Sports Notebook...with Brian Gomez
Wasson repeats as state singles championAdd another piece of hardware for Corona del Sol High School tennis phenom Lynley Wasson.
Facing Tucson Salpointe Catholic sophomore Claire Soper in the Class 5A state championship match for the second straight season, Wasson experienced similar results this month with a 6-1, 6-1 win over her nemesis at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale.
The triumphant finish capped a remarkable junior season for Wasson, who went 30-0 to improve to 89-2 in her high school career. She didn’t drop a set in four state tournament matches.
“The match was closer than the score indicated, but in all the pressure situations and points, Lynley came through,” Corona girls tennis coach Carol Sandvig said. “She was nervous, but once she gets into the flow of the game, she just blocks everything out. She was solid off the baseline and she dictated play with her ground strokes, and Claire didn’t have any defense.”
As a team, the Aztecs (16-3) advanced to the semifinals, where they suffered a 5-1 loss to Phoenix Xavier, the eventual state runners-up. It marked the second consecutive year in which Corona lost to Xavier a game short of the title match.
The Aztecs likely would have had the edge in doubles against Xavier, but they never got there after junior Beth Lyons dropped a narrow match at No. 5 singles. Wasson mustered Corona’s lone win on the No. 1 singles court.
“We felt like we could have performed a little better against Xavier,” said Sandvig, whose team returns everyone but senior Meghan Houk next season. “We just didn’t have the numbers that day.”
Boys tennis
Pitted against former Central Region foe Scottsdale Desert Mountain, the Corona boys tennis team watched its season come to an end last month in the opening round of the state tournament. The Aztecs (9-7) dropped five straight singles matches.
Softball
The Corona softball team won’t be repeating as state champions.
Hampered by inconsistent pitching and a lack of offense, the No. 1-ranked Aztecs suffered a 3-2 loss to Tucson Canyon del Oro this week in the first round of the state tournament.
Senior pitcher Michelle Farrell (20-3) walked eight batters in what would be her last game at Corona, and the Aztecs (28-4) mustered their lone runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when the Dorados committed a throwing error.
Canyon del Oro senior shortstop Callista Balko scored the winning run in the eighth on a wild pitch by Farrell.
Boys volleyball
The Corona boys volleyball team was dealt a 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22 loss by Tucson Catalina Foothills this week in the opening round of the Class 4A/5A state tournament. Marc Mutnansky paced Catalina Foothills with 13 kills and 18 digs, and teammate Grey Vanderline had 10 kills and 11 digs.
Track and field
Hoping to turn potential into results, the Corona boys and girls track and field teams have filled the timesheets for the state championship meet, which concludes May 14 at Chandler High.
Favorites on the girls side include Katie Cartwright in the 300-meter hurdles and Katie Morgan and Beth Hualde in the pole vault. Corona’s girls 4x400 relay team enters with the state’s third-fastest preliminary time at 4 minutes, 5.18 seconds.
On the boys side, Jared Mosley has an outside chances in the 100m dash. Corona’s boys 4x100 relay team is strong with David Fero, Mosley, Jonathan Kaufman and Blaise Johnson.
