Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari’s volleyball team landed the No. 5 seed in this week’s Class 3A tournament and will face a familiar foe — Ruidoso — in the first round on Thursday morning.
Logan earned a No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the 1A tournament. The Lady Longhorns (17-5) will play the winner of seventh-seed Pine Hill (16-6) vs. 10th-seed Quemado (17-5) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Bernalillo High School.
During a watch party at Rattler Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, applause broke out from players and fans when the bracket for Class 3A pairings that included Tucumcari were shown on a large screen during the New Mexico Activities Association’s live announcement.
The Lady Rattlers (18-5) will play the 12th-seeded Warriors (8-10) at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
Tucumcari defeated district foe Ruidoso twice during the regular season, both by four sets.
Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez had guessed her team would land a No. 4 or 5 seed in the tournament.
“I’m happy to be in the top five,” she said. “I know what to expect against Ruidoso. We’re not taking anything for granted.”
If Tucumcari wins, it would face fourth-seeded Sandia Prep (15-8), which had a first-round bye, at 2 p.m. Thursday at Rio Rancho.
An early loss would send the Lady Rattlers into the consolation round of the double-elimination tournament. Their opponent would be Santa Fe Indian, Cottonwood Classical or Navajo Prep.
Defending champion St. Michael’s (20-3) earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A tournament. Hot Springs (17-6) is the second seed, and Santa Fe Indian (18-5) is third.
The 3A semifinals will be at noon Saturday, with the championship match at 4 p.m. that day. All 3A matches are at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
In the Class 1A tourney, Melrose (20-3) earned the No. 1 seed despite losing the district title to Logan during a five-set decision on Friday.
Both teams sported 7-1 records in district play, but the Lady Longhorns prevailed in the district tiebreaker system.
Logan coach Glynna Strand indicated Sunday afternoon she wasn’t bothered about not getting a No. 1 seed.
“It’s fine,” she stated in a text. “You gotta beat everyone anyway.”
Legacy Academy (20-3) — a team both Melrose and Logan defeated during the regular season — landed the No. 3 seed. Gateway Christian (20-3) was seeded fourth.
If the Lady Longhorns advance Thursday afternoon, their next foe would be in the quarterfinals at noon Friday at Cleveland High School against Legacy, sixth-seeded Roy-Mosquero (20-3) or 11th-seeded district foe Grady (13-10).
The 1A semifinals will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the championship match at 4 p.m. that day. Those matches will be at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
The NMAA stated during the selection show that district finish, MaxPreps.com rating, overall record, wins against district champions, member school input and head-to-head competition figured in the seedings.
If there was a tie in the criteria, strength of schedule would be used.