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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Lady Monarchs Crushed by Vikings

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    The Manzano High girls tennis team still has a ways to go.
    Valley (2-0) showed absolutely no mercy to the Lady Monarchs (1-2) on Tuesday afternoon at the Vikings' on-campus courts. Valley swept Manzano 9-0, winning six singles and three doubles matches.
    "The bottom line is this team needs to work on its consistency and not having such defeatist attitudes," Monarchs first-year coach Megan Brewer said. "They're up, then they relax, and the other team takes advantage. Ashley (Clevenger in the No. 2 singles match) was up 5-0 and started to relax."
    Viking Victoria Cruz ultimately beat Clevenger 6-2, 7-5. The two players battled long after the other participants had left the court.
    At No. 1 singles, Brazilian foreign-exchange student Thamiris Rodriques defeated Manzano's Tara Rivera 6-0, 6-4. Rivera just enjoys the game, win or lose.
    "I don't like tennis; I love tennis," said Rivera, a 5-foot-3 junior. "I really love it. It's going OK this year. I've had a few wins, a couple losses."
    Bespectacled Monarch Katie Halpern initially was in the thick of the No. 3 singles match until she became altogether disenchanted. Valley's Ariel Bartlett beat Halpern 6-2, 6-0.
    "I think I need to work on my anger (on the court)," said Halpern, a 5-3 junior from Sandia Park. "I think my serves weren't doing so good and I got frustrated."
    Manzano also competed in the Albuquerque Public Schools Singles Tournament, held at the Jerry Cline Tennis Complex on Friday and Saturday. Rivera (No. 1), Rebecca Schoeny (No. 6) and Amy Nim (No. 7) advanced to the quarterfinals.
    Rivera and Clevenger are coming off a doubles appearance at the state Class 5A individual tournament last May. It had been a long time since a Manzano player had made the state cut.
    "It'd been like 30 years," Clevenger said.
    Edgewood's Alysia Dow fell in the first round of the singles tourney at No. 8.
    "I like it this year," said Dow, a sophomore. "(Brewer's) a real good coach. She, like, coaches us. She isn't just there to be your friend."
    West Mesa defeated the Monarchs 7-2 in a dual at Los Altos Park on March 13.
    "Attitude is everything," Brewer said.
   
Manzano boys
    Valley beat the Monarchs 8-1 in a dual at Los Altos Park on Tuesday. Brothers Sann and Richard Pham, at No. 3 doubles, earned Manzano's sole victory.
    West Mesa defeated Manzano 6-3 in a dual at Alamosa Park on March 13. The Monarchs' duals record is now 0-3.
    Phil Lopez paced Manzano in the APS Singles Tournament at the Sierra Vista West Tennis Complex. Lopez, at No. 3, advanced to the semifinals.