Preston Grammond (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

The Pusch Ridge girls moved to 4-2 on the year after blanking Desert Christian 9-0 on Thursday and the boy’s team followed with a 9-0 victory over Desert Christian to improve to 5-1. The girls are coming off a Division III state championship and the boys from a D-III runner-up finish.

The program is looking for more.

“I’m expecting the girls to go far again,” head coach Andy Fetsis said. “We are trying to focus on having a more competitive attitude and the boys just need to keep working hard because they return at full strength and should challenge again.”

Part of that competitive spirit has come from scheduling upper-division powerhouse programs such as Catalina Foothills and Salpointe. The boys and girls struggled against Catalina Foothills, but the girls gave Salpointe a good match and the boys beat Salpointe 8-1.

Leading the way for the Lions has been defending D-III singles champion, junior standout Preston Grammond.

“Preston is a very dedicated young man,” Fetsis added. “He is having fun and his attitude is great. He is able to create his own intensity on the courts and he has helped create a good team atmosphere for all the players.”

The Desert Christian boys had D-III runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2016 but graduation hit the program hard. The future looks promising, however, with three freshmen and ten sophomores on both rosters combined.