CHS girls' tennis picks up win against Davenport, loses to Pullman

The Cheney High girls’ tennis team returned from spring break with a 6-1 loss to Pullman, in a Great Northern League match, April 11 and a 4-2 nonleague win against Davenport, April 13.

In the Pullman match, No. 1 singles Bridget Calvert picked up the only win for the Blackhawks, defeating Allie Rembert (6-4, 6-1).

“That was our first league match and Pullman came out tough,” head coach Courtney Webb said. “It was good for us to play a team like that to see what league competition is like and what to expect the next time we play them.”

Calvert continued her winning streak in the Davenport contest after she defeated Babbee Kieffer (6-0, 6-1). No. 3 Taylor Passey picked up her second singles victory against Veronica Wendling (6-1, 6-0).

In doubles, No. 1 Taylor Gould and Nika Kawue earned their first win as a team against Jade Smith and Jackie Soto (6-3, 6-2). No. 2 Divinity Lomazzi and Jasmine Daily swept Megan Holbrook and Malaika Henderson (6-0, 6-0).

Webb said her players showed a lot of improvement in the one-day span between the Pullman and Davenport matches.

“Girls are making adjustments and working on the strategies we’ve talked about in practice,” she said.

The Blackhawks also competed in the April 15 Post Falls Tournament. Alannah Lewis won the singles bracket after she defeated Sandpoint’s Alana Seifert (6-3) in the finals. Gould and Caitlyn Strong finished third in the doubles tournament after they won the third-place match against Post Fall’s Alexis Young and Timmie Short by injury default.

“It was amazing for Alannah to get that win, she’s been working hard this season,” Webb said. “With Caitlyn and Taylor, that was their second time playing together. They’re learning how to play and communicate well and coming up with different strategies.”

During the same tournament, Passey teamed up with Aaron Fillmore to finished sixth in the mixed doubles tournament while Kauwe and Hunter Pohl were seventh. As a team, Cheney finished fourth out of six teams with 108 points.

The Blackhawks (0-1 GNL, 3-1 overall) are in a three-way tie for third place with Clarkston (0-1, 0-3) and East Valley (0-1, 3-1) in the league standings. They hosted the Bantams, April 19, then travel to East Valley tonight (April 20) to play the Knights.

Webb said she expects the Clarkston match to be close, especially in the No. 1 singles and doubles matches. As for East Valley, Webb said she “hasn’t heard a lot about them and doesn’t know what to expect.”

“For me, I just want to focus on what my girls are doing, especially when it comes to playing a team like East Valley for the first time,” Webb said.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].