Van Buren completed its first conference sweep of the season as it defeated Heritage at Rogers on Tuesday.

The Pointers won six of the nine designated matches and the Lady Pointers took five matches of their own.


Kyle Porter and TJ Saniseng won both their singles and doubles matches. Porter and Saniseng shut out each of their opponents. In the doubles match, the Van Buren duo defeated Daylong Brewer and Aaron Downard, 6-0, 6-0.

Porter and Saniseng have only lost matches to Bentonville West, Har-Ber, and Fayetteville.

“Porter and Saniseng are playing well and they always compliment each other,” said coach Brandy Mosby. Porter defeated Brewer, 8-0, and Saniseng won his match by the same margin.

Also posting wins in the men’s division was Justin Deuley, Abel Diaz, and Len Huang.

“Justin played a great match and he just continues to improve,” Mosby said. “Abel is always so full of energy, but after a nearly two-hour doubles match you could tell he was worn out after the doubles match. He would never tell you that, though. He played right on through it.”

Diaz and Huang also won the other doubles match after clinching the tiebreaker, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). The pair were placed in the No. 2 doubles match for the first time this season.

“They only started playing last year and they still had some maturity to gain, but they have really proved themselves here lately,” said Mosby. “You can tell they want to get better and they want to win when they are out there.”


Bryan Bell and Jay Bell each had losses. Bryan Bell dropped his first set and was in danger of being done for the night as he was down 5-0. However, he rallied back to win the second set 7-5 but dropped the tiebreaker 10-6.

Jay Bell almost faced the same scenario as he rallied back to win the second set, but fell in the tiebreaker, 12-10.

Lady Pointers

Allison Lemley and Lauren Cervantes each won the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches. Lemley defeated Annie Stribling 6-1, 6-4 and Cervantes beat Emily Gilchrest 6-2, 6-2.

“Allison just went out there and got it done,” said coach Mosby. “She has had a hard season, so I was happy for her on this one. It is an extremely tough conference for girls, and Allison has had to play the best of the best every single match this year. Allison is a patient player with good, solid strokes… it’s like she is playing men out there. Allison needed to know she could still play with some good players and come out ahead.”

Tuesday’s match was a rematch from last week. Cervantes had led Gilchrest last week, but Gilchrest came back to win the match in a tiebreaker.

“This conference is just so extra competitive this year, and you can’t let your guard down for a second,” said Mosby. “Lauren did good and she when right back out there to finish what she started.”


Lexi Blasingame clinched the win for Van Buren as she defeated Sophie Cooper, 8-2.

“This was probably the best singles match she had played all year,” Mosby said. “She was hitting all the angles. I was so proud of her. This is only her second year to play, and she caught on fast.”

Betsy Corona and Callie Ables dropped the first set of their doubles match but came back to win, 0-6, 6-0, 13-10.

“We talked a little strategy after the first set and how to change some things up,” said Mosby. “They went out there and became a new team. The tie breaker was a nailbiter. It was just back and forth… I was very proud.”

Lemley and Joana Maldonado also grabbed the doubles win to help Van Buren win the women’s division.