GLENDALE โ Itโs said to be difficult to make up for lost time, but Lindsey Pesqueira has been making it look rather uncomplicated.
Despite only taking up tennis seriously a few years ago, the Rincon/University sophomore has risen to the top of the girls tennis scene in Division II, and is now making her mark at the state level.
Pesqueiraโs latest display of dominance took place Saturday at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale, where she won 6-0, 6-1 over Kaycie Cormier of Douglas, advancing to the quarterfinals of the girls Division II singles state tournament.
โLindseyโs been so fired up,"ย Rincon coach Dave Blackwell said. "She knows thereโs pressure, and she loves it.
โShe started (playing) late but man, sheโs something.โ
The second-seeded Pesqueira hadnโt lost a game at state before dropping one in the second set to Cormier, her third opponent of the tournament.
โIโve put in a lot of work to get better,โ Pesqueira said. โIโve been training every day, pretty much.โ
That tireless work ethic โ a central factor in her quick ascent โ is one that causes Blackwell to postulate that heโs never seen someone so committed to her craft on the court.
โSheโd play eight days a week if she could,โ Blackwell said.
A little more effort was required but Rincon also scored a victory in the doubles bracket Saturday, as freshman Marcia Lopez and senior Lilly Zhang managed to knock off the No. 7 pair of Prescottโs Sarah Jane Schott and Anna Miller.
The first set was deadlocked at nearly every possible juncture, making a tiebreaker appear inevitable. Once there, Lopez and Zhang prevailed 7-3 to win the set 7-6, then made a spirited comeback in the second set, taking the final four games to win 6-4 and claim the match.
โWe were kind of down (in the second set),โ Zhang said. โSo towards the end we were like, โOK, we need to bring it up. We need to be comeback queens.โ โ
Added Lopez: โWinning the first set gave us a little bit of a confidence boost. We just said, โOK, we got this.โ We were up (a set), so it took a little bit of pressure off us.โ
As a group, Rinconโs girls enter as a No. 5 seed in the Division II team tournament, which begins Wednesday as the Rangers host 12th-seeded Buckeye Verrado.
Last year, at the No. 7 seed, Rincon endured a grueling second-round match against Catalina Foothills, one that ended after four and a half hours with Rinconโs elimination in a 5-3 loss.
Blackwellโs white baseball cap, given to him last season and adorned with signatures from the 2015 team, still stirs up memories of that frustrating defeat.
โIt reminds me every single day,โ Pesqueira said. โWe know we can do better this year.โ
STATE TENNIS - INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENTS
At Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale
DIVISION II BOYS
Saturday's third-round results with local players
SINGLES โ No. 1 Parikh, SAL, d. Haws, BUE, 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 Parks, PR, d. Boyer, CIBO, 6-1, 6-1; No. 4 Jiang, CF, d. Ray, DOUG, 6-1, 6-0; No. 5 Ton, NOG, d. Graham, MOON, 6-3, 6-1; No. 6 Boyle, HIG, d. Pan, RIN, 6-1, 6-0.
DOUBLES โ No. 2 Mi. Lee/Ma. Lee, CF, d. Bernabe/Pastor, IR, 6-0, 6-1; No. 5 Mandala/Grygutis, CF, d. Liu/Smithers, DOB, 6-0, 6-0; No. 6 Grammond/Bristol, PR, d. Rameriz/Durazo, CIBO, 6-0, 6-1; No. 7 Wang/Rumel, RIN, d. Chintis/St. Peter, MV, 6-1, 6-1; No. 8 Woodhead/Bloomstat, VER, d. Black/Unruh, CDO, 6-1, 6-3.
DIVISION II GIRLS
Saturday's third-round results with local players
SINGLES โ No. 4 Chakraborty, CF, d. Lillie, FLAG, 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 Pesquiera, RIN, d. Cormier, DOUG, 6-0, 6-1; No. 6 Oropeza, NOG, d Fuller, BUCK, 6-1, 6-0; Cordova, AF, d. No. 8 Bhalla, IR, 6-3, 6-4; No. 1 Cooke, ND, d. Hughes, SAH, 6-0, 6-0.
DOUBLES โ Watson/Zadro, CF, d. Welard/Wellard, GR, 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 Bernabe/Manheimer, IR, d. Kelly/Marchant, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3; Lopez/Zhang, RIN, d. No. 7 Schott/Miller, PRES, 7-6, 6-4; No. 6 Ahlstrom/Napolitano, BUCK, d. Fetsis/Halvey, PR, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0; May/Lopez, CDO, d. Brown/Roberts, BUE, 7-6, 6-3.
DIVISION III BOYS
Saturday's third-round results with local players
SINGLES โ No. 5 Cordova, WG, d. Hamilton, SET, 6-1, 6-1; Francisco Sotelo, CHO, d. Khayrullin, SRR, 6-1, 6-0; No. 1 Stadelmann, FLOR, d. Sparks, GREG, 6-0, 6-0; No. 8 Gopakuma,r, SCP, d. Schrimpf, PAT, 6-1, 6-0.
DOUBLES โ No. 3 N. Baker/S. Baker, DC, d. Salgado/Camacho, CAM, 7-5, 6-0; Altizer/McDaniels, TV, d. No. 5 Padrukevich/Mainmen, GREG, 6-3, 6-3.
DIVISION III GIRLS
Saturday's third-round results with local players
SINGLES โ No. 2 C. Merrill, BEN, d. West, GC, 6-3, 6-2; No. 3 Lopez, AMP, d. Alverez, CHAV, 6-0, 6-4; Ingerson, TV, d. No. 8 North, SCP, 6-1, 6-4; Fitzsimmons, WG, d. Decker, PB, 6-3, 7-5; Wharton, PAT, d. No. 4 Evans, SAF, 7-5, 6-4; No. 5 Zamudio, SET, d. Connell, FW, 6-1, 6-0.
DOUBLES โ No. 2 Swenson/Caylor, GREG, d. Bradley/Guest, COMBS, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Daley/Larson, SD, d. Barrameda/Nelson, SRID, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4; Greer/Angle, THAT, d. No. 4 K. Merrill/Thoutt, BEN, 6-2, 6-4; Clink/Sauder, SCR, d. Fonseca/Amrbiz, SAHT, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Holcomb/Darza, PARH, d. Fiegle/Bueras, PAT, 6-0, 6-3.
STATE TENNIS โ TEAM TOURNAMENTS
Boys Division II state tournament
First round โ Tuesday, 3 p.m.
No. 16 Surprise Willow Canyon at No. 1 Catalina Foothills
No. 15 Canyon del Oro at No. 2 Pusch Ridge Christian
No. 11 Chandler Prep at No. 6 Salpointe Catholicย at Tucson Racquet Club
No. 9 Scottsdale Notre Dame at No. 8 Nogales
No. 13 Rincon/University at No. 4 Mesa Skyline
Girls Division II state tournament
First round โ Wednesday, 3 p.m.
No. 16 Mesa Skyline at No. 1 Catalina Foothills
No. 14 Glendale Cactus vs. No. 3 Salpointe Catholic at Tucson Racquet Club
No. 12 Buckeye Verrado at No. 5 Rincon/University
No. 9 Phoenix Country Day at No. 8 Nogales
No. 10 Douglas at No. 7 Page
No. 11 Sabino at No. 6 Yuma Gila Ridge
Boysย Division III state tournament
First round โ Tuesday, 3 p.m.
No. 9 Desert Christian at No. 8 Tanque Verde
Girls Division III state tournament
First round โ Wednesday, 3 p.m.
No. 9 Scottsdale Prep at No. 8 Walden Grove
No. 10 St. David at No. 7 Benson
No. 15 Tanque Verde at No. 2 Miami
