Baker tennis sweeps singles, posts strong home win over Mac-Hi

Baker's girls tennis team delivered the decisive blow at the Ash Grove courts near Baker High School: a clean sweep of the three varsity singles matches against Mac-Hi, the kind of result that turns a dual meet quickly and sets the tone for a program-wide win. Kaitlyn Schwin beat Isaira Diaz 6-0, 6-3, Liz Timm topped Bella Quist Knopf 6-3, 6-2, and Madi Sullivan closed out Luzmarie Reyes 6-1, 6-0.

That singles control gave Baker the head start it needed, and the Bulldogs kept adding to it. Mykenzie Coley defeated Dulce Saldana 8-2 in junior varsity singles, while the girls also picked up a doubles win from Lilly Fields and Kaytee Zinn, who outlasted Ale Reyes and Ahri Villagomez 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Khloe Van Dyken added another Baker result with an 8-4 win over Ava Arredondo, reinforcing the depth behind the varsity sweep.

The boys matched that energy in the opposite direction, sweeping the three varsity doubles matches and using that strength to keep the overall team result firmly in Baker's favor. Theo Pepera and Gabe Schwartz, Weston Burton and Jacob Burton, and Rylan Jacobs and Max Jacoby all won their doubles matches. Baker also took two of four boys singles matches, with Hasen Hellberg producing one of the night's best battles in a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback over Diego Ledezma. Jarrin Bott added another singles win over Grady Brown, while Luke Hills dropped a tight 8-8, 8-6 finish.

The April 14 matchup mattered beyond one home dual. Baker High School, a public school in Baker County, competes in OSAA's 4A-6 Greater Oregon League, and these matches come during the spring run-up to the state championships later in May. The Bulldogs had already logged a busy stretch earlier in the week, including the April 9 home match against Ontario and the April 6 sweep of La Grande, so the Mac-Hi result extended a broader pattern of live reps and results across both boys and girls lineups.

For Baker, the message from Mac-Hi was straightforward: the girls' singles group is carrying real momentum, the boys' doubles teams are steadying the team score, and the roster is producing wins in enough different places to look built for the postseason. On a home court the Bulldogs know well, that balance was the difference.