South Tahoe’s Wallisch, Pierce capture regional doubles title

Justin Scacco / jscacco@sierrasun.com
TRUCKEE, Calif. — After helping propel the South Tahoe boys’ tennis team to a Class 3A Northern Region championship earlier in the month, junior Brodie Wallisch and sophomore Ralston Pierce added to their trophy case by claiming the league’s doubles title.
The two came into last weekend’s tournament at the Tahoe Donner Tennis Center in Truckee as the No. 1 seed and kept their season-long unbeaten streak intact on the way to winning the 16-team tournament and the Northern League doubles championship.
“It’s nice to finally take home the win,” said Pierce, who finished in fourth place at last year’s regional doubles tournament with a different partner.

Wallisch was a singles player last season and lost early on in the regional tournament. Together, the two have been unbeatable, finishing the regular season 12-0 when on the court together.
“It’s nice to make it out of the first round,” joked Wallisch. “Last year, I was singles and ended up playing the No. 1 seed in the first round.”
Pierce and Wallisch opened the tournament by winning 6-2, 6-2, and then advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1 win against a Truckee doubles team.
The two then had their toughest match of the tournament, facing teammates senior Phillip Roberts and junior Ryder Tannaci in the semifinals. Pierce and Wallisch would take the match 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the finals.
Pierce and Wallisch then finished out the tournament by winning 6-1, 6-3 in the championship match against Churchill County’s team of Edmond Allyn and Samuel Lords.

Roberts and Tannaci would go on to win the third-place matchup, and will play in this week’s state doubles tournament in Las Vegas. Senior Jay Feeney and junior Jaedunn Aquino qualified for the regional tournament but lost their first-round match.
On the girls’ side, senior Sofia Aguilar and senior Ingrid Estrada won their first-round match but lost in the quarterfinals. The teams of freshman Meara Donahue and freshman Greta Lynch, and sophomore Desiree Tumbaga and sophomore Rebecca Davis both lost in the opening round.
In singles play, top-seeded senior Brennan Monroe advanced to the finals but was upset by Truckee sophomore Kiefer Wilcox. The runner-up finish also earned Monroe a berth into this week’s state championship tournament in Las Vegas.
Junior Seth Johnson entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, and managed to advance to the semifinals before being topped by Wilcox. Johnson finished in fourth place after losing to Truckee’s Gavin Spear in the third-place match. By finishing fourth, Johnson also earned a berth into this week’s eight-player state singles tournament.
Sophomore Sebastian Guerrero won his opening match without dropping a game, but then lost to Wilcox in the quarterfinals.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Gabby Lancellotti won her first match but lost in the quarterfinals. Freshman Piper Tannaci qualified for the regional tournament but lost her opening match.
The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Class 3A State Tennis Playoffs will get underway Thursday with the first round of team play. The Vikings boys’ team won the Northern League tournament and will face Southern League runners-up Adelson. The girls’ team lost in the semifinals of the regional tournament earlier in the month and didn’t qualify for the four-team tournament.
The state singles and doubles tournament will begin the following day at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.
“I’m excited. We definitely have a chance,” said Pierce on playing opponents from the Southern League. “We’re going to give them a challenge.”
Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun, a sister publication of the Tribune.

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