Preps: Gorman's doubles play makes difference in win

Singles has always been tennis' glamor event, but anyone who doubts the importance of strong doubles play need only witness Wednesday's 4A Southern Zone girls tennis match between Bishop Gorman and Silverado.

Behind freshman Jamie Marshall and sophomore Kim Cavan, the Skyhawks won four of six singles matches to put unexpected pressure on the defending state champion Gaels.

But Gorman calmly took care of business on the doubles courts, capturing six of nine matches there to post a 13.5-9 victory and earn one of the zone's top automatic berths in next week's state tournament in Reno.

Green Valley, which lost to the Gaels in last year's state championship, also advanced, downing Bonanza 15-7.5 in Thursday's morning session.

"It was a little closer than we anticipated, but we definitely get to go (to state) now," Gorman coach Cindy Bennett said. "We knew the singles would be difficult, but we thought we'd take the doubles more easily than we did."

Indeed, the bulk of singles play did go Silverado's way, with Marshall running her season record to 39-0 with three lopsided wins and Cavan gutting out a tough 6-4 win over Gorman's Jennifer Kuhle to go undefeated on the day.

And when Silverado took two of three doubles matches in the event's second cycle, the Gaels found themselves ahead by just one point heading into the final rotation.

While Marshall and Cavan continued their dominance on the singles courts, the Gorman doubles pairs responded in style, posting wins over all three Silverado pairs to clinch things for the Sunset Division champs.

"We didn't know the exact amount, but we figured we were pretty close," said Gorman junior Vivian Shin, who teamed with sophomore Katie Tyndall to go 3-0. "It was a good feeling when they told us we'd won the match that put us over the top."

After the Gators and Gaels meet today to determine this year's zone champion, the area's top singles and doubles players will begin squaring off for individual titles and state berths. Play starts at 2:30 p.m. at Palo Verde, Green Valley and Cimarron-Memorial.

* BOYS TENNIS: Defending state champion Green Valley continued its repeat bid with a 22.5-0 shutout of Bonanza. The Gators will play Bishop Gorman in today's zone finale. The Gaels defeated Chaparral, 19-3.5, behind three singles wins from David DiMartino and doubles sweeps by their top two pairs. ... The three-day individual singles and doubles tournaments begin at 2:30 p.m. at The Meadows, Silverado and Durango.

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