TD tennis comes close to a league victory

Wilson, a freshman, was thrust into the lead role as the team’s No. 1 singles player and had to wait until his sixth-career match to grab his first win, a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Hermiston’s Caleb Jorgensen in their match.

“It feels great. It took a balance of aggressiveness and patience. That was kind of like the first sweet spot of the year and that is the reason why I won,” Wilson said. “From the beginning of the year, I didn’t really put a lot of pressure on myself. I love competing and I will always be trying to win. I like challenges, so every challenge is welcomed.”

At No. 2 singles, Pashek cruised past Jose Gonzalez by final marks of 6-3, 6-2, and in his No. 4 matchup, Lopez worked a 6-3, 6-0 output against Austin Garcia.

The first of three close losses came at No. 3 singles where Pedro Lopez and Hayden Cissna locked horns in a marathon three-set showdown.

Lopez won the opening set by a 6-3 score, and Cissna answered right back with a 6-1 marker to send the match into a tiebreaker, where Cissna inched ahead late in a 10-7 victory.

In their No. 1 doubles match, Alex Lopez and Omar Rodriguez lost the opening set, 6-4, and evened the match at 1-1 after a 7-5 win to move into another tiebreaker.

Both teams played evenly through the first 16 points for an 8-all deadlock, but the Hermiston duo of Thomas McCullough and Patrick Wicks notched the final two points to capture a 10-8 triumph.

Jordan Dexter and Edgar Contreras fought tough against their Hermiston counterparts in a three-set No. 4 doubles match, that saw both teams etch across 6-4 wins in the opening sets.

In the finale, the Bulldog tandem picked up the last two points to secure a 10-8 win.

Ethan Martin and Brandon Bustamante lost their doubles match by a 1-6, 1-6 outcome, and Hermiston tallied its fifth win, as Jose Sanchez and Matt Eckhardt wound up getting a victory over Devam Patel and Justin Eiesland due to an injury forfeit.

Through their first six matches, the young Riverhawk team has enjoyed their share of success and learning lessons.

As a sophomore, Pashek sees a team that is willing to put in the work, making him believe that this group is closer to reaching its potential.

“We just got to keep playing our game and not letting the other team get in our heads,” Pashek said. “We can’t get down on ourselves. We need teammates cheering each other on, being supportive and giving them the extra energy they need to be successful. It is important to keep a positive vibe here.”

The Hawks travel to Ridgeview for a non-league match at 4 p.m. on Friday, and then hosts Mac-Hi at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

After those two matches, The Dalles has seven contests left on its schedule before the start of districts on May 12-13 in Sunriver.

“I feel like everybody on our team, if we work hard enough, has a chance to finish high at districts and even make it to state,” Pashek said. “We have some talented freshmen who make it promising for the team’s future, and we have seniors like Alex and Omar who are our strongest doubles players. I can see them making it far in districts.”