Tennis: Lady Tigers top previously unbeaten Manogue

All of the sudden, the Douglas girls' tennis program's first-ever Sierra League title looks completely acheivable.

Douglas dispatched previously-unbeaten Bishop Manogue 14-4 in Reno Thursday afternoon to improve to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in Sierra League play on the year.

The Tigers dominated the singles bracket, winning all nine sets easily and losing only four games total on the day.

Amelia Ritger, Cesarina Ceglia and Kari TenBroeck all powered to three wins. The trio now stands as a whole among the top five in the league.

Ritger's season record is 17-1, Ceglia's is 15-2 and TenBroeck's is 13-1.

"Our singles players continue to dominate with each of the girls showing increasingly sophisticated sophisticated games," Douglas coach Roger Rusmisel said. "Amelia is looking for opportunities to hit winners and put games away, while Cesarina is creating situations to approach the net and end points with volleys. Kari is one of the hardest hitters in Northern Nevada, but she is employing a variety of spin of move players around the court and keep them off balance."

Douglas also got a big win out of the doubles team of Jamie Lundergreen and Katie Sawicki.

"They teamed up for the first time and defeated one of the most powerful doubles teams in the north 6-4," Rusmisel said. "They looked like a seasoned pair against a very experienced doubles team that had lost only one set this season."

Lundergreen and Sawicki had another win on the afternoon and Emily and Sarah Weaver won two matches as well.

Rochelle Seymour and Zoe VanderByl accounted for Douglas' last point with a 7-5 win in the third round.

Douglas fell 16-2 to Manogue at home Thursday afternoon.

"Despite the lopsided score, we competed pretty well," Douglas coach Rod Smith said.

"In a number of matches, the difference between a win or a loss often came down to a couple of well-played points. As we gain more experience, we will definitely have a better outcome in tough matches like these."

Garon Athanacio and Craig Stratton each posted a win on the singles side for Douglas while Nick Hicks made his varsity debut for the Tigers in the third round.

"Overall, we're playing much better tennis now than the first week of the season," Smith said. "Nick Hicks won two games against a tough, crafty opponent."