The Mustang Broncos placed third at the 2024 Putnam City Original Tournament last week in Edmond with both singles players finishing runner-up.
The Broncos, under new head coach Shali Stewart, hit the courts at Edmond Center Court for their second tournament of the season. They finished fourth in the Westmoore Invitational to start the campaign.
PCO TOURNAMENT
Jaden Le (Jr.) made his way to the semifinals at 1 singles after defeating Crossings Christian School’s Madden McIntyre 6-1, 6-2 in the first round. Le followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Deer Creek’s Evan Ivester before falling to Yukon’s Isaac Coats 6-4, 6-4 in the finals.
Karson Vega (So.) reached the semifinals at 2 singles after opening the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over CCS’ Matthew Lauer. Vega advanced to the championship match with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Deer Creek’s Nate Woods before falling to Yukon’s Reeve Cordin in a finals match tiebreaker.
Mustang’s doubles teams each reached the third/fourth place match.
John Pham (Sr.) and Cristian Salas (Jr.) opened the 1 doubles bracket with a 6-4, 6-2 win over CCS before falling 6-4, 6-1 to Deer Creek in the semifinals. The duo bounced back with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Edmond Santa Fe for third place.
Ivin Nguyen (Sr.) returns a shot during the 2024 Putnam City Original Tournament on March 6, 2024, at Edmond Center Court. Nguyen and Mason Skinner (Jr.) finished fourth at 2 doubles. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
Ivin Nguyen (Sr.) and Mason Skinner (Jr.) advanced to the semifinals at 2 doubles with a 6-1, 6-2 win over CCS before falling 6-1, 6-2 to Edmond Santa Fe. They lost a first set tiebreaker to Deer Creek in the third/fourth place match before losing the second set 7-5.
The Broncos finished with 25 team points. Tournament champion Yukon scored 35 points while runner-up Deer Creek scored 27.
WESTMOORE INVITATIONAL
Vega helped guide the Broncos to fourth place in the season opener with a finals appearance at 2 singles.
He defeated Casady’s Milin Kumar in a tiebreaker to reach the semifinals and continued to roll with a tiebreaker win over Bartlesville’s Carson Covington. Vega lost to Westmoore’s Jonathan Eichman 6-1, 6-3 in the championship match.
Jaden Le (Sr.) works to return a shot during the 2024 Putnam City Original Tournament on March 6, 2024, at Edmond Center Court. Le finished runner-up at 1 singles, helping lead the Broncos to third place as a team. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
Pham and Sala lost their opening match to Choctaw at 1 doubles before bouncing back with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Southmoore to reach the fifth/sixth place match. The capped the tournament with a tiebreaker win over Muskogee.
Nguyen and Skinner dropped their first match to Muskogee at 2 doubles before bouncing back with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Moore. They followed with a tiebreaker win over Casady for fifth place.
Le dropped his first match, losing the second set in a tiebreaker to Choctaw’s Grant Hotella. Le regrouped and picked up a win over Muskogee’s Miles Nelson before losing a tiebreaker to Casady’s Thomas Rudnicki in the fifth/sixth place match.
The Broncos scored 18 team points. Tournament champion Westmoore scored 34, runner-up Bartlesville scored 29, and third place Choctaw scored 22.
