Coupeville Sports

  Noted bee-slayer Brian Norris played his final match as a Wolf Wednesday. (Lorene Norris photo)

It’s a wrap. Almost.

A day after competing in the district tourney, the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis squad returned to its home court Wednesday for one final regular season match, dropping a narrow 3-2 contest to Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

Now, the doubles duo of senior Ben Etzell and junior Aaron Curtin and sophomore singles player Sebastian Davis will continue to train, as they await quad-districts in Seattle Oct. 29. The Wolf doubles team won a district title in Langley Tuesday, while Davis finished second.

The match against ATM featured the final on-court appearance for senior Brian Norris, who went out a winner, teaming with Etzell to claim a victory at second doubles as Coupeville coach Ken Stange shuffled his lineup a bit.

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Sebastian Davis beat Ryan Castillo 6-1, 6-1

2nd Singles — Dalton Martin lost to MJ Park 6-0, 6-1

1st Doubles — Aaron Curtin/Kyle Bodamer lost to Quinn Stanley/Houston Schmutz 6-3, 6-3

2nd Doubles — Ben Etzell/Brian Norris beat Dan Dzilenski/Prever Pretorious 6-2, 6-1

3rd Doubles — Jason Knoll/Brandon Kelley lost to Ben Thacker/Bryan Lucas 6-3, 4-6, 10-3

JV:

4th Doubles — Cameron Boyd/Jake McCormick beat Dylan/JT 6-4

5th Doubles — Connor McCormick/Loren Nelson lost to Dan/Steve 8-3

6th Doubles — Konrad Borden/Alex Schmakeit lost to James/Payton 6-2

7th Doubles — Shane Squire/Davis beat Dan/Steve 6-2

8th Doubles — Sam Wynn/Garrett Compton lost to Brian/Edward 6-3

9th Doubles — Jared Helmstadter/Grey Rische lost to Dylan/JT 6-4

10th Doubles — Nick Dion/Jimmy Myers beat Payton/James 6-4

11th Doubles — Jeremiah Pace/Lilan Sekigawa beat Bryan/Praneeth 6-0

12 Doubles — Geoff McClarin/John McClarin lost to Bryan/Edward 6-0

13th Doubles — Aiden Crimmins/Joseph Wedekind lost to Bryan/Praneeth 6-0

14th Doubles — Beauman Davis/Gabe Wynn lost to Bryan/Praneeth 6-4

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     Ben Etzell teamed with Aaron Curtin to play their best tennis of the season Tuesday, winning a district doubles title. (John Fisken photo)

Swinging a racket instead of a bat, the Coupeville High School duo of junior Aaron Curtin and senior Ben Etzell knocked off Langley’s finest Tuesday to win a district tennis title.

Now they, along with Wolf sophomore Sebastian Davis, who finished second on the singles side of the draw, advance to quad-districts in Seattle Oct. 29.

“All in all it was a good day,” said Coupeville coach Ken Stange, who was particularly thrilled to see his top doubles duo play their finest tennis at a key moment.

“They hit balls faster than they ever had before; I would not have wanted to play them today,” Stange said. “They knew what they wanted, and they did what was necessary to make it so.

“I’ve had many players who have wanted to win, but I’ve never had players who wanted it as much as Ben and Aaron,” he added. “They did it convincingly, and they did it as a single entity, not as a team. I’ve played some memorable tennis on this island and I’ve watched plenty of talented players step up to the challenge, but this was a special tennis day.”

The victory was even sweeter since it denied Island arch-rival South Whidbey the title on its home court. The Falcons had swept the Wolves in all three team matches this season, though Curtin and Etzell were 2-1 in those losses.

Davis, who was a surprise qualifier for districts as a freshman, returned and won his first postseason match before falling in the championship bout.

Fellow singles player Dalton Martin, a first-year player as a sophomore, bounced a player from Friday Harbor, while the duo of senior Brian Norris and junior Kyle Bodamer pushed South Whidbey’s top team to a full three sets.

Complete results:

Doubles:

Aaron Curtin/Ben Etzell beat Campbell Albertson/Nathan Riley (SW) 6-0, 6-7(3-7), 6-1
Brian Norris/Kyle Bodamer lost to Jack Hood/Jonathan Peterson (SW) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0

Norris/Bodamer lost to Hills/Xu (FH) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Etzell/Curtin beat Hood/Peterson 6-1, 6-3

Singles:

Dalton Martin beat Bruce Yao (FH) 6-0, 6-0

Martin lost to Charley Stelling (SW) 6-0, 6-1
Sebastian Davis beat Andy Zisette (SW) 6-2, 6-4

Martin lost to Chris Pyles (Meridian) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
Davis lost to Stelling (SW) 6-0, 6-1

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Gabe Wynn

Alex Schmakeit

It was all about the JV Friday.

Sure, the mad bee killers, Brian Norris and Kyle Bodamer, won their varsity match at second doubles at Archbishop Thomas Murphy (the lone Wolf win in a 6-1 loss to the 2A school), but lower down the ladder came the big news.

Three CHS doubles duos claimed their first victory of the season, with Konrad Borden, Alex Schmakeit, Grey Rische, Jared Helmstadter, Beauman Davis and Gabe Wynn enjoying the ride back to The Rock as conquering heroes.

The match was the next to last one for Coupeville, which will package a home bout with ATM Wednesday in the middle of playing in the district tourney Tuesday and Thursday.

The Wolves will send two singles players (Sebastian Davis and Dalton Martin) and two doubles teams (Aaron Curtin/Ben Etzell and Norris/Bodamer) to Langley for districts.

South Whidbey, Friday Harbor and a wild card singles player will also compete, with the top two finishers in each draw advancing to quad-districts.

Complete Friday results:

1st Singles — Sebastian Davis lost to Ryan Castillo 6-1, 6-0

2nd Singles — Dalton Martin lost to Prever Pretorious 6-1, 6-1

3rd Singles — Jason Knoll lost to MJ Park 6-0, 6-0

4th Singles — Brandon Kelley lost to Steve Papagayo 6-4, 6-4

1st Doubles — Aaron Curtin/Ben Etzell lost to Quinn Stanley/Houston Schmutz 7-5, 7-6(7-4)

2nd Doubles — Kyle Bodamer/Brian Norris beat Dan Dzilinski/Dylan Kelly 7-6(9-7), 6-2

3rd Doubles — Cameron Boyd/Knoll lost to Ben Thacker/Bryan Lucas 6-4, 6-4

4th Doubles — Loren Nelson/Connor McCormick lost to Payton Johnson/Dustin Miller 8-6

5th Doubles — Konrad Borden/Alex Schmakeit beat Eward Chen/Brian Lee 8-7

6th Doubles — Garrett Compton/Sam Wynn lost to Praneeth Patella/Max Hylback 8-2

7th Doubles — Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter beat Liam McDonald/Andrew Hoover 8-2

8th Doubles — Nick Dion/Jimmy Myers lost to James Poirer/Papagayo 8-5

9th Doubles — Jeremiah Pace/Lilan Sekigawa lost to Kelly/Brian Bader 8-2

10th Doubles — Geoff McClarin/John McClarin lost to Dzilinski/Keegan McAdam 8-3

11th Doubles — Aiden Crimmins/Joseph Wedekind lost to Miller/Johnson 8-2

12th Doubles — Beauman Davis/Gabe Wynn beat Andrew Hoover/Praneeth Patella 8-6

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Brian Norris takes a break from swatting killer bees to deliver a winning ground stroke. (Lorene Norris photos)

Dalton Martin prepares to unleash a wicked serve.

They were killin’ bees and takin’ names.

In between swatting giant killer beasts from the skies who dared to dive-bomb the courts, doubles duo Brian Norris and Kyle Bodamer provided the biggest ray of sunshine for the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis squad Friday.

Pulling out a tough three-set victory over a highly ranked tandem from visiting Overlake, the Wolf wrecking crew gave Coupeville its only point in a 4-1 loss to the ritzy prep academy.

The Wolves also got a victory at the JV level, as Connor McCormick and Loren Nelson won at fifth doubles, while the top varsity duo of Ben Etzell and Aaron Curtin came agonizingly close to upending their foes in a three-set thriller.

Complete varsity results:

1st Singles — Sebastian Davis lost to Grant Gibson 6-1, 6-0

2nd Singles — Dalton Martin lost to Pranav Harikrishnan 6-0, 6-1

1st  Doubles — Ben Etzell/Aaron Curtin lost to Andrew Gavrila/Rich Chavez 6-2, 6-7(3-7), 10-8

2nd Doubles — Brian Norris/Kyle Bodamer beat Will Corrin/Sean Underwood 5-7, 6-3, 10-6

3rd Doubles — Brandon Kelley/Jake McCormick lost to Tony Lee/Colin Sapp 6-2, 6-4

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