Coyotes down JHS

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Both teams entered the evening in search of their first win of the season on Thursday at Bolinger Courts, and in the end it was Williston notching a 6-3 victory over the Blue Jays in high school boys tennis.

The Jays and the Coyotes split at singles, with each team notching three victories, but in doubles it was all Williston as the Coyotes improved to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the West Region.

“You’ve got to give credit to Williston. They came in and won the big matches when they needed them,” JHS coach Pat Mullowney said. “Both of us were looking for a win tonight and this match was about as close as it can get.”

The Blue Jays earned victories at No. 1 and No. 2 singles against the Coyotes. Jamestown junior Nick Watne upended Tracer Overland at No. 1, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4, while senior teammate Declan O’Higgins notched the win at No. 2 over Adam Kemp, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

But the pair was unable to carry that momentum over to doubles. Watne and O’Higgins fell to Overland and Kemp 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 doubles, while the No. 2 and No. 3 Jamestown doubles teams of Braydon Love and Nate Soulis, and Ashton Johnson and Michele Simonetti also fell to the Coyotes.

“I thought our doubles effort was there, we just weren’t executing the way we normally do,” Mullowney said. “I talked to the Williston coach and he said they played their best doubles of the year tonight, so it was a combination of Williston bringing a great game in doubles and we didn’t bring our ‘A’ game in doubles tonight.

“That’s all it takes.”

Johnson earned Jamestown’s third singles victory of the evening at No. 4 against Williston’s Travis Kuhn, 7-6 (5), 6-4. The No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches were highly contested, but in the end it was Williston’s Tyler Hermanson defeating Nate Soulis 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and Williston’s Tate Barbot defeating Ben Harris 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

“That was Ashton’s first varsity singles win. That was a great effort,” Mullowney said. “Nate and Ben both played good tennis and played well enough to be in a close match. They’re looking to break through and they just need a little more persistence and they’ll get there.

“We are right on the edge of getting some of these matches, especially in singles,” Mullowney added. “We just came up a little bit short.”

The Blue Jays (0-6, 0-4 West Region) will be at the West Fargo Invitational on Saturday, before kicking off three West Region matches next week, starting with Mandan at Bolinger Courts on Tuesday.

“We’ve got a lot of tennis coming up,” Mullowney said. “We’ll keep battling.”

Williston 6, Jamestown 3

Singles

No. 1: Nick Watne, J def. Tracer Overland, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4.

No. 2: Declan O’Higgins, J def. Adam Kemp, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

No. 3: Chase Olson, W def. Braydon Love, 6-0, 6-1.

No. 4: Ashton Johnson, J def. Travis Kuhn, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

No. 5: Tyler Hermanson, W def. Nate Soulis, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

No. 6: Tate Barbot, W def. Ben Harris, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Doubles

No. 1: Overland/Kemp, W def. Watne/O’Higgins, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 2: Olson/Kuhn, W def. Love/Soulis, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

No. 3: Hermanson/Austin Semenko, W def. Johnson/Michele Simonetti, 6-2, 6-2.

Records: Williston 1-4, 1-3 West Region: Jamestown 0-6, 0-4 West Region.

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, tennis, jays