Tennis teams tripped by Truckee

Once again, it came down to a tiebreaker between Fallon and Truckee.

This time, the Wolverines rebounded from a late-season loss to claim the Northern Division I-A girls regional tennis title on Saturday in Reno.

Fallon and Truckee engaged in another grueling match, but the Wolverines prevailed in a tiebreaker, 6-0, to earn the championship.

Truckee nipped South Tahoe, 10-8, on Thursday to advance to face Fallon. The Lady Wave, meanwhile, advanced to the title match after Incline forfeited due to its players leaving the country for fall break, according to Fallon coach Julie Moore.

Despite the loss, Fallon earned its second straight team state berth and will face Faith Lutheran, the South’s No. 1 seed. Truckee will play The Meadows, the No. 2 seed.

The state tournament begins Oct. 23 at the Reno Tennis Center and culminates Oct. 24 at the Tahoe Donner Tennis Center in Truckee.

“It was even competition,” Fallon girls coach Julie Moore said. “I knew when we ended that first round 3-3 it would be close. We had to win four in the third round … and Sarah (Inglis) wins that match. I think that last round (the tiebreaker) we were tired.”

On the boys side, Truckee nipped Fallon once again, this time in a double-tiebreaker. The match ended with both teams splitting the 18 sets, then six in the tiebreaker. However, Truckee earned the win by winning more games, 40-39, and dropped South Tahoe, 11-7, to claim the regional title.

Trailing 8-4 going into the third round, Fallon rallied for a 5-1 win to force the tiebreaker.

“(Eric) Sabatino and (Dustin) Delugg pulled out a big win to put us into the tiebreak,” Moore added. “It was big and I think we had the Truckee boys worried there for awhile.”

With the loss, the Fallon boys did not qualify for state. Truckee, though, will face The Meadows on Oct. 23 and South Tahoe battles Clark.

“They were solid and the best they played all year long,” Fallon boys coach John Moore said. “Adam (Wadsworth) pulled out three big wins for us. I guess now is the time to be getting good for individual regionals. Too bad it didn’t work out for the team.”

The next step, however, is the individual regional tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday in Truckee.

“This whole week is a different atmosphere,” Julie Moore said.

The Lady Wave’s doubles teams, though, are in solid position to qualify for state.

Debra Beyer and Kali Strong earned the No. 2 seed, while Melanie Nuckolls and Izzy Martinez are the fourth seed. Kayla Bekiares and Haley Lindsay, meanwhile, are the eighth seed.

Each tandem must win two matches in the single-elimination tournament to qualify for state, as the top four teams earn a berth.

“We are on a new mission, an individual mission,” Julie Moore said. “I fully expect Kali and Debra to go to state. Izzy and Melanie, they are going to have a little bit of competition and could pull it out. Haley and Kayla, the same thing.”

Sarah Inglis, Fallon’s No. 1 singles player, is the No. 8 seed and faces Keith of Truckee. The winner, though, is likely to face No. 1 seed Anna Schrage of Incline in the second round. Lindsay Golding is the No. 12 seed.

“Singles are going to struggle,” Julie Moore said. “We have two, two-year players and are going against kids who have four years or longer (of experience) because of the area the live in. The will play hard.”

After losing only a handful of matches all season, Fallon’s best earned the No. 3 seed for the boys doubles tournament on Friday in Truckee.

Tyler Wood and Martin Beyer, who finally struck down Truckee’s No. 1 duo, aim for their third consecutive berth in the state tournament. The pair opens with a bye and will battle the winner of teams from South Tahoe or Incline in the second round.

The top four doubles teams qualify for the state tournament.

“I think they have a really good shot to go to state,” John Moore said.

Christian Stadtman and Wei Deng earned the No. 9 seed and face the eighth-seeded Matthew Barnett and Jonathan LaRue of South Tahoe.

Delugg and Sabatino of Fallon are the 12th seed and battle Brandon Flora and Eli Yale, the No. 5 seed, of Truckee.

“I think they have a shot,” John Moore added.

In a cruel twist, two of Fallon’s boys singles players were seeded against each other in the first round. Joseph Jamison, the No. 3 seed, and No. 14 Jumel Villacarlos will battle.

“It’s sort of a downer,” Moore said. “I won’t even root or coach during that match.”

Wadsworth, though, earned the 12th seed and will battle Truckee’s Zach Yamauchi. John Moore said he rolled the dice with Wadsworth as Fallon’s best singles player was good enough to be one of the eight top seeds.

Moore, though, opted for a random draw, which he said paid off.

“He got a really good draw, actually,” John Moore said. “I probably could have got him the eight seed, but I said no.”