Arizona Centennial 1912-2012: Boys Tennis

High School Sports with Andy Morales - amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com

by Andy Morales on Feb. 18, 2012, under Sports

Southern Arizona State Boys Tennis Championships

Si Ganem. Pima County Sports Hall of Fame

Duncan’s H.T. Clothier not only won with the girls but he won a lot with the boys – 13 boys titles in a 37-year span.

If you move on to the “bigger” schools you will notice Canyon del Oro was the power from 1967 to 1977, winning nine of the school’s 11 championships under Jose Sanchez but Catalina Foothills is hot on their trail with eight titles.

Robb Salant has guided the Falcons to all of their championships including his current streak of seven in a row dating back to 2005. Salant also won a title at Rincon/UHS in 1989, giving him nine titles to match Sanchez.

Roland Kotwica took Rincon to five more titles from 1996 to 2004 and he also won at Salpointe way back in 1972 giving him six trophies.

John Condes has taken Salpointe to six more championships including last year’s title. The legendary Si Ganem is the holder of Tucson High’s record of six titles from 1953 to 1961.

Ganem passed away at the young age of 46 in 1965. Ganem reportedly had an incredible 212-2 record before his death. He also guided the Badgers to a national championship in 1960 back when there were actual national tournaments.

The last noteworthy streak belongs to Mark Swenson of St. Gregory. Swenson may have only four of the school’s 12 championships but he has the last four in a row and he could go on for a while.

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

Tucson (16)
1916: 5A (unknown)
1928: 5A (C.L. McFarland)
1938: 5A (Jason “Red” Greer)
1945: 5A (Jason “Red” Greer)
1946: 5A (Jason “Red” Greer)
1947: 5A (Jason “Red” Greer)
1948: 5A (Jason “Red” Greer)
1949: 5A (Bill Duffen)
1953: 5A (Si Ganem)
1954: 5A (Si Ganem)
1955: 5A (Si Ganem)
1959: 5A (Si Ganem)
1960: 5A (Si Ganem)
1961: 5A (Si Ganem)
1978: 5A (Ted Kissell)
1980: 5A (Ted Kissell)

Duncan (13)
1937: 3A (H.T. Clothier)
1944: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1945: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1946: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1947: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1956: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1957: 3A (H.T. Clothier)
1960: 3A (H.T. Clothier)
1962: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1968: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1970: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1973: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)
1974: 1A/2A (H.T. Clothier)

St. Gregory (12)
1987: 1A/2A (Vinton Geistfeld)
1988: 1A/2A (Vinton Geistfeld)
1990: 1A/2A (David Blackwell)
1991: 1A/2A (Matt Moreno)
1993: 1A/2A (Tim Brown)
1997: 1A/2A (Tom Redman)
1998: 1A/2A (Dale Long)
2000: 1A/2A (Dale Long)
2008: 1A (Mark Swenson)
2009: 1A (Mark Swenson)
2010: 1A (Mark Swenson)
2011: 1A (Mark Swenson)

Canyon del Oro (11)
1967: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1968: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1969: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1972: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1973: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1974: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1975: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1976: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1977: 4A (Jose Sanchez)
1980: 4A (Mike Rowe)
1986: 5A (Mike Rowe)

Willcox (10)
1942: 1A/2A (unknown)
1963: 1A/2A (Cecil Miller)
1964: 1A/2A (Cecil Miller)
1965: 1A/2A (Don Wagner)
1966: 1A/2A (Odis Williams)
1970: 3A (Richard Dullum)
1971: 3A (Richard Dullum)
1973: 3A (Richard Dullum)
1974: 3A (Richard Dullum)
1989: 1A/2A (Tom Davis)

Catalina (8)
1962: 5A (Keith Meenan)
1963: 5A (Keith Meenan)
1964: 5A (Keith Meenan)
1965: 5A (Ken Fones)
1966: 5A (Ken Fones)
1968: 5A (Ken Fones)
1969: 5A (Ken Fones)
1989: 5A (Gene Dineen)

Catalina Foothills (8)
1997: 4A (Robb Salant)
2005: 4A (Robb Salant)
2006: 4A-I (Robb Salant)
2007: 4A-I (Robb Salant)
2008: 4A-I (Robb Salant)
2009: 4A-I (Robb Salant)
2010: 4A-I (Robb Salant)
2011: 4A-I (Robb Salant)

Sahuarita (7)
1988: 3A (Pat Boyter)
1994: 3A (Paul Riley)
1997: 3A (Dee Christofers)
1998: 3A (Dee Christofers)
2002: 3A (Tina Cueto)
2006: 3A (Tina Cueto)
2007: 3A (Tina Cueto)

Salpointe (7)
1972: 5A (Roland Kotwica)
2004: 5A (John Condes)
2005: 5A (John Condes)
2006: 5A-I (John Condes)
2007: 5A-I (John Condes)
2008: 5A-I (John Condes)
2011: 5A-I (John Condes)

Rincon/UHS (6)
1989: 4A (Robb Salant)
1996: 4A (Roland Kotwica)
1998: 4A (Roland Kotwica)
2002: 4A (Roland Kotwica)
2003: 4A (Roland Kotwica)
2004: 4A (Roland Kotwica)

Ajo (5)
1938: 3A (Bill Olsen)
1939: 1A/2A (Bill Olsen)
1940: 1A/2A (Bill Olsen)
1941: 1A/2A (Bill Olsen)
1942: 3A (Bill Olsen)

Bisbee (4)
1963: 3A (Fred Corrin)
1965: 3A (Fred Corrin)
1966: 3A (Fred Corrin)
1999: 3A (Bill Dennis)

Nogales (4)
1939: 3A (Lon Bellman)
1941: 3A (Lon Bellman)
1978: 4A (Wayne Shelton)
1981: 4A (unknown)

Safford (3)
1945: 3A (Thelo Motes)
1990: 3A (Alan Brockman)
1995: 3A (Rhonda Sears)

Tombstone (3)
1975: 1A/2A (Mike Roane)
1977: 1A/2A (Charles Smith)
1980: 1A/2A (Charles Smith)

Ironwood Ridge (2)
2008: 5A-II (Ryan Bais)
2009: 5A-II (Ryan Bais)

Thatcher (2)
2006: 1A/2A (Rock Clonts)
2007: 1A/2A (Rock Clonts)

Amphitheater (1)
1945 (unknown)

Douglas (1)
1925: (unknown)

Flowing Wells (1)
1970: 4A (Walter Milligan)

Palo Verde (1)
2009: 4A-II (Dan Ireland)

Pusch Ridge (1)
2011: 2A/3A (David Towne)