Austin Williams is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover Flagstaff High School for AZPreps365.com

The Flagstaff Eagles lost to the Prescott Badgers 8-1 in a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the section at Thorpe Park in Flagstaff on April 17.

Eagles head coach Richard Dean gave credit to the Badgers and said the loss will help the team for the rest of the season and next season.

“It’s good for us to face good competition so they know what they are facing,” Dean said. “They need to get ready for next year.”

Both teams entered this meeting undefeated in Division II Section II with Flagstaff sitting at 5-0 while Prescott was 6-0. 

The Eagles came into this matchup after sweeping Raymond S. Kellis 9-0 the match prior on April 16. The Badgers had a week of rest before they played Flagstaff as they beat the Cactus Shadows Falcons 8-1. 

Prescott got the day started with a win on court three in doubles. Senior James Wood and senior Carter Thompson defeated freshman Wesley Kelly and sophomore Bo Jones, 8-1. This was the Badgers duo's eighth win of the season as they improved to 8-1. The only loss for the pair came against ALA-Gilbert North.

Sophomore Miguel Canales and junior Paxton Brown beat the Eagles doubles team of freshman Wylie Carlson and sophomore Kieran Hawkins at the No. 2 spot in the lineup, 8-4. Canales got the final point of the match as he went down the line on his return of serve to give his team the second point of the day.

Prescott got the sweep in all three doubles matches when the No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Nick Thompson and freshman Seth Walker beat junior August Fahy and sophomore Aaron Kirk 8-4. This was Prescott's seventh time this season that they have swept all three doubles matches. 

With the Badgers up by three points, they only needed to win two of the singles matches to take the overall match. 

Prescott took a 4-0 advantage when Carter Thompson beat Kelly in straight sets and grabbed a bagel in the first set, 6-0, 6-2. Carter Thompson is 6-1 in singles at the No. 6 spot with Kelly being 3-1.

Fahy got the first and only point for Flagstaff while he used his big serve to move Nick Thompson around the court. Fahy won in straight sets by the scoreline of 6-1, 6-1 and improved his singles record to 7-3.

Fahy said he was able to reset for singles after his doubles loss thanks to the support of his family.

“Singles I was able to get a hold of myself,” Fahy said. “I had a lot of support from my mom and my coach which was super helpful.”

Brown clinched the match for the Badgers after he won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 over Jones. 

Prescott won the last three matches of the day with Canales beating Kirk, 6-0, 6-2, Walker winning against Carlson, 6-2, 6-1 and Wood getting the better of Hawkins 7-6, 1-0. Wood won the first set in the tiebreak with the second set being decided by racquet flip due to the lack of visibility from the darkness.  

The wind played a factor in all the matches with heavy gusts throughout the match. Fahy said he needed to add more spin to his shots to help the ball stay in the court. 

“I had to hit with more spin and use the wind to my advantage,” Fahy said.

This is Flagstaff’s fourth loss of the season. Dean said he knows that his team can bounce back.

“I’ve seen them bounce back from some pretty tough losses,” Dean said. “They’re pretty resilient. Several of my kids played tennis for a while, taking a lot of lessons, so they understand what it takes.”

The next match for the Eagles is on Monday, April 21, as they take on Cactus Shadows at Thorpe Park. The Badgers will play Barry Goldwater on April 22 as they head back home for their senior day.