Tiger Johnson teamed with Jaschon Baumann Monday to upend rivals from vaunted Seattle Academy. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
“I love those guys!”
Longtime Coupeville High School tennis guru Ken Stange is a bubbling volcano of emotion, and when his players truly step up and play to their absolute best, he’s as appreciative a coach as they come.
Monday afternoon he was talking about seniors Jaschon Baumann and Tiger Johnson, his #3 doubles duo, who have caught fire in the second half of the season.
Facing off with rivals from Seattle Academy, the undefeated champs of the Emerald City League and the front-runner to win the 1A boys state tennis team title next spring, Coupeville knew it would be in for a rough afternoon on its home courts.
But, thanks to a win from Baumann and Johnson, their sixth straight, the Wolves became one of the few teams to take a point from the Cardinals this fall, eventually falling 4-1.
The loss drops Coupeville to 6-6 in league action, leaving them in fourth-place in the extremely tough eight-team conference, and 7-6 overall.
The Wolves close the regular season Wednesday, when they host win-less Eastside Prep and celebrate Senior Night.
Two of the 12th graders who Stange will honor are Baumann and Johnson, a duo he has seen blossom over this season, and their careers.
“Tiger and Jaschon were splendid today. They have such a love for the game, and today it showed,” Stange said. “Their season got off to a rough start, but now they’ve run off six straight, quite a few of them nail biters.
“I’ve really been focusing on the two of them having fun and enjoying the game and enjoying their final season,” he said. “It’s really paid off!”
While the Wolves dropped the other four matches, Stange was thrilled to see his netters never back down from their foes, no matter how much private school aura they might have been flashing.
“It was fun watching the guys play against the best team,” he said. “Every single one of the guys left it all on the court, so to speak.
“They tried very hard and never gave up.”
Complete Monday results:
Varsity:
1st Singles — Jakobi Baumann lost to Ezra Magaram 6-2, 6-0
2nd Singles — Drake Borden lost to Kurt Gunlach 6-2, 6-3
1st Doubles — Zach Ginnings/Jacob Burke lost to Anders Gibbons/Josh Davydov 6-2, 6-0
2nd Doubles — Mason Grove/James Wood lost to Orson Smith/Dimitri Vladimir 6-2, 6-0
3rd Doubles — Jaschon Baumann/Tiger Johnson beat Coltrane Thomas/Blake Calvo 2-6, 6-4, 10-8
Coupeville Sports 
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