MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks girls tennis team came just short of a team victory as they fell 3-4 to Sunnyside on Wednesday. Mavs Head Coach Mark Thompson said the young team is still putting in great work as they head into a tough schedule next week. 

“They’re doing alright, we’ve got a lot of learning to do as a young team right now,” said Thompson. “It’s kind of a brand-new varsity lineup for the girls, so they’re figuring things out.” 

For the girls, the competition was much closer than the MLHS boys, as the second singles team of Arianna Martinez and Desirae Cantu were first off the court with a 6-0, 6-1 victory, but were followed by a 2-6, 0-6 loss in second singles from Ariah Louiseau.  

Kamaile Bruce, a junior from the Mavs, claimed a convincing victory in first singles as she won 6-2, 6-2 over Sunnyside’s Devyn Bonzi.  

“Last time I played her, we split, so I was kind of nervous,” said Bruce. “But going in, I was just confident and confident in my swings and came out good, won, and just knew where the winds blowing and hit them right.” 

Having confidence is something the junior said is going to be crucial in these last few weeks of the season. She is becoming more confident in herself as she has stepped into the first singles position this season after playing in doubles matches throughout the season prior. 

“(I want to) practice more and get that habit in for senior year,” said Bruce. “That way, when I go into senior year, I have all those skills ready to go.” 

The Mavs first doubles team of Camila Gonzalez and Kinsey Thomas had a close matchup against Sunnyside’s Giselle Suarez and Destiny Trevino falling in the first set and winning the second, but ultimately Sunnyside claimed the third set 4-6. Moses Lake’s third doubles team of Sage Salisbury and Annabella Sales put the girls back in winning position with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. 

The final two matches of the day came in third and fourth singles as Hadley Whitall from the Mavs battled Lianyah Sosa and Moses Lake’s River Spees battled Itzel Molina. Both girls came close and pushed the matches into third sets, but ultimately Sunnyside claimed victory in both to end the meet 3-4 in their favor.  

Thompson said the Mavs have a few days to prepare before facing some tough competition against Wenatchee and West Valley next week. Immediately following those league matchups, the Mavs will send 20 players to Spokane to compete in the Inland Empire tournament. 

Both Wenatchee and West Valley have had strong performances this season, with West Valley being undefeated as of April 14. In preparation for the tough competition ahead, the Mavs coach said he is going to have the team try out different strategies and lineups. 

“We know going into districts and even to Inland (that) we have some new opportunities to play different lineups of kids,” said Thompson. “We want to see who matches up the best together with doubles and our single lineups.” 

The Mavs remain home to play Wenatchee on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before heading on the road to West Valley on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The team then heads to the Inland Empire tournament running April 24-25. 

Results 

Kamaile Bruce (MLHS) def. Devyn Bonzi (SNNY), 6-2, 6-2 

Mayrin Dominguez (SNNY) def. Ariah Louiseau (MLHS), 2-6, 0-6 

Lianyah Sosa (SNNY) def. Hadley Whitall (MLHS), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6 

Itzel Molina (SNNY) def. River Spees (MLHS), 6-2, 3-6, 0-6 

Giselle Suarez/Destiny Trevino (SNNY) def. Camila Gonzalez/Kinsey Thomas (MLHS), 1-6, 6-2, 4-6 

Ariana Martinez/Desirae Cantu (MLHS) def. Amalia M/Savannah W (SNNY), 6-0, 6-1 

Sage Salisbury/Annabella Sales (MLHS) def. Jayden G/Juet B (SNNY), 6-2, 6-1 

    Arianna Martinez from Moses Lake hits the ball back during the second doubles matchup against Sunnyside.
  

    Mavs player Sage Salisbury stands ready on the court as she awaits the serve during Wednesday’s third doubles match.
  

    Moses Lake’s Ariah Louiseau prepares to serve to her Sunnyside opponent during Wednesday afternoon’s second singles matchup.