South Tahoe High Boys Tennis Team does well at state tournament

Submitted by paula on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 7:28pm
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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Tahoe High boy's tennis team sent several players to the 2022 NIAA 3A State Championship this past weekend in Reno. The team clinched the Class 3A Northern League Boys Tennis championship earlier in the month, giving them two doubles teams, one singles, and a team entry in the state tournament.

The team played for the state title on Friday, Oct. 28, playing against The Meadows School, a private K-12 school in Las Vegas after beating Moapa Valley the previous day 13-5. They dropped the final match against The Meadows, 14-4, giving the South Tahoe Vikings second place in State.

For the doubles, Garrett Friederici and Chris Haven were the top seed from the north heading in the final tournament. They took the first set 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 against a team from The Meadows, losing in second round to Tyler Lemmel/Ike Pappas of Boulder City. That team lost in the final round to a Meadows team. Haven and Friederici played for third place in what spectators called some of the best tennis they've ever seen. The STHS team outlasted Truckee's Justin Pullen and Gavin Spear 7-6(0), 6-1.

Two other doubles teams from South Lake Tahoe resprented the Vikings, Landon Paschal/Philip Roberts and Sebastian Guerrero/Ralston Pierce. They lost their first round matches to the eventual winners and 2nd place finishers.

Seth Johnson was the four seed from the north. He bowed out in the first round, dropping Kiran Reddy of The Meadows 6-1, 6-2. Reddy ended up taking 2nd in state, and his teammates in 3rd and 4th. Hug High's Yuri Melikov, the top seed from the north took top honors.

This year was this first time the STHS team (or any Northernh Nevada team) had made it to the top two in State since the 1990s.

There were nine starters in a team of 28 boys this year: Senior Christopher Haven, Senior Garrett Friederici, Senior Landon Paschal, Junior Brennan Monroe, Junior Philip Roberts, Sophomore Seth Johnson, Sophomore Brodie Wallisch, Freshman Sebastian Guerrero, and Freshman Ralston Pierce.