Anchorage Daily News

Tuesday's meet at Service High was almost finished and the visiting West players were cleared to leave early, yet many of the varsity tennis team stayed on the courts.

Most players were waiting for the bus to take them back to school, some were killing time. Either way, they utilized the open courts by playing they game they love.

"When we go home on the bus, some of them will stay at school and play some more," said West head coach Ron Holmes.

Sometimes, the Eagles even play in the rain.

"When it started pouring the other day, there were three of them, soaking wet, hitting the ball back and forth in the parking lot," said West assistant coach Bill Cotton.

The willingness of the West players to hit whenever and wherever is a big reason the Eagles have been the team to beat in the Cook Inlet Conference for the last three years.

West continued its success Tuesday by doubling up Service 6-3, improving to 2-0 this season and 50-2 since 2004 under the coaching partnership of Holmes and Cotton.

The Eagles have another top-notch coach in assistant Ron Swales, a former head coach at Bartlett and Service.

"I don't want to say we're better coaches, but there isn't a better trio of coaches," said Holmes, who is entering his sixth season at West.

Together, they have created a dynasty of sorts. Sure, West isn't what Dimond was back in the day -- the Lynx won 12 of 13 CIC championships from 1974 to 1986. But the Eagles have won or shared the conference title in each of the last three years.

And last year they won the first sanctioned state tournament in Alaska history.

West has been so successful, junior David Cotton said, the players actually get recognized at school.

"People do say the only sport West is good at is tennis," he said. "It's a bigger deal than other schools, but you wouldn't call it a big deal.

"You can hardly say people come to watch it, but sometimes a few of my friends will come out and cheer me on."

Tennis will probably never pack in the fans like football or basketball, but that hardly matters to the Eagles. They play for the love, not the glory.

That's why so many stuck around Tuesday with the final match of the day still going.

The only disappointment came when the bus arrived a little early to take them back to school.

"Can't we play again, coach?" yelled a West player on a distant court.

West 6, Service 3

Boys No. 1 Singles -- David Cotton, W, d. Robin Matthews 6-0, 6-0. Boys No. 2 Singles -- Jack Gunnill, W, d. Yun Kim 6-0, 6-3. Girls No. 1 Singles -- Madison Carey, S, d. Jillian Landau 6-4, 6-0. Girls No. 2 Singles -- Jordan Smelker, S, d. Elizabeth Phillips 6-3, 6-2. Boys No. 1 Doubles --Kellen Walker/Tyler Cohn, W, d. Andrew Kim/Argel Isaguirre 6-0, 6-0. Boys No. 2 Doubles -- Van Maulingcar/Taylor Hodges, W, d. Colin Ely/Patrick Walgreen 6-1, 6-0. Girls No. 1 Doubles -- Madelin Woodard/Sofiya Kostareva, W, d. Prishanya Pillia/Priyanka Pillai 6-2, 6-2. Girls No. 2 Doubles -- Deidre Jones/Jeearae Bascome, S, d. Chantel Pascual/Teresa Buklis 4-6, 6-0, 11-9. Mixed Doubles -- Meredith Woodard/Stefan Wanigatunga, W, d. Peter Noh/Barbara Nave 6-0, 6-0.

Find assistant sports editor Van Williams online at adn.com/contact/vwilliams or call 257-4335.

Chugiak 6, Eagle River 3

Chugiak won all four contested doubles matches, including both girls matches in third-set tie-breakers, to top host Eagle River 6-3 on Tuesday.

The Mustangs' No. 1 girls team of Kayleigh Vergnetti and Elysa Wilson prevailed 10-8 in their tie-breaker, which is a race to 10 points with a required winning margin of two points. Chugiak's No. 2 girls team of Bonnie Scott and Amanda Reimer won their tie-breaker 10-7.

Chugiak 6, Eagle River 3

Boys No. 1 Singles -- Matt Bottini, C, d. Paul McDonogh 6-1, 6-0. Boys No. 2 Singles -- Quinn Williamson, ER, d. Michael James 6-3, 4-6, 10-5. Girls No. 1 Singles -- Shelby Fuller, ER, d. Kathleen Judd 6-0, 6-0. Girls No. 2 Singles -- Katie Fogg, ER, d. Ceci Gray 6-1, 7-6. Boys No. 1 Doubles -- Colton Fullmer/Dylan Fullmer, C, d. Nishant Ambasht/Adam Neal 6-4, 6-4. Boys No. 2 Doubles -- Travis Rosane/David Smith, C, d. Robert Spiller/Ariel Zlatkovski 6-1, 6-0. Girls No. 1 Doubles -- Kayleigh Vergnetti/Elysa Wilson, C, d. Sarah Martinson/Ashley Mauger 6-3, 5-7, 10-8. Girls No. 2 Doubles -- Bonnie Scott/Amanda Reimer, C, d. Lauren Fukuoka/Ali Gilbert 2-6, 6-2, 10-7. Mixed Doubles -- Chugiak won by forfeit.

South 8, Bartlett 1

South captured victories in every match but one Tuesday to cruise past host Bartlett.

Delaney Scott and Jennifer Mitchell provided a three-set victory for Bartlett in girls No. 1 doubles.

South 8, Bartlett 1

Boys No. 1 Singles -- Cal McKim, S, d. Christian Cecil, 4-6, 4-6. Boys No. 2 Singles -- South won by forfiet. Girls No. 1 Singles -- Emma Lewis, S, d. Katie Steffens 6-0, 6-1. Girls No. 2 Singles -- Yixing Shi, S, d. Zalika Bishop 6-1, 6-0. Boys No. 1 Doubles -- South won by forfeit. Boys No. 2 Doubles -- South won by forfeit. Girls No. 1 Doubles -- Delaney Scott/Jennifer Mitchell, B, d. Eva Cress/Maris O'Tierney, 6-2, 7-6, 7-2. Girls No. 2 Doubles -- South won by forfeit. Mixed Doubles -- Marketa Wittichova/Logan Allred, S, d. Jessica Weeks/James Johnson, 6-1, 6-4.

Dimond 6, East 3

Dimond's No. 2 boys doubles team of Nick Kinder and Brock Crowe bounced back from a first-set loss to win the only match that went three sets and help the Lynx down East 6-3.

After dropping the first set, Kinder and Crowe rebounded to take the second set and earn a 10-6 edge in the tie-breaker to 10 points.

Dimond 6, East 3

Boys No. 1 Singles -- Elliot Stutzer, D, d. Kyle Cox, 7-5, 6-2. Boys No. 2 Singles -- Bryce Monaco, D, d. Jonathon Taylor, 7-5, 6-1. Girls No. 1 Singles -- Elena Coe, D, d. Michelle Taylor, 6-4, 4-1 (ret injury). Girls No. 2 Singles -- Julia Rumley, E, d. Emily Klopfer, 6-4, 7-5. Boys No. 1 Doubles -- Ethan Neslund/Ben Larson, E ,d. Michael Yoo/Andy Ivy, 6-1, 6-0. Boys No. 2 Doubles -- Nick Kinder/Brock Crowe, D, d. Danial Fink/Kyo Kim, 2-6, 6-1, 10-6. Girls No. 1 Doubles -- Esther Glasionov/Annie Ingaldson, D, d. Emma Neslund/Bittany Jermalovic, 6-1, 6-1. Girls No. 2 Doubles -- Oriele Jones/Rebecca Vetter, D, d. Devin Chapman/Yae Kim, 7-6, 6-4. Mixed Doubles -- Shaylie Wight-Crask/Jesse Issaguirre, E, d. Emilia Tifental/Kyle Moore, 6-0, 6-1.

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