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Lichtenstein one of a kind in SOC Photo by Bob Pennell Noah Lichtenstein, who lost on Thursday, was the entire Crater tennis team at the district matches. ASHLAND -- The end of a short, albeit unique, era arrived Thursday afternoon. Crater High's unofficial boys tennis team became history when third-seeded Noah Lichtenstein lost in the quarterfinals of the Southern Oregon Conference tournament at Hunter Park. Lichtenstein missed by one match making his fourth straight Class 4A state tournament when he fell to Ashland's Aaron Harris, 6-4, 6-4. The remaining three singles seeds and all four of the doubles seeds advanced to Saturday's semifinals. The semifinals are scheduled for 10 a.m. at Hunter Park, followed by the finals. It was in 1994 that Galen Lichtenstein first represented the Comets in Southern Oregon Conference tennis. Three years later, Galen and Noah teamed up to place third in district doubles, earning a trip to the state tournament. Noah plans to rejoin Galen at Stanford next fall, and tennis will cease to exist on the Central Point campus. Crater once sported a girls tennis team, but dropped the program in the 1990s. Even the courts the Comets called home are ruins of a bygone time. "They tore down the nets and fences and painted parking spaces," Lichtenstein said. "That's kind of disappointing." Not because he played any memorable matches on the courts just beyond the right-field fence on the school's softball diamond. Rather, it's the long-term implications. "It definitely extinguished the possibility," he said. "They told me the courts were beyond repair. But I've played there and looked it over. There are a couple of cracks, but nothing more than the courts here (behind Raider Stadium). Given the opportunity, as Rotary student of the month, Lichtenstein shared his disappointment about the courts' demise at a Rotary meeting. "I told them that tennis is a big part of my life," he said."I felt sad that anything like that was destroyed." But for seven years, the Lichtenstein brothers gave tennis life -- fleeting as it was -- at Crater. There were no other players, no coach and no schedule. Since tennis was as unofficial as a sport can be at Crater, the Lichtensteins sat out while other SOC squads played regular-season matches, then emerged at the district seeding meeting to represent themselves. A two-time third-place finisher in singles, Lichtenstein was given the No. 3 seed in his final district tournament without playing a match this season. After drawing a first-round bye, Lichtenstein breezed through his second-round match against Roseburg's Phillip Singer, 6-2, 6-1. But Harris made the best of a home-court advantage for the quarterfinal victory. Although he regularly played North Medford's Jon Endrikat, the top seed in the tournament, and Rogue Valley Swim & Tennis Club pro Cary Collins during the winter, Lichtenstein hadn't played in a tournament since the Rogue Valley Open last September. When the school season began, he couldn't work out with other teams because that would've constituted a match under Oregon School Activities Association rules. Thursday morning, on the courts behind Raider Stadium at Southern Oregon University, the blustery, late-spring weather was a little unsettling to Lichtenstein, probably more so than the other players in the tournament. "The high school matches are played outdoors, even in bad weather and I play indoors all the time," Lichtenstein said. "I stepped outside and the wind and the elements made everything different. My first four or five shots went right in the net -- everything is an adjustment." Lichtenstein considered his draw tough, because Harris was Ashland's No. 1 player. He hoped to continue another week and return to the state tourney, where he twice lost in the consolation quarterfinals, going 1-2 each of the past two years. "When it counts, the pressure is there in the back of your mind," Lichtenstein said. "You lose and you're out." In Saturday's semifinals, Endrikat will take on No. 4 Reid Arthur of Klamath Union and Harris meets No. 2 Gustavo Menenez of Klamath Union. SINGLES SECOND ROUND --Gustavo Menenez, KU, Andrew Fromdahl, Ros, 6-0, 6-0; Kevin Spears, Ash, d. Miaden Sokanovic, GP,6-1, 5-7, 6-3; Aaron Harris, Ash, d. Charlie Strickler, GP, 6-0, 6-0; Noah Lichtenstein, Cra, d. P. Singer, Ros, 6-2, 6-1; Reid Arthur, KU, Russell, NM, 6-1, 6-0; Ari Zaslow, Ash, d. L. Brown, GP, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3; Eric Sharp, Ash, d. Jered Lundquist, KU, 6-1, 6-1; Jon Endrikat, NM, d. Matt. Rahn, GP, 6-0, 6-0. QUARTERFINALS -- Menenez, KU, d. Spears, Ash, 6-0, 6-1; Harris, Ash, d. Lichtenstein, Cra, 6-4, 6-4; Arthur, KU, d. Zaslow, Ash, 6-1, 6-4; Endrikat, NM, d. Sharp, Ash, 6-0, 6-2. DOUBLES SECOND ROUND -- Brock Jonasson-Jeremy Leever, NM, d. Zane Consiglio-Lahti-Ross--Evanson, Ros, 6-0, 6-1; Jacob Doty-Jake Morris, Ash, d. Jon Osborne-Breece Pickel, KU, 6-3, 6-4; Lance Streng-Michael James, Ash, d. Andrew Theen-David Mostue, NM, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; Paul Dickerson-Tom Cohen, GP, d. Nick Besson-Mike Rising, Ros, 6-0, 6-0; Eli Matthews-Zach Matthews, SM, d. Dru Philips- Richard Louie, NM, 7-5, 7-5; Jigar Patel-Chris Atchison, Ros. d. Greg Boesche-Max Doty, Ash, 6-3, 6-3; Richard Templeton--Peter White-Hoppe, SM, d. Colin Olson-Colin McNamara, NM, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; Todd Lindbloom-Ryan Felker, Ros, d. Matt Boesche-Rob Mayers, Ash, 6-0, 6-2. QUARTERFINALS -- Dickerson-Cohen, GP, d. James-Streng, Ash, 6-3, 6-4; Jonasson-Leaver, NM, d. J. Doty-Morris, Ash, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1; Matthews-Matthews- SM, d. Patel-Atchison, Ros, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Lindbloom-Felker, Ros,d. Templeton--White-Hoppe, SM, 6-0, 6-0. 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