It could end up that the Carson High girls tennis team will have to settle for having the heart of a playoff team.
For the second time this year, Carson lost in a tiebreaker in Sierra League play, this time to arch rival Douglas on Tuesday at the CHS courts. Earlier in the year, the Senators battled Manogue to a 9-9 tie before losing the six tiebreakers 4-2.
This time against Douglas, it was even closer than that. After Carson won the last two matches in the third round to force a 9-9 tie and six more tiebreakers, the Senators and Douglas ended up tied in the tiebreakers 3-3.
The result of the match then reverted to how many points were won in the tiebreakers and Douglas outscored Carson 35-28 to come away with the win.
Unless if it pulls off a stunning upset against Galena at CHS on Thursday, Carson will have to beat South Tahoe to have any chance to make the playoffs.
Douglas solidified its playoff position as it has already beaten Manogue 12-6. The Tigers lost to South Tahoe 11-7, but the Tigers lost two 4-6 sets in that match that would have forced a tiebreaker.
"They look like they have a chance to do something with South Tahoe because they're good," Douglas coach Roger Rusmisel said.
"That's our one hope," said Carson coach Linda Hixenbaugh about the South Tahoe match. "They all played their hearts out. They did a great job in getting to the tie."
Carson's chances to force the tiebreaker came down to Bridjette Huish and Ali Collier having to beat the Tigers' Nikki Hamzik and Marissa Delgadillo and Sara Shores having to beat the Tigers Clara Ritger.
Both matches went down to a tiebreaker. Huish and Collier overcame a 2-4 deficit to win 7-6 (7-3). Ritger had two match points for herself " and the Tigers " at 6-5, 15-40, but Shores held on to her serve and used the momentum to win the tiebreaker 7-6 (7-2).
In the six tiebreakers, the six first round opponents played each other. Douglas was able to reverse the results of two losses in the first round when Delgadillo and Hamzik were able to beat Elise Hansen and Hannah Dudley 7-3 and Jamie Lundgren and Linsey Glass was able to beat Alyssa Corda and Hannah Shaw 7-3.
Douglas also got two key close losses from Ritger, who lost 5-7 to Carson's Tiffany Moore and Cesarina Cegelia, who lost 6-8 to Carson's Emily Collins.
"I've never seen a match like this but typical of the Carson-Douglas rivalry," Rusmisel said. "That was huge for us the two doubles that reversed the course and our singles who lost got a lot of points.
"(The tiebreakers) were typical of the who match when sometimes it comes down to just one or two points."
Another pivotal match came in the second round when Ritger staved off a match point in the tiebreaker down 5-6 and came back to win to win 7-6 (8-6) to give Douglas a 7-5 lead going into the third round.
Ritger also won 6-1 and Hamzik and Delgadillo also won 6-2. Douglas sophomore Amelia Ritger kept her Northern Nevada unbeaten streak going in dominating fashion, winning 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.
For Carson, Hansen and Dudley swept 6-2, 6-2, 6-0, Collier and Huish won their other matches 6-1, 6-1 and Shaw and Corda also won two matches.
CARSON BOYS 11, DOUGLAS 7
At Douglas, the Senators strengthened their shot for a higher playoff seed. Spencer Brinson won 6-2, 6-0, Adam Whitt won 6-3, 6-0 and Gordon Lee won 6-1 in singles for Carson. James Toenbrook swept his three matches for Douglas.
In doubles, Jon Kane and Ricky Nguyen won 6-0, 6-3, Jordan Rogers and Tyler Simms won 6-0, 6-3 and Matt McDaniel and Thomas Hollenbeck-Pringle won 6-1, 6-1. For Douglas, Kevin Sacheman and Andrew Soloman beat both Rogers and Simms and Kane and Nguyen 6-4, 6-4 on their way to a hard earned sweep.
This past weekend, 80 players from Carson City, Gardnerville, South Tahoe and Reno competed in the second annual Carson City Shootout at Centennial Park. All players were treated to a barbecue catered by Carson barbecue. Championship results were:
Men's A Singles: Josh Balderson def. Kyle Horvath 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; Men's B Singles: Brandon Grove def. Scott Cummings 6-3, 6-7, 6-2; Men's C Singles: First, Adam Whitt, 2-0; second, Blake Sly, 1-1; Women's C Singles: Hannah Dudley def. Sara Shores 6-4, 6-3.
Men's A Doubles: First, Bruce M/Alain K 3-0; second, Kyle H/Nathan G 2-1; men's B doubles: Bob G/Brandon G def. Dale L/Bill M 6-0, 6-3; men's C doubles: First, Gregg W/Dave S 3-0; Grant T/John P 2-1; Women's Open Doubles: Kathy W/Linda H def. Peggy T/Sue R 6-1, 6-2; Mixed A Doubles: Mike R/Lynn R def. Josh B/Lauren H 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.