Bonanza, Coronado advance

Bonanza's boys and Coronado's girls will get their shots at revenge this morning.

Both teams advanced to the championship matches in the state tennis tournament and will face the only opponents to have beaten them this season.

The Bengals (14-2 overall) will meet defending state champion Palo Verde (18-0), while Coronado (15-1) takes on two-time defending state champion Bishop Gorman (15-0). Both championship matches start at 9 a.m. at the Darling Tennis Center.

"One more shot," said Bonanza coach Erik Davis, whose team lost to Palo Verde in the regular season and in the Sunset Region final. "We all will have to be on our 'A' game, but we've got one more chance."

In Thursday's semifinals, Bonanza was an 11-7 winner over Coronado. Palo Verde downed Northern Region champion Reno, 12-6.

In the girls semifinals, Coronado routed Northern Region champion Galena, 17-1. Gorman was a 16-2 winner over Del Sol. Coronado has won 15 straight since a season-opening loss to the Gaels.

Gorman-Coronado also is a rematch of last year's state championship.

"We know what we have to do, but they're the two-time defending state champions," Coronado girls coach Bob Clements said. "Our kids are hungry because of what happened last year."

Bonanza had the most challenging semifinal match but swept all nine doubles sets.

"We had struggled in doubles all year long," Davis said. "We've been in this situation before, and that experience is helping us."

Meanwhile, Palo Verde had little trouble with Reno, with the 12-6 final score deceptive.

The Panthers, who haven't lost since 2005, led 10-2 after two of the three rounds and, with the victory clinched, replaced their entire starting nine for the third round.

"They definitely executed the plan of play consistent, play hard and take control early," Palo Verde coach Zach Brandt said. "It was nice to get some kids some rest and play some of our seniors" in the third round.

Palo Verde's three doubles teams lost a total of nine games in the first six sets.

The Panthers beat Bonanza 15-3 on Sept. 20 and defeated the Bengals 13-5 in the Sunset final on Oct. 8.

"There's definitely a big rivalry there, so our kids get pumped up for that match," Brandt said.

"I'm really excited," Clements said. "The kids are gleaming right now. We got some other kids a chance to play, and they're having fun."

Gorman altered its usual lineup by placing sophomore Anita Lee, one of the area's top singles players, in doubles. The Gaels won all nine doubles sets.

"We matched our lineup up just right for today," Gorman coach Gordon Hammond said. "We took a shot that a couple of our (other) singles players could get some wins."

Gorman was an 11-7 winner over Coronado on Aug. 24.

"We've been here before and have the one win so far this season," Hammond said. "They have to beat us, but they're deep."

Individual singles and doubles play also begins today, with quarterfinals starting at 2 p.m.