kristen Howard also played well in a 4-6 loss in singles and Greenburg and Xie played well in a 4-6 loss in doubles.