James sisters team up for title

Iesha and Natasha James are making the most of their last chance to play high school tennis together.

The sisters, who spent the regular season playing singles matches for Clark, teamed up Saturday to capture the Sunset Region title in doubles at The Meadows.

Iesha, a senior, and Natasha, a freshman, beat another set of sisters, Sierra Vista's Danielle Ingwaldson and Danica Ingwaldson, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in the final.

"We've been playing together our whole lives," the James sisters said simultaneously.

"We haven't played together recently, so it was nice to come back together," Iesha James added.

The top two finishers at the regional advance to the state meet, which begins Friday at the Darling Tennis Center in Summerlin.

Third-place finishers must win a play-in match Tuesday to move on to the state tournament.

Palo Verde's Brandon Parker and Bishop Gorman's Sarah Toti each won singles titles.

Bonanza's Aashish Daulat and Andrew Whiting captured the boys doubles crown.

The James sisters are at their best at the net, combining quickness with a nice touch. They're equally adept at placing the ball near the lines or smashing an overhead.

The two combined for 50 winners and served well, committing only six double faults in 14 service games.

Still, the Ingwaldsons made Clark's team fight for the win.

Trailing 4-2 in the second set, the Sierra Vista duo won six of the next seven games to take the second set and take a 1-0 lead in the third. But the James sisters won six of the next eight games to finish the match.

"We stayed pretty confident," Natasha James said.

In the boys singles, final, Parker completed an impressive run.

A junior and a two-time state champion in doubles, Parker switched to singles this season and lost only 12 games in five matches in the regional. He defeated Jimmy Lovett of the Meadows, 6-2, 7-6 (0).

"I just wanted to take a shot at singles this year," Parker said. "I've always been a better singles player than a doubles player.

"This is the best I've played."

In the girls singles final, Toti beat Gorman teammate Anita Lee, 6-3, 6-2.

Toti and Lee each entered the match having lost only four games in their previous four matches.

Daulat and Whiting were 7-5, 6-3 winners over Palo Verde's Spencer Aguiar and Zach Wetterling.

Palo Verde won three of the four third-place matches, with Hadrien Saperstein placing third in boys singles, David Nichols and Danny Oka third in boys doubles and Lauren Centrella and Shelby Zepeda in girls doubles.

Legacy's Briana Watkins finished third in girls singles.