Boys win second straight tennis title for Eagles

Battling through adversity, Boulder City High School boys tennis captured their second consecutive 3A state championship on Oct. 24, defeating Northern challenger Truckee.

Needing a tiebreaker to take home the title, the Eagles buckled down, eventually winning 4-2 in extra matches, behind victories from doubles tandems Miles Alder and Will Teeples, Nathan Law and Chase Herbolsheimer and Seamus Lemon and James Peel and singles star Jake Richards.

“These boys deserve to be champions,” head coach Rachelle Huxford said. “It most certainly wasn’t easy. We had to dig deep and play our best, but they got it done and I’m so proud of them. Truckee was a really tough team to beat, but this group came together.”

Leading the way for the Eagles, Richards finished 3-0 in singles play during regular intermission, while the doubles tandems of Alder and Teeples and Law and Chase Herbolsheimer finished 3-0 as well.

“I give credit to this group,” Huxford said. “We shuffled around with the lineup and they responded. They had the goal all season of being champions and they played like it.”

Unable to repeat themselves, the girls unfortunately fell to Northern challenger South Tahoe in the semifinals 10-7.

Doing their best to keep the girls’ season alive, the doubles tandem of Chelsie Larson and Lyla Gunson finished 3-0, while singles star Abrina Soares finished 2-1.

Winning individual matches as well for the girls was the doubles tandem of Harmony Cook and Quinn Gibson and singles competitor Brooklyn Koster.

“The girls didn’t repeat like they wanted to, but this season was far from a failure.” Huxford said. “They faced a really tough South Tahoe team and gave it their all. I’m very proud of them.”

Other top Eagle performers

Crowned a champion, Boulder City High School boys tennis singles player Jake Richards placed first at the 3A state tournament.

A freshman phenom, Richards defeated Adelson’s Ido Goren 6-3, 6-3 at The Meadows on Oct. 26.

“I couldn’t be happier for Jake,” Huxford said. “He had big goals coming into the season and he played great. He deserved to be a champion. I’m so excited to see what the future holds for him, with him being only a freshman.”

In the girls doubles tournament, the senior tandem of Lyla Gunson and Chelsie Larson finished fourth, falling to the Incline tandem of Mason Goldberg and Solin Visci.

Still needing to play their third-place match, the boys double tandem of Miles Alder and Will Teeples will take on the Moapa Valley tandem of Ashton Ellsworth and Collin Hughes at home on Monday.