Tennis seedings place BCHS in good position for titles

Boulder City High School seniors Kannon, left, and Kenny Rose seen playing against The Meadows on Sept. 2, enter the regional tournament as the No. 2 seed in doubles.

Individual seedings for the boys and girls 3A Southern Region tennis tournament Oct. 19-22 have been set with several Eagles from Boulder City High School’s boys and girls teams selected.

The boys had all three doubles teams and all three singles players selected, leaving the Eagles looking to crown another champion after the doubles duo of 2019 graduates Boen Huxford and Preston Jorgensen won in 2018 and 2019.

There was no championship in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving the boys their best chance at success, senior doubles duo Kannon Rose and Kenny Rose come into regionals as the No. 2 seed, looking to end their high school careers on a high note.

Juniors Tyler Lemmel and Bret Pendleton enter as the No. 5 seed, and juniors Josh Miller and Jeremy Spencer enter as the No. 6 seed.

“Our bracket in doubles is phenomenal,” said boys head coach Rachelle Huxford. “None of the boys should meet up until the semifinals, which is really good for us. Kenny and Kannon have a real good draw and the only team ahead of them is from The Meadows, who I really believe they can beat as long as they don’t lose their composure. I really do believe they have the potential to be our next individual champions.”

In singles play, senior Nathan Pickett enters as the No. 4 seed and sophomore Ike Pappas is the No. 5 seed, meaning they’ll play each other in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Oct. 20, if both advance past the round of 16.

Senior Ben Schafler enters individual play as the No. 6 seed.

“I wish in the singles we didn’t have our kids meeting each other so early, but that’s how the seedings fell,” Huxford said. “I believe all three are set for really good matches. We’ve been working to clean up stuff the last few weeks and they’re all prepared to go in and do their best. My hopes are high for all of them.”

For the girls, senior Reggi Gibbs will enter as the No. 2 seed in hopes of becoming the Lady Eagles’ first individual champion since then-senior Olivia Mikkelson won in 2018.

“I am extremely proud of the player that Reggi has become,” said girls head coach Jami Pappas. “She has become very confident in her game, very different than years past. This year when she walks out on the court I know that she is going to perform to the best of her ability. She has a no-nonsense, get-it-done attitude.”

Sophomore Lily Mikkelson will enter singles play as the No. 8 seed.

In doubles play, sophomores Julia Carmichael and Chiara Steffes enter as the No. 4 seed, and juniors Cali Torgesen and Rose Randall enter as the No. 5 seed. Sophomore Vera Gunson and Chayce Larson enter as the No. 7 seed.

The tournament begins Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Bishop Gorman High School for the round of 16, then moves to Liberty High School on Wednesday, Oct. 20, for quarterfinals, semifinals and championship matchups.

Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.