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WCHS tennis staying busy
The Warren County High School tennis teams were busy on the court this week, playing a pair of non-district matches. The Pioneers split their matches, beating Livingston Academy on the road before falling to Watertown at home Friday. The Lady Pioneers lost both matches this week, dropping their record to 0-3 this season.
Friday was the first loss for the Pioneer boys, who had previously beaten Franklin County and were up on White County in a match that was stopped due to rain last week. Alessandro Prando, the team's newest player, continued his hot start to the season by winning both singles matches this week. For the season, Prando - who is from Italy - is now 4-0.
The Warren County Sports Authority caught up with Prando last week when he made his debut with the Pioneers. Here was our excerpt from last week's story:
Benvenuto Alessandro!
Spring sports being cancelled last year has made it hard to get a good grasp on the spring rosters this year, but nobody was going to know Alessandro Prando even if they’ve been following Pioneer tennis for decades.
He’s not just new to the Pioneers – he’s new to the United States.
Prando came to Tennessee in August from Italy. The senior didn’t take long to catch Dunlap’s eye.
“He was playing over here one day and you could tell he was good from the start. We’re just happy to have him. It’s a good partnership for us,” said Dunlap.
Prando is actually enrolled at Grundy County, but is able to play for the Pioneers due to his school not fielding a tennis team.
“Grundy doesn’t have a team and coach Dunlap offered to let me play, so from there, we’re here,” said Prando.
It wasn’t hard for Dunlap to accept Prando onto the team. He immediately topped the team’s board, playing No. 1 singles and pairing for No. 1 doubles. Prando’s been crafting his skills since age 13 and wanted to keep testing his talent once he arrived in Tennessee.
He’s setting his goals high for the year.
“I’m hopeful we can get past the district and get to regionals as a team. That’s our primary goal. From there, we’ll keep moving on,” said Prando.
As for the new country, he’s enjoying his time in Tennessee.
“Everybody is so friendly. They’re willing to help when you need help and everybody is so open,” said Prando.
Here are the results from this week's matches (WC players in BOLD)
Pioneers defeat Livingston Academy 9-0
Singles
Alessando Prando def. Levi Worley, 8-0
Ben Campos def. Lucas Blanton, 8-2
Colin Riley def. Peyton Looper, 8-1
Wilder Higgins def. Gage Slater, 8-2
Mitchell Caten def. Levi Worley, 8-3
Easton West def. Lucas Slater, 8-3
Doubles
Prando/Campos def. Blanton/Looper, 8-1
Riley/Higgins def. Worley/Slater, 8-4
Caten/West win, forfeit
Pioneers fall to Watertown, 6-3
Singles
Prando def. Colton Behrendt, 8-1
Dylan Hight def. Riley, 8-5
Isaac Stutts def. Higgins, 8-1
Caten def. Jackson Thomas, 9-8
Ian Fryer def. West, 8-2
Ian Fryer def. Jase Todd, 8-2
Doubles
Prando/Caten def. Behrendt/Stutts, 8-4
Hight/Thomas def. Riley/Higgins, 9-7
Fryer/Thomas def. West/Todd, 8-3
Lady Pioneers fall 8-1 to Livingston Academy
Singles
Samantha Furman def. Elena Rowland, 8-0
Cora Duke def. Caroline Stewart, 8-1
Bailey Allred def. Rachel Jackson, 8-3
Rylee Coffman def. Adeline Randall, 8-2
Elizabeth Tempos def. Abby Vaughn, 9-7
Michaela Bianco def. Kali Foster, 8-0
Doubles
Furham/Duke def. Rowland/Stewart, 8-2
Allred/Coffman def. Jackson/Randall, 8-5
Vaughn/Emme def. Tempos/Foster, 8-3
Lady Pioneers fall to Watertown, 8-1
Singles
Morgan Brown def. Elena Rowland, 8-0
Carson Cowan def. Caroline Stewart, 8-1
Blake Griffin def. Rachel Jackson, 8-2
Iris Williams def. Adeline Randall, 8-2
Elizabeth Tempos def. Nancy Thomas, 8-5
Michaela Bianco def. Karigan Stewart, 8-3
Doubles
Brown/Griffin def. Rowland/Jackson, 8-0
Cowan/Williams def. C. Stewart/Randall, 8-1
Thomas/Kohr def. Tempos/Kali Foster, 8-2
Warren County players listed in BOLD