San Luis ready to protect home court

 A year after getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs, San Luis boys tennis coach Paul Zenker hopes staying home makes all the difference.

The Sidewinders enter the 5A Division II Team Tennis Tournament as the No. 5 seed, earning a home date against No. 12 Willow Canyon at 3:30 p.m. today.

 The other two Gila Valley Region teams to qualify - region runner up Cibola and girls region champ San Luis - play road games at 3:30 p.m. today.

 But the Sidewinders (13-2) get their first home playoff game.

 "It's definitely exciting," Zenker said. "They're definitely ecstatic about staying at home and playing in front of their friends and family on their home turf. It's a first for them. They're pretty stoked."

 The Sidewinders have only lost to Deer Valley (No. 6 in 5A-II) and Chandler (No. 16 in 5A-1), while Willow Canyon is 7-6.

 Zenker said jitters will be a factor for both teams, but expects Willow Canyon to be at a disadvantage in that department.

  "This team is traveling a long distance - it's about a four-hour drive," Zenker said. "They have four hours to think about. We're going to be in school, so we'll be pre-occupied - and that's a good thing. Of course you're going to be a little nervous, but the big thing is who wants it more."

 Cibola and the San Luis girls will have a similarly long road trip to Willow Canyon heading in the opposite direction.

 The Raiders (10-5) lost twice in region to the perfect region champ Sidewinders. Finishing with the 10 seed, they travel to face Ironwood.

 "We're not driving there to lose, that's for sure," coach Duncan Phillips said. "We're gonna go on the court and hit the ball."

 While it's the first trip for Cibola to the postseason in about five years, according to Phillips, the San Luis girls - like the boys- have qualified for a second straight year.

 Last year, the Sidewinder girls were a No. 13 seed and were swept at Ironwood Ridge. This year as a 15-seed they get the daunting challenge of perineal power Centennial, ranked second.

  "The girls told me they're going to try their best, and if we don't win it's going to be an experience," coach Sonia Escalante said. "We got this far, so we're going to make the best of it."

 Escalante said she expects the team to build of last year's experience.

 "It was our first time, we were a little nervous," Escalante said. "Now we know we need to hustle. We were prepared to go to state, but the competition was not what we expected."