Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/277609
COURTESY Gene Villarreal took first place at a Red Bluff Bass Angeles tournament at Lake Berryessa with a limit of 15.17 pounds, including a 7.89-pounder for big fish of the tournament. Staff Reports Mercy High's boys tennis team edged Gridley on Tuesday 5-4 in its opening match of the season at Grid- ley High School. Mercy won four of six singles matches and added a victory in dou- bles play. In singles play, the Warriors' No. 1 player Connor Rooney defeated Luis Escalante 6-4, 6-3. Chuck Li downed Cooper Roberts 6-3, 7-5. David Zi beat Max Holmes 7-5, 6-1, and Kevin Shu defeated Marco Lo - pez 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. In doubles, Mercy's Rooney and Li won their match 8-5. BOYS TENNIS Red Bluff defeated Paradise 9-0 on Tuesday at home. In singles, Red Bluff's Thunder Shaffer won his match 6-0, 6-0. Lars Eckenfels prevailed 6-0, 6-0. Curtis Twitchell put up a 6-1, 6-0 win. Cory Twitchell won 6-0, 6-2. Jay Boone earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory, and Will Yates also won in 6-1, 6-0 fashion. In doubles, Shaffer and Curtis Twitchell won 10-0. Eckenfels and Cory Twitchell notched a 10-1 win. And Boone and Ross Palubeski won 10-2. GIRLS BASKETBALL Corning High's girls basketball team fell to West Campus 56-38 on Wednesday in the first round of the CIF State Division IV playoffs. BASS ANGLERS The Red Bluff Bass Anglers on Feb. 23 fished Lake Berryessa, where Gene Villarreal took first place with a limit of 15.17 pounds, which in - cluded a 7.89-pound largemouth for big fish of the tournament. local sports roUNDUp Mercy opens year with win Warriors edge Gridley 5-4 to begin spring season; Corning High girls basketball team falls in state Division IV playoff game at West Campus Staff Reports The Tehama Country Visitor Center along with North Valley Services is hosting a 5K run and relay at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam on Sale Lane on Saturday. The first leg of the run is 1 mile and the second is 2.1 miles. Also included will be a 1 mile walk/run co ur se . The cost is $20 per runner and registration forms can be found at the Tehama Country Visitor Center on Antelope Boulevard or at area Red Bluff gyms. Runners will receive a long-sleeve T-shirt, snacks and drinks. Call 529-0133 for more information. Golf 'ForE BasEBall' FUNDraIsEr » The Red Bluff High School and Red Bluff Bulls American Legion base- ball programs will hold their inau- gural "Fore Baseball" golf tourna- ment and barbecue dinner March 22 at Wilcox Oaks Golf Club. The entry fee is $65 per golfer, or $50 for Wilcox Oaks club mem - bers. For those interested in just aroUND toWN 5K run, relay set for this Saturday sharks 4, blue jackets 3 (sO) up next: Today, at New York Islanders, 4 p.m., televised locally on CSN. THE SCORE By robert Denhard Associated Press colUMBUs, ohIo » Patrick Marleau scored twice and Joe Pavelski had the lone shootout goal in the San Jose Sharks' 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thurs - day night. After tying his career high of 66 points with an assist on Marleau's second goal, Pavelski deked Ser - gei Bobrovsky and roofed a back- hander in the tiebreaker to give San Jose its fourth straight win. Marleau scored his 27th and 28th goals. Matt Nieto also scored and Logan Couture had two as - sists for the Sharks, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 to move into a tie with Anaheim for the Pacific Divi- sion lead. Backup goalie Alex Stalock Nhl Marleau nets two goals in Sharks' win Mike Dunleavy scored all of his 21 points in the second half, Joakim Noah flirted with another triple-double and the Chicago Bulls posted a 111-87 wire-to-wire victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday. NBa roUNDUp Dunleavy scores 21 as Bulls outscore Rockets Full stOrY ON PaGe b2 Red Bluff plays Foothill at PV tourney at noon. Corning travels to Colusa Tournament at 10:30 a.m. to play Williams and host Los Molinos hits the Anderson Cubs Classic against Modoc at 9:45 a.m. soFtBall Prep soball teams travel to tournaments The Red Bluff and Corning baseball teams play at the Oroville tournament Friday, while the North State Track Relays are being held at Chico State University. FrIDay sports Baseball teams in Oroville; track at CSU By andre Byik sports@redbluffdailynews.com @TehamaSports on Twitter rED BlUFF » With consistency and conditioning on its side, En- terprise High's boys tennis team downed Red Bluff 9-0 in an early season matchup Thursday at Red Bluff High School. Red Bluff, which fell to Shasta in its opener but defeated Para - dise 9-0 on Tuesday, faced a Hor- nets squad poised to compete for a Sacramento River League title later in the year. The No. 1 singles match on the day, a matchup between a couple of lefty baseliners, had hard-hit - ting Thunder Shaffer against de- fensive-minded John Champe of Enterprise (2-1). Champe, usually the Hornets' No. 2 player, slid into the top spot for the day. In his 6-4, 6-1 win over Shaffer, Champe worked in a backhanded slice that routinely kept his shots deep in the court and in play. He broke Shaffer's service on his way to a 2-0 first- set lead, and, for the most part, let an error-prone Shaffer defeat himself. Shaffer's strong ground - strokes and booming service game shone through at times, but Champe's hustle and ability to put the ball on his racket neu - tralized the senior. "Getting the ball in I feel is the big part of me winning. Just be- ing able to consistently get it back in," Champe said, adding that he gained confidence after taking an early lead in both the first and second sets. "I gained a lot of confidence," Champe said. "I feel like the big - gest factor was coming out and getting over the nerves." Champe, who defeated Shaffer in the SRL singles championship last year, went up a break to start the second set and cruised to a 4-0 lead before Shaffer put him - self on the board. Shaffer said he's still easing into the season, but has seen him- self improve over his first three matches of the year. The biggest challenge he faces right now, he said, is conditioning. Red Bluff coach Stan Twitchell said Shasta and Enterprise are two of the best teams in league, but expressed optimism for the rest of the Spartans' year. In the more competitive matches on the day, a dou - bles team of Shaffer and Cur- tis Twitchell fell to Champe and Shaw Campbell 10-8. And at No. 2 doubles, Cory Twitchell and Jay Boone fell to Kyle Pierson and Da - kota Carrol 10-8. The Spartans next travel to Corning at 3 p.m. Monday. prEp Boys tENNIs HORNETS ACE TEST AGAINST SPARTANS Red Bluff drops to 1-2 on the season aer 9-0 Sacramento River League loss to Enterprise ANDRE BYIK — DAILY NEWS Red Bluff High's No. 1 singles boys tennis player Thunder Shaffer fell to Enterprise's John Champe 6-4, 6-1 Thursday at Red Bluff High. eNterPrise 9, red bluFF 0 up next: Spartans play at 3 p.m. Monday on the road against rival Corning. THE SCORE Russia conducted new mili- tary maneuvers near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, and President Vladimir Putin said the world shouldn't blame his country for what he called Ukraine's "internal crisis." UKraINE crIsIs Russia conducts new military maneuvers Full stOrY ON PaGe b6 "Getting the ball in I feel is the big part of me winning. Just being able to consistently get it back in. I gained a lot of confidence. I feel like the biggest factor was coming out and getting over the nerves." — John Champe of Enterprise aroUND » paGE 2 sharKs » paGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, March 14, 2014 » MORE AT FacebOOk.cOM/rbdailYNeWs AND tWitter.cOM/redbluFFNeWs B1