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Archive for the ‘Girls Tennis’ Category

Net crew finally unleashed

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on April 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Jaimee Masters teamed with Abby Mulholland Tuesday to pull out a three-set varsity doubles win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Avalon Renninger flicks another winner.

Tia Wurzrainer reaches high to snare a runaway tennis ball.

Eryn Wood showcases flawless form on her backhand.

Just getting on the court is a win.

The Coupeville High School girls tennis team has been hit by scheduling issues, rain delays, and all manners of roadblocks this season.

So, even though the Wolves fell 4-1 Tuesday to visiting South Whidbey, fighting against buffeting wind and the league’s best team, it was still somewhat of a positive outcome.

While other CHS teams have broken double digits in games played, or are about to do so, the netters have a whopping total of two matches in the books.

The first didn’t come until Mar. 27 against King’s, and then the Wolves promptly went back to waiting, sitting another two weeks before Tuesday’s tilt.

At least the next match will come much quicker, barring any weather surprises, as Coupeville, 0-2 on the season, is scheduled to travel Thursday to Friday Harbor.

Facing off with a powerhouse South Whidbey team, which improved to 3-0 in North Sound Conference play, the Wolves put up a strong fight.

And no one played tougher than the duo of sophomore Jaimee Masters and freshman Abby Mulholland, who rallied for a win at #3 doubles.

After splitting the first two sets, the Wolves held off three match points in a third-set tiebreaker, eventually pulling out a victory to send the remaining fans home happy.

Both Masters and Mulholland came up with big shots down the stretch, forcing the action as the huddled masses prayed for relief from the cold and wind as the clock crept towards 7 PM.

The ticket to head home finally arrived on a perfectly-executed drop shot which bit a chunk off the back line, then skipped merrily away for the match-winning point.

 

Complete Tuesday results:

 

Varsity:

1st Singles — Genna Wright lost to Fariss Jokinen 6-3, 6-4

2nd Singles — Jillian Mayne lost to Ashley Ricketts 6-0, 6-1

1st Doubles — Tia Wurzrainer/Avalon Renninger lost to Mary Zisette/Allison Papritz 6-2, 6-1

2nd Doubles — Eryn Wood/Emily Fiedler lost to Ainsley Nelson/Elizabeth Simmons 6-3, 6-3

3rd Doubles — Jaimee Masters/Abby Mulholland beat Oliana Stange/Erin Brewer 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 13-11

 

JV:

4th Doubles — Elaira Nicolle/Wood lost 8-5

5th Doubles — Noelle Daigneault/Katelin McCormick lost 8-1

6th Doubles — Maddy Andrews/Mary Milnes lost 8-1

7th Doubles — Cecelia Camarena/Cassidy Holmes lost 6-3

8th Doubles — Daigneault/McCormick lost 7-1

 

To see more photos from Tuesday’s match, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Tennis-2018-2019/GT-2019-04-09-vs-South-Whidbey/

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Big hits, quick snaps

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Cecilia Camarena reacts to getting the tennis ball stuck in her racket. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Wolf hard-court ace Genna Wright gets mid-match wisdom from CHS tennis guru Ken Stange (left) and team manager Drake Borden.

Jillian Mayne sends a screaming forehand the other way.

Avalon Renninger whispers to the ball, “I’m sorry, lil’ buddy, but I’m going to have to hurt you now.”

Eryn Wood prepares to unleash “The Serve of Death ‘n Destruction.”

Tia Wurzrainer snaps another winner cross court.

The sound of tennis balls being whapped always brings the photographers out from hiding.

With hard court action in Coupeville finally kicking off Wednesday, intrepid paparazzi John Fisken spent several hours clicking away, making sure to nab a shot of all 16 Wolves in action.

The pics above are but a small portion of what he shot.

To see everything, and possibly purchase some glossies (thereby helping fund scholarships for CHS senior student/athletes), pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Tennis-2018-2019/GT-2019-03-27-vs-Kings/

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CHS tennis court open for business

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on March 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS freshman Abby Mulholland and doubles partner Jaimee Masters displayed some impressive power Wednesday in their first varsity match together. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Finally.

After waiting a very, very long time, the Coupeville High School girls tennis squad kicked off its season Wednesday, falling 4-1 to visiting King’s.

While they would have preferred a win, just getting on the court and seeing a uniform other than their own was a victory.

The Wolf roster is jam-packed with young, talented, promising players, but thanks to scheduling issues, the netters sat while CHS baseball, softball, and boys soccer all played six games or more.

Once they were unleashed, the serve and volley crew brought tons of scrappiness and excitement while facing a seasoned foe.

Juniors Tia Wurzrainer and Avalon Renninger, making their debut as the new #1 doubles duo, lashed winners left and right, and were the only Wolves to win a varsity match.

Working effortlessly as one unit, the titanic twosome especially controlled the match at the net, pinging volleys which ripped off a chunk of the line as they flashed past their opponent’s rackets.

While the duo filled up a complete highlight reel with their work, one winner, in which Renninger hovered in the air for a solid minute before smashing a wicked left-handed slicer that tore a hole in the universe, was a thing of particular beauty.

While Wurzrainer and Renninger brought the biggest smile to longtime Coupeville coach Ken Stange’s face, there was plenty of other positive results to indicate a bright future ahead for the Wolves.

Freshmen Noelle Daigneault and Katelin McCormick, both lil’ sisters of former CHS tennis stars, made their debut an auspicious one.

When they weren’t entertaining the crowd (and themselves) with a freewheeling style of tennis (and giggling non-stop), they also zapped their fair share of service aces and wicked backhands en route to an opening day JV win.

While every one of the nine matches produced highlights, the best debut may have come from the final varsity team to take the court.

Sophomore Jaimee Masters and freshman Abby Mulholland fought through two tense sets, and while they fell just short to a King’s duo which made plays when they needed to the most, both Wolves brought a startling amount of raw power to the action.

A little more practice, a little more refinement of that power, and the duo should be a team to watch.

Even in its raw state, the power show was eye-popping at times, as Masters blasted winners which left both of her rivals glued to the court, and Mulholland brought big time heat with her serve.

 

Complete Wednesday results:

 

Varsity:

1st Singles — Genna Wright lost to Scarlett Ren 6-0, 6-4

2nd Singles — Jillian Mayne lost to Christina Wang 6-1, 6-0

1st Doubles — Tia Wurzrainer/Avalon Renninger beat Caroline Baker/Ava Dreon 6-2, 6-3

2nd Doubles — Eryn Wood/Emily Fiedler lost to Allie Kang/Grace Roberts 6-2, 6-3

3rd Doubles — Jaimee Masters/Abby Mulholland lost to Elma Lu/Jackie Cheung-Main 6-4, 7-5

 

JV:

4th Doubles — Elaira Nicolle/Bruna Moratori lost to Anika Poulsen/Olivia Vos 8-7(10-7)

5th Doubles — Noelle Daigneault/Katelin McCormick beat Elisabeth Kelly/Catherine Jones 8-5

6th Doubles — Maddy Andrews/Mary Milnes lost to Amelia Vander Wel/Abbie Gebrehiwot 8-6

7th Doubles — Cecelia Camarena/Cassidy Holmes lost to Holland Urie/Olivia Peterson 6-1

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Small town America serves up new adventures for big city girl

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on March 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Brazilian foreign exchange student Bruna Moratori is playing tennis for Coupeville High School this spring. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Moratori and teammates stretch before a practice.

Talk about a change of pace.

When Bruna Moratori traveled to America to become a foreign exchange student, she swapped life in the most populous city in the Western Hemisphere for a town with one traffic light.

Back home in São Paulo, Brazil, she lives with her parents, brother and dog amid a sea of humans in “a big, beautiful, and dangerous city.”

This year, though, Moratori has swapped a bustling city which never sleeps for a much more laid-back Coupeville, where she’s attending high school and preparing to play tennis with the Wolves.

While she’s spent a little time on the courts, this will be the first time she’s been part of a competitive team.

“I don’t play any sports at home, just sometimes for fun,” Moratori said. “I played tennis a few years ago but it was just for fun; I’ve never played against someone.

“I decided to join because I really like it and I had a lot of free time, so why not.”

When she was thinking about trying out for the tennis team, it was support from back home which made it an easy decision.

“One of the main reasons that I joined tennis was because my father encouraged me since the moment that I told him that I was thinking about it,” Moratori said.

Taking time to enjoy new opportunities has been a key part of her American adventure.

“My mother always had the dream of me going somewhere and learning a new language, so she always talked about it and I said that it would be a good experience,” Moratori said.

“I like how right now I’m in sort of a “break” from my life and I get to know a lot of different things,” she added. “Also I like to learn new cultures and the new language.”

Moratori, who turns 18 in early April, spends her free time “listening to a lot of music, reading, watching TV shows, and many other things.”

When she returns to São Paulo, she plans “to enjoy the summer; that is actually at the end of the year.”

After that she will either start college or plunge into a job.

Coming to America has helped Moratori develop new skills and find new confidence in herself.

“Here is learning English and learning how to be on my own without my family,” she said. “I still want to know other cultures and maybe learn other languages.”

Whether at home or abroad, Moratori draws inspiration from those closest to her.

“I guess I’m a little bit of every woman that have been into my life and all the books that I’ve read,” she said. “But my biggest inspirations are my mother, my grandmothers and my godmother.”

Of all the memories she will take with her, one of the biggest will be how unique her new home away from home turned out to be.

“Coupeville is a very small and quiet city and I live in a huge city with a lot of people, a lot of things to do, a lot of noise, traffic and all of that,” Moratori said. “I miss there, but I really like here, it’s beautiful and people are so nice to each other.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m completely adjusted because it’s very different from there, but I’m sure that when I go back I’ll have to readjust to there,” she added.

“Coupeville reminds me a lot of our countryside, so it’s kind of what I expected, but a few things were very weird for me, like people waving at me, even though I don’t even know them.”

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Let them play – today, tomorrow, some day

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on March 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS tennis ace Mary Milnes loves the sunshine, but she’d also love to get to play a real match. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Avalon Renninger gets limbered up for dropping wicked backhands.

Cecilia Camarena is one of several Wolves ready to make their hard-court debut.

Emily Fiedler is ready to lunge into a new season.

Girls tennis still exists at Coupeville High School.

It might not seem that way recently, as the netters have been largely relegated to the sidelines while other Wolf spring sports programs garner the spotlight.

A rain-out cost CHS tennis an early-season non-conference match, and, by the time they take the court Wednesday, Mar. 27, hosting King’s in the season and league opener, other sports will have a huge head start.

Barring weather issues or other shenanigans, boys soccer will have seven games under their belt, baseball will be playing its seventh game that same day, softball will have six games on the win/loss record, and even track and field will have two meets in the books.

With very few non-league options out there this spring, the Coupeville netters have a pared-down nine-match schedule, facing each of their four North Sound Conference foes — South Whidbey, Friday Harbor, King’s and Granite Falls – twice.

So, the pics above are both a reminder Wolf netters are still hard at work, and that soon, they will get to play someone other than their own teammates.

Hopefully.

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