Tennis highlights fall-season play

The fall season officially ended for the Greenwave on Saturday.

And what an interesting three months it has been for the green and white.

The football team, coming off a state title last November, had a shaky season but still qualified for the postseason. The volleyball squad hosted the regional tournament and fell short of making it to state while the soccer teams had difficulties finding the wins column. Cross country put up a good fight and the girls golf program saw improvement.

The best sport of the fall season came from the tennis courts where the Lady Wave went undefeated in the regular season and regional tournament, before falling in the state semifinals. The boys also made the postseason as a team but sent only one singles player to state.

Fallon’s girls team posted a program best 10-win regular season after sweeping title contenders Incline, Truckee and South Tahoe. Fallon knocked off Truckee for the regional championship in tiebreaking fashion. The Wolverines conceded after the second of three rounds in the state tournament while Fallon came close to upending Desert Pines to play for the state crown.

The boys hung in every week and battled South Tahoe tough in the regional tournament before falling in the semifinal round.

It was a great year for a sport that doesn’t get the attention — and number of spectators — as football or volleyball. Unfortunately for the girls team, nearly all the starters will graduate this year, leaving the program in rebuild mode next year.

The volleyball team was the second-most successful sport this fall and needed one win in the regional tournament to go to state for the first time as a 3A school. It wasn’t meant to be, though, after Fallon forced a fifth set against Dayton before coming up short last weekend.

That loss, though, does not summarize what a great season this squad had.

Fallon went 13-3 in league and battled regional champ Truckee to four sets in each of its two matches. The Lady Wave knocked off a couple 4A schools early in the season and boasted a diverse and well-rounded line-up. Like tennis, Fallon loses a handful to graduation but this year’s success needs to motivate the program to do more in the offseason and make Fallon a stronger contender in 2017.

The football team lost many playmakers from last year’s state-winning season because of graduation. And it showed this year.

The defense started off shaky, allowing big plays, while the offense had difficulty finding a rhythm until a quarterback shake-up in the second half of the season. Fallon showed flashes of last year’s team last month, including an impressive shutout win over Elko in the playoffs. Spring Creek, though, squashed Fallon’s chances at going back to state.

The soccer teams had a rough year with the girls winning three matches and boys going winless. The silver lining is that both showed improvement throughout the year and the girls team was competitive in the second half where it won its three games.

Girls golf sent one to state this season with Allie Lister representing the green and white. The team was young but showed promise as each golfer cut down on her strokes throughout the year.

The cross country team nearly qualified for the state meet but fell short, as well. Like the rest of the sports, there was noticeable improvement on the paths.

While Fallon didn’t reach state in most of its fall sports, it still remains one of the most complete schools in the 3A. Fallon is consistent in each of the three seasons, reaching the playoffs in all but one sport this fall, and this winter should be exciting.

The wrestling team will defend its state championship beginning with the Earl Wilkens Invitational — now a two-day tournament — next month. The Lady Wave basketball team lost only one senior from last year’s state-semifinal team and should be the league favorite this year, while the boys look to build on last year’s late success.

Thomas Ranson can be contacted at lvnsports@yahoo.com.