Tiger tennis team upended by Carthage

The Nevada Tigers were derailed by Carthage High School 5-4 Thursday in a non-conference matchup held at the Nevada High School tennis courts.

Nevada (2-2-1 overall, 0-1 WCC) recorded three singles victories, as No. 2 Jace Lanham doubled up Royce Worley 8-4. At No. 5, Nevada’s Gabe Barnes dispatched Jose Castaneda 8-3, while Tigers’ No. 6 Colson Fisher toppled Elijah Paden 8-3.

In other singles matches, Nevada’s No. 1 Sheel Patel was tripped up by Austin Ward 8-3. Carthage’s No. 3 Thomas Neuenswander dealt Tanner Gotschall an 8-3 defeat, while Carthage No. 4 Christopher Roberts blanked Caleb Theis 8-0.

“We had a decent night, despite the 5-4 loss,” Nevada coach Clayton Wheeler said. “There were several matches that the score did not fully reflect how the match went. Many games played were very close and the guys played a high number of deuce points with their opponents.”

Doubles matches

Nevada notched just one doubles victory, as its No. 2 tandem Lanham and Fisher coasted to an 8-4 victory over Roberts and Neuenswander. Nevada’s top duo, Patel and Theis, fell to Carthages’s Ward and Worley combo 8-1. The Tigers’ No. 3 team, Gotschall and Barnes were edged by Castaneda and Paden 9-7.

“The fact that this very young team is hanging in very close with good teams is encouraging,” Wheeler said of his squad. “We’ve had two (5-4) losses, and hopefully with a bit more experience we will get some matches to go in our favor.”

Junior varsity

Nevada’s junior varsity players competed in several doubles matches with a mixture of partners and opponents, as the Tigers concluded the day 4-4 overall.

NHS season records

–– Singles ––

• No. 1: Sheel Patel, 0-2; No. 2 : Jace Lanham, 4-1; No. 3: Tanner Gotschall, 0-2; No. 4: Caleb Theis, 1-1; No. 5: Gabe Barnes, 2-0; No. 6: Colson Fisher, 4-1.

–– Doubles ––

• No. 1: Patel/Theis, 2-3; No. 2: Lanham/Fisher, 2-0; No. 3: Gotschall/Barnes, 3-2.