Sahuarita boys take Class 3A tennis title

The Mustangs, who had reached the Class 3A finals but fallen short each year since 2003, defeated Coolidge 5-2 Friday at Phoenix Tennis Center to win the team crown.

Sahuarita coach Tina Cueto said this year's focused more on its potential than the past.

"We've been so close, but we never considered it a hump to get over," she said.

"We've been (3A South) conference champs for five years in a row now, and there's been steady improvement every year."

Cueto said the Mustangs' singles players were able to set the tone with gutty matches early. Pablo Cueto, Chris Rieman and Jackson Wray took their matches to the third set; Cueto and Rieman both won.

Rieman and doubles partner John Murek then clinched the title with a 10-1 win over Coolidge's Clint Solomon and Daniel Gomez.

"That," Tina Cueto said, "was the most gratifying match of the day."

Fountain Hills won the girls bracket with a 5-4 win over Safford.

The 3A state tournament will conclude with individual semifinals and finals today at Phoenix Tennis Center.

Baseball

● Sahuarita 6, Payson 0: At Maryvale Sports Complex, Fernando Mejia struck out 14 and improved to 10-0 as the Mustangs (23-3) advanced to the second round of the Class 3A state championships. Mejia also contributed at the plate — he and teammates Manny Barreda and C.R. Salisbury combined to go 10 for 11 with six doubles.

Sahuarita will play Mohave Valley River Valley today at noon in the second round.

Softball

● Douglas 10, Queen Creek 0: At Queen Creek, Jacque Olivas and Katie Campbell combined for seven RBIs to lead the Bulldogs to a first-round victory in the Class 4A-II state playoffs.

"It's the first time this year that I thought we almost played a perfect game," said Douglas coach Abe Grijalva. "We just made the routine plays when we had to."

Douglas (24-7) will move on to play the winner of today's game between Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain and Palo Verde.