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Archive for the ‘Boys Tennis’ Category

Eagles crash and burn as Wolves howl!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , on September 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Cole Payne pulled out a three-set win Friday to help lift the Wolves to a huge win over Klahowya. (John Fiskern photo)

   Cole Payne pulled out a three-set win Friday to help lift the Wolves to a huge win over Klahowya. (John Fisken photo)

Slow start, hot finish.

Recovering nicely after a couple early bumps, the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis team stormed back to thrash host Klahowya 5-2 Friday, taking the first step to winning a league title banner.

The win lifted the Wolves to a flawless 2-0 on the season, 1-0 in 1A Olympic League play.

If the CHS boys want to join their female counterparts, who put up a league title banner in the spring, they’ll have to dethrone the defending champs, which just happens to be the team they walloped.

They did it by sweeping all four doubles matches and getting a win at #3 singles from converted football player Cole Payne.

Coupeville trailed in the match early, after dropping two of the first three matches to be wrapped.

Singles players Sebastian Davis (6-4, 6-0) and Connor McCormick (7-5, 6-2) were nicked by the Eagles, but the doubles duo of John McClarin and Joseph Wedekind rolled to a win (6-3, 6-1) to keep Wolf hopes semi-high.

Hope surged when Joey Lippo and William Nelson pulled out a victory in three sets (6-0, 5-7, 6-4) knotting the match at 2-2.

After that, it was all Wolves, all day.

Payne came back to net a 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 win in his first-ever varsity singles match, and then Coupeville got straight-sets wins from the duos of Jimmy Myers/Lilan Sekigawa (7-6, 6-4) and Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter (6-2, 6-2).

The Wolves also rolled to wins in the only two JV matches that were done before the siren call of the ferry forced them back on the bus.

Nick Etzell and Garrett Compton won 6-3, while Nile Lockwood teamed up with Aiden Crimmins to pull a sweet 6-0 bagel job on the Eagles.

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Freshman netter delivers big hits, big laughs!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Nile Lockwood fires up a service during practice. (Ken Stange photo)

   Nile Lockwood fires up a serve Wednesday afternoon during practice. (Ken Stange photo)

Nile Lockwood has made a fast impression.

“He’s a wild one, but he’s also very kind and funny,” said Coupeville High School tennis coach Ken Stange.

“And sometimes inappropriate,” he added with a huge laugh.

Since Stange is an easy-going free spirit with a wild sense of humor himself, it’s a player/coach match made to order.

Lockwood, a Wolf freshman who started playing tennis six month ago, made his regular-season debut Monday in Sequim, teaming with Aiden Crimmins to play doubles.

It’s just the start of a journey Lockwood hopes will go on for some time.

“I started because it was a lot of fun to play and everyone was super friendly,” Lockwood said. “My goal is to have a great season and win most of my games and make varsity next year.”

Like most younger players, he’s beginning to learn what parts of his game are already set, and what needs to be tweaked.

“One of my strengths is my power,” Lockwood said. “I would like to work on my backhands, because they’re not as strong as my forehand.”

Away from the court he has hopes to “get through high school with good grades and go to college” and he has come to deeply appreciate the help offered by family, his coach and some of the Wolf veterans.

“The people that have helped me out the most are (fellow Wolf player) John McClarin, Ken Stange and my mom for getting me to all the practices and lessons I’ve taken,” Lockwood said. “And just about everyone on the team.”

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Boom! Down go the champs!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , , , on September 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Jared

   Jared Helmstadter teamed with brother Grey Rische to capture a vital come-from-behind three-set win Monday. (John Fisken photo)

This is how you start a season.

Having waited its turn seemingly forever, as all of the other fall sports teams at Coupeville High School played two or three contests, the Wolf boys’ tennis squad finally saw action Monday.

And what action, as they used three come-from-behind wins to topple 2A Sequim 4-3 in a non-conference match.

The season-opening road win came against a school that not only is much larger than 1A Coupeville (it has three times as many students) but also is the defending 2A Olympic League champs.

On this day, that mattered not to the Wolves, as they battled back to claim three-set wins in three separate matches, all after having lost the first set.

It was actually even more of a comeback, as Coupeville trailed 3-1 on the day, and if any of the final three matches had fallen the other way, team defeat would have been the flavor of the day.

Instead, it was miracle time.

“We couldn’t have been any closer to elimination,” said Wolf tennis coach Ken Stange. “This was the best team win I’ve ever experienced with the boys.”

Connor McCormick pulled out a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win at second singles to kick-start things.

“Connor took his doubles skills to the singles court,” Stange said. “He served and volleyed, which is pretty rare for singles players.

“Connor epitomized calmness today; his final set showed he was able to maintain a high level of consistency and concentration in the match,” he added. “He has always been our best net player. It was fun to see him use those skills in singles.”

The Wolves put the match away by dominating in doubles, winning three of four.

Joey Lippo and William Nelson strolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win at second doubles, while #3 (Jimmy Myers/Lilan Sekigawa) and #4 (Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter) had to dig down deep for their victories.

Myers and Sekigawa lost a tense tiebreaker 7-6 to open their match, then rebounded to take the next two sets 6-4 and 10-8, while Rische and Helmstadter prevailed in a razor-tight match 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.

“Jimmy and Lilan were high energy, and so were their opponents. They didn’t make it look easy,” Stange said. “Instead, they made it look like it took every ounce of their energy to win.

“They play an unorthodox style. Combined with the high energy, they will often put opponents into uncomfortable situations.”

With the match squared at 3-3, the deciding point came from Coupeville’s real-life brothers.

“Grey and Jared picked up the deciding point. They knew that they were the deciding match, too,” Stange said. “In the past, pressure has been a bugaboo for them.

“I’ve been preaching staying relaxed. They made good on it. They breathed.”

Coupeville’s three losses came at first singles (Sebastian Davis fell 6-1, 6-0), third singles (Garrett Compton went down 6-2, 7-5) and first doubles (Joseph Wedekind/John McClarin were nipped 6-4, 6-2).

But wait, there’s more:

The Wolves pushed their hosts hard in JV action as well, winning two matches.

5th doubles — Nick Etzell/Cole Payne won 8-6
6th doubles — Aiden Crimmins/Nile Lockwood lost 6-3
7th doubles — Tiger Johnson/Jaschon Baumann lost 6-4
8th doubles — Jakobi Baumann/Santiago Ortiz won 6-3
9th doubles — Nick Blalock/Payne lost 6-0

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“Tennis is never boring!!”

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , on September 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Having worked hard in the off-season, doubles specialist Joseph Wedekind is ready to launch an attack in 2015.

Wolf junior Joseph Wedekind launches a serve during practice. (John Fisken photo)

Joseph Wedekind loves being on the tennis court.

“There are many things about tennis I enjoy,” he said. “There are constantly new things to be learned, new play styles, new-found power.

“Tennis is never a boring sport to me; it can keep me occupied for hours and it has,” Wedekind added. “I also enjoy the bond you get with your team. Although we are all playing many different games we are there for each other.”

The Coupeville High School junior has been playing year-round with doubles partner John McClarin and the duo head into a new season tabbed as the Wolf squad’s top tandem.

Following in the bold footsteps of CHS coach Ken Stange, Wedekind is charging into the season with his aim set high.

“My goal for this season is to make it to state with John,” he said. “We have had good times and bad as far as scores go, but this year I feel we can make it to state.”

While he’s taken huge strides since first picking up the sport as a freshman (“I joined because I have always had a love of racket sports and finally I had the opportunity to play more then just in PE”), Wedekind is still putting in the work to fine-tune his game.

“I’d say I’m strongest at the net, but I’m fairly comfortable all around,” he said. “Areas I’d like to work on? All of them. Always something that can improve.”

Away from the court, the whip-smart Wolf participates in Science Olympiad, jazz band and pep band and is a big fan of his science and technology classes.

He intends to get a college degree in computer science.

In everything he does, Wedekind has been aided by those close to him, a fact he happily acknowledges.

“Not just one person has made me the person I am today,” he said. “Every one I meet, all my friends and family have rubbed off on me in their own way and together that has made me who I am.

“My friends, my family, my teachers, I can’t narrow it down to one person.”

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School or sports, Compton’s brain hard at work!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged , , , , , on September 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Garrett Compton

Garrett Compton (Photo courtesy Compton)

Compton looks for an opening during last spring's soccer season. (John Fisken photo)

   Compton looks for an opening during last spring’s soccer season. (John Fisken photo)

Garrett Compton is a master of cerebral tennis.

The Coupeville High School senior, who is pursuing a role as a single player this season after three years as a double ace, approaches the game much as he does his school work — with great intensity.

“I started because the sport of tennis itself has always seemed to baffle me; I never understood how people could hit a ball so hard but so accurate at the same time,” Compton said. “The only way to find out was to play!”

An avid longboarder and a varsity soccer player for the Wolves, he has learned to mesh his playing style on the court with a string of partners.

“My favorite part about tennis has to be the level of teamwork required,” Compton said. “For the last three years l have played doubles and with each partner I was able to be a “second half” of a single brain, so to speak.”

With Aaron Curtin and Kyle Bodamer having graduated, CHS was left with only one returning singles player in Sebastian Davis, who is moving up a slot to anchor the team as the top gun.

Compton is in the middle of a battle to earn one of the two remaining singles slots, and is hard at work trying to fine-tune his skills.

“My strengths would have to be my forehand. I get such great topspin and power behind the ball, that even I’m surprised,” he said. “On the other hand my level of focus is a little unstable.

“If I get out of focus I lose the accuracy and power on my shots, and I can’t have that!”

Away from the courts, he is almost constantly on the move — though he admits he often disappears, sucked in by a good book.

Compton is in the CHS drama troupe, competes with the school’s Science Olympiad club and picks math as his favorite subject.

“My favorite class would have to be any sort of math with Mr. (Kyle) Nelson,” Compton said. “He’s a serious teacher, but he also knows how to make learning fun.

“Also, I’m kinda biased because he is the soccer coach…”

Along with Nelson, Wolf tennis coach Ken Stange gets a shout-out, as well as Compton’s family.

“My parents have always been a big part of who I am,” he said. “They are the ones who pushed me to try new things like tennis!

“Although without Mr. Stange and my close friends who suffered my bad shots and endless questions, I wouldn’t be nearly as good as I am today.”

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