Tiger boys and girls tennis teams each picked up their first wins of the spring season on March 24 at Grandview, capping a three-match opening stretch that began with losses at Chelan and at home against Prosser.

At Grandview

Boys: 4-1 | Girls: 3-2

The Tiger boys dropped only one match at Grandview. Mitch Morford fell at first singles in a narrow loss to Christian Downs (4-6, 6-7), but Ephrata took the rest aided by a pair of forfeits. In second singles, Avery Morris won in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) as did first doubles pair Gavin Somes and Ben McLain, who shut out their opponents 6-0, 6-0. Yael Hurtado/Peter Sanchez and Athen Gault/Jeremiah Alvarez each picked up wins by forfeit at second and third doubles, respectively.

In girls competition, Ephrata's Jill Linehan dropped first singles (1-6, 1-6) and Kara Davis and Milli Hope fell at first doubles (0-6, 5-7). In second singles, the Tigers' Lilly Brewer rallied through three sets, losing her opener 2-6 before winning back-to-back 6-4 sets. Maycee Black and Avery Gault added a win in second doubles (6-3, 6-2), and Kaitlyn Wolther and Kate Meadke closed it out at third doubles (6-1, 6-0).

vs. Prosser

Boys: 1-4 | Girls: 0-5

The Tiger boys' lone win in their March 21 home opener against Prosser came from Hurtado and Sanchez, who beat Sean Powell and Ryan Olson at second doubles, 6-0, 6-1.

Morris (1-6, 1-6) and McLain (3-6, 0-6) fell in singles, and first and third doubles pairs Somes/Alvarez and Daniel Kissler/Athen Gault also lost in straight sets.

"Proud of Yael and Peter, two newcomers to the sport, for grabbing our first match win of the season," Ephrata coach Greg Becker said. "All the boys showed improvement from last week. Each match gives us a new laundry list of items to work on. Fortunately, these guys aren't afraid to do that work."

The Ephrata girls fell 0-5 to a Prosser team that Tigers coach Michael Bosnar called one of the league's strongest. Linehan lost first singles (3-6, 1-6), Brewer dropped second singles (1-6, 2-6), and all three doubles pairs fell in straight sets.

"In every set, our players took at least one game, and more importantly, they stepped off the court with a clear understanding of what they need to improve," Bosnar said.

At Chelan

Boys: 0-5 | Girls: 0-5

Both teams were swept in the March 17 season opener at Chelan.

In boys play, Morris fell at first singles to Angel Mendez (1-6, 2-6), Athen Gault dropped second singles to Cooper Neff (0-6, 0-6), and all three doubles teams lost in straight sets.

The girls were also swept. But Wolther and Avery Gault pushed Chelan's Madelyn Wallace and Ruby Harberd to a super tiebreaker at third doubles, splitting sets 7-6, 2-6 before falling 10-12.

Bosnar said the 0-2 start didn't reflect how competitive his young roster has been prior to the road win at Grandview.

"We are in the process of rebuilding the program with a strong foundation, and early losses are to be expected," he said. "We have a very young and inexperienced group this year, with many athletes either brand new to tennis or playing in their first varsity matches. Despite that, I've been very pleased with how they competed."

Bosnar noted the efforts of Linehan, a sophomore, as an example.

"She battled through both matches against senior opponents and competed hard in every game," he said. "She still needs to develop more control, which we are actively working on, but once that clicks, she will be very tough to beat."

Bosnar said several players are showing up at practice an hour early for extra work. "Our team motto is 'Better than yesterday.' Each day, these athletes are demonstrating exactly that."

Tiger Tennis returns home Thursday to face Quincy at 4 p.m. at the EHS tennis courts.