By NICHOLAS TRUJILLO

With the Pima Community College tennis squads completing the first half of their season, head coach Ian Esquer will gear up his teams for the NJCAA Region I Tournament at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale, Arizona.

“For the amount of time we have been practicing, they’ve done a good job of stepping up to the plate and competing against all kinds of teams,” Esquer said.

 MEN’S TEAM

March 23: Pima 3, Paradise Valley CC 6 

The Aztecs (2-3, 1-3 ACCAC) took a tough loss against the Pumas while playing on their home court at the West Campus.

Sophomore Mark Avalos won his singles and doubles matches. Avalos beat his No. 1 singles opponent 6-4, 6-1.

Fellow sophomore Francisco Ton paired with Avalos to win a tiebreaker doubles match 9-8, (7-2).

 March 29: PCC 2, Mesa CC 7

After packing their bags for another competition on the road, the Aztecs dropped seven matches to the Thunderbirds.

In the No. 1 doubles competition, sophomore duo Avalos and Ton lost their match, 8-2. Reisig was the only Aztec to put up a fight against his No. 3 singles dropping the match 6-4, 6-2.

 WOMEN’S TEAM

March 23: PCC 7, Paradise Valley CC 2

On the road, Pima (3-4, 2-4 ACCAC) took a different turn as the women’s team was able to give the Pumas a defeat on the Paradise Valley CC campus.

Freshman Jayme Shafer won her No. 5 singles after playing a close second set, 6-1, 7-5. Freshmen Emma Oropeza and Janine Fernando both won their No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches respectively.

Oropeza won in dominating fashion, 6-1, 6-0, while Fernando won her match in the same fashion, 6-0, 6-1.

 March 28: PCC 3, Eastern Azona 6

PCC faced a tough match as they played the No. 22 Eastern Arizona College. The No. 2 doubles duo freshman

Lien Nguyen and sophomore Dana Pineda got the 8-1 win against the opposing Gila Monsters doubles team.

The No. 1 doubles duo Oropeza and Fernando dropped their match 8-5.

Freshmen Shafer and Elise Rodriguez both picked up their No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches, respectively. Shafer fought a tough first set and came out on top, winning 7-5, 6-4.

 March 29: PCC 0, Mesa CC 9

After playing the No. 22 ranked team in the nation, the Aztecs schedule amped up the difficulty level to play the No. 11 ranked Thunderbirds.

Shafer, who took the No. 5 singles spot, played a tough second set but ultimately fell to her opponent 6-0, 6-4.

ON DECK

MEN’S

April 11: at Paradise Valley CC, Phoenix, 1:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S

April 11: vs. Paradise Valley CC, West Campus, 1:30 p.m.