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Archive for the ‘Girls Tennis’ Category

Road trip to the big time!!

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on May 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville’s Sage Renninger (left), Ken Stange and Payton Aparicio are off to Yakima this weekend for the 1A state girls tennis tourney. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Well, at least no one gets to play in their backyard.

When Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger pile into a van with Coupeville High School tennis coach Ken Stange and head off to the state tourney this weekend, they’ll have a long drive.

It’s 192.4 miles from Cow Town to Yakima, and the duo will be the first Wolf girls double team to make the trek in a decade.

But, at the least, their first-round foes in the double-elimination draw, Sierra Rothlisberger and Madeline Peebles of Chelan, have to travel 138.6 miles.

Win or lose, Aparicio and Renninger are guaranteed a second match Friday, and it will be against either defending state champs Amanda Lin and Maria Russinovich of Overlake or Kaylee Schow and Ally Vestal of Tenino.

Those duos are trekking 141.2 and 165.7 miles one-way, respectively, so no one can really fall back on the excuse of tired legs.

What the Wolves will face is temps expected to be in the 90’s and unfamiliar foes.

The duos headed to state whom Aparicio and Renninger have played — Mary Zisette and Alison Papritz of South Whidbey and Grace and Kate Jung of Cascade Christian — are on the other side of the 16-team draw.

In an intriguing twist, the Falcon duo will also face a Chelan team, made up of Elle Rothlisberger (younger sister of Sierra) and Bella Gatzemier.

The Mountain Goats (yes, that is Chelan’s mascot, and yes, it’s awesome) hail from the 1A Caribou Trail League and the Rothlisberger sisters are coached by dad Marty.

Depending on how they do, Aparicio and Renninger will play between 2-3 matches Friday. Make it to Saturday and they are guaranteed a top-eight finish, and the medals that come with that.

As the duo prepare for their final run as prep netters, a look at the pertinent details:

 

What:

1B/2B/1A girls tennis state tournament

 

Where:

Yakima Tennis Club
2505 Fruitvale Blvd
http://www.yakimatennis.com/

 

When:

May 25-26

 

Ticket prices:

It’s FREE … if you go all the way to Yakima.

 

WIAA tournament central site:

http://wiaa.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=1163

 

Draw:

http://wiaa.com/ardisplay.aspx?ID=1772

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Doubles duos rock the joint!!

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on May 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville seniors Sage Renninger (left) and Payton Aparicio are off to state, the first Wolf girls tennis players to make the trip East since 2010. (Photos by CoupevillePaparazzi.com)

Wolf sophomores Avalon Renninger (left) and Tia Wurzrainer split four matches at districts, finishing 4th out of eight duos.

Pack the sunscreen, floppy hats and Gatorade, cause the Wolves are headed to Sun Stroke City.

And they’re thrilled about it.

Coupeville High School seniors Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger will cap their stellar four-year run as a doubles duo by playing in the 1A/2B/1B girls tennis state championships in Yakima.

They punched their ticket to the big dance, where they’ll be playing on outdoor courts in 90-degree weather May 25-26, by placing 2nd Thursday at the West Central District 3 tourney.

Aparicio and Renninger are the first CHS girls tennis players to make it to state since 2010, when the Hard Court Assassin herself, Julia Sierra Castaño, advanced as a singles player.

You have to go back two years earlier, to 2008, to find the last time a Wolf female doubles duo (Megan Monroe and Hannah Merrell) played at state.

After sweeping two matches Wednesday, Aparicio and Renninger opened Thursday by playing for the district title.

While they fell 6-3, 6-0 to Cascade Christian sisters Grace and Kate Jung, the Wolves still had another opportunity to earn a ticket to state, and ending up coasting in without playing another point.

The battle for second pitted the loser of the final against the survivor of the loser’s bracket, UNLESS the two teams had already played.

In that case, the duo which won the first time around would get a walkover win.

And that’s how it played out, as Mei Ge and Casey Kim of Charles Wright Academy held off Coupeville’s sophomore sensations, Tia Wurzrainer and Avalon Renninger, 7-6, 6-4.

That nixed a chance for the trip to state coming down to CHS vs. CHS, and, since Ge and Kim lost to Aparicio and Sage Renninger Wednesday, the older Wolf duo were handed second place on the spot.

Coupeville’s young guns, who survived a loser-out match earlier Thursday, when they edged Maria Gonzalez and Abby Kwon of CWA 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, claimed 4th place out of eight doubles teams.

The two duos, and singles player Claire Mietus, who lost two matches Wednesday and was a fan on day two, helped Coupeville finish third in the team standings behind CWA and Vashon Island.

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Wolf duo one win from state!!

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on May 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Sage Renninger (left) and Payton Aparicio won both of their matches Wednesday at districts and are one victory from advancing to state. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

With day one in the books, netters (l to r) Sage Renninger, Claire Mietus, Aparicio, Avalon Renninger and Tia Wurzrainer enjoy a dinner break. (Photo by CoupevillePaparazzi.com)

If the Nisqually League thought it would stomp through the West Central District 3 girls tennis tourney with little push-back, surprise!

The Olympic League, and conference champ Coupeville in particular, is proving to be no push-over.

The Wolf netters, making a stand for public school players everywhere, combined for three wins Wednesday at the Sprinker Tennis Center in Tacoma.

Along the way, Coupeville came dangerously close to making Thursday’s doubles title match an all-Wolf affair.

CHS seniors Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger, who came a win from advancing to state last year, are primed to punch their ticket in their final go-round.

The duo, who have been partners since day one of their freshman season, swept two matches from Charles Wright Academy foes.

The first win was capped when Aparicio drilled one of the rival players in the face on match point.

So, basically, an apt metaphor for public schools refusing to bow to private schools, which typically rule Washington state high school tennis.

Aparicio and Sage Renninger play sisters Grace and Kate Jung of Cascade Christian Thursday for the district title and a #1 seed to state.

The loser of the title bout will face the survivor of the loser’s bracket for District 3’s second berth to the big dance in Eastern Washington.

There was only one berth to state available last year.

Coupeville’s other doubles team, sophomores Avalon Renninger and Tia Wurzrainer, split two matches Wednesday, narrowly missing out on a trip to the finals.

The former is making her second-straight district tourney appearance, while the latter is debuting on the Tacoma courts, but they hit immediate pay dirt as a tandem, toppling a duo from Vashon.

While Avalon Renninger and Wurzrainer fell to the Jungs in the semifinals, they pushed them hard, with the first set knotted at 5-5 before their older rivals pulled away.

The duo is still alive and will aim to tear up the loser’s bracket Thursday, while Coupeville’s lone singles player will operate as a fan on day two.

Senior Claire Mietus ran into the tourney’s top player in the opening round, then faced off with an Olympic League rival in round two, dropping both matches.

 

Complete Wednesday results:

 

Claire Mietus:

Lost to Zoe Rose (Charles Wright Academy) 6-0, 6-0
Lost to Vilma Jurma (Port Townsend) 6-0, 6-0

 

Payton Aparicio/Sage Renninger:

Beat Maria Gonzalez/Abby Kwon (CWA) 7-5, 6-2
Beat Mei Ge/Casey Kim (CWA) 6-4, 7-5

 

Avalon Renninger/Tia Wurzrainer:

Beat Tobin Vaughn/Lizzy Sutherland (Vashon Island) 7-5, 6-3
Lost to Grace Jung/Kate Jung (Cascade Christian) 7-5, 6-0

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All our shots are winners!!

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on May 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Maggie Crimmins intently eyes her target as she prepares to unleash great pain and destruction on its fuzzy exterior. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.com)

Trapped in a war of lobs, Avalon Renninger launches a moon-ball.

   Klahowya players (on left) mingle with Coupeville students who swung by to cheer on their classmates.

Kameryn St Onge peppers another winner.

   CHS athletes from other sports ring the fence, showing support for the netters, who got to skip school Monday for the Olympic League tourney.

Heather Nastali’s radar tells her the ball is on the way to her waiting racket.

Freshman phenom Genna Wright slices ‘n dices.

   Payton Aparicio eyes a third-straight league doubles crown while playing with longtime partner Sage Renninger.

Everyone was making shots.

From the players on the court, to the paparazzi moving from match to match, Monday offered a smorgasbord of action.

The Coupeville High School girls tennis team was hosting, and dominating, the 1A Olympic League tourney, while John Fisken (and his camera) was documenting the goings-on.

The pics seen above come to us courtesy him.

To see everything Fisken shot, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/2017-2018-Coupeville-Tennis/2018-05-07-Olympic-League-Tournament/

And, when you do, remember, purchases help fund scholarships for CHS student/athletes.

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Five still alive!!

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on May 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Sage Renninger, seen here in an earlier match, teamed with Payton Aparicio Monday to win a third straight Olympic League doubles crown. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Vilma Jurma of Port Townsend, a Finnish foreign exchange student, placed second in singles at the league tourney.

   Coupeville senior Claire Mietus claimed fourth in singles and advances to the district tourney for the first time.

It went just about flawlessly.

Pretty much everything clicked into place Monday as Coupeville High School hosted the 1A Olympic League girls tennis tourney.

The weather morphed from early clouds into blazing sun, which was great except for one poor Klahowya netter who sat up from her towel late in the day to be met by muffled screams from her teammates.

“You are a lobster! No, I mean a red, REEEEEDDDDDD lobster!!”

Meanwhile, school groundskeepers were able to shepherd some wayward geese from the premises before they had a chance to unleash machine-gun-style poop. Always a win.

In the midst of all of that, CHS coach/tourney director Ken Stange pulled off a tight, well-oiled event which was done in time to let rival teams catch the early ferry, with nary a trace of drama, on-court or off.

Coupeville, as undisputed four-time league champs, had the most entries, claiming nine of the 24 slots.

By the end of the day that had held up, as the Wolves won a doubles title, tied for top honors in the team scoring race, and advanced five netters to next week’s district tourney.

CHS seniors Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger were the big winners, sweeping all three of their matches to claim a third straight doubles crown.

The team they beat in the final, Wolf sophomores Avalon Renninger and Tia Wurzrainer, played well above their seeding, taking out both of Klahowya’s doubles duos.

The youngest players to advance (eight seniors and two juniors will join them at districts), they had the match of the day.

That came in the semifinals, when Wurzrainer, whipping vicious cross-court returns and Avalon Renninger, peppering screaming left-handed winners, stomped on Klahowya’s #1 team.

“That! That was nice!!,” Stange said with a big grin as he strolled by in the aftermath.

The young Wolf duo benefited from the biggest cheering section of the day.

While school was in session Monday, many of their fellow athletes popped out during breaks, lunch or study hall.

Every Wolf had at least a few students on hand during their matches, but the clock timed out best for Avalon and Tia, who saw the bleachers jammed for their semifinal bout.

The two CHS doubles duos will be joined in Tacoma May 16-17 by senior singles player Claire Mietus, who is making her first trip to districts.

The top two finishers in singles and doubles at the two-day event, held at the Sprinker Tennis Center, advance to state.

Monday’s league tourney, which was missing Chimacum’s top two players, Renee Woods and Gladys Hitt, who had other commitments, opened with a winner-take-all first round.

Win a pro set and you were district bound, with later rounds (all best-two-of-three-sets) for deciding seeding. Lose and your season was done.

Wolf singles players Genna Wright and Heather Nastali and the doubles team of Kameryn St Onge and Maggie Crimmins fell in the first round.

Wright, who soared all the way to being Coupeville’s #1 player this season, is just a freshman, while the other three are seniors.

CHS sends five players to districts, while Klahowya (four, including singles champ Hailey Sargent), Chimacum (2) and Port Townsend (1) round out the Olympic League contingent.

 

Complete Coupeville results:

 

Genna Wright:

Lost to Maddy Rienks (Klahowya) 8-6

 

Claire Mietus:

Beat Makaela Caskey (Chimacum) 8-4
Lost to Vilma Jurma (Port Townsend) 6-1, 6-3
Lost to Rienks (Kla) 6-3, 6-0

 

Heather Nastali:

Lost to Jurma (PT) 8-0

 

Payton Aparicio/Sage Renninger:

Beat Chiara Vignale/Claudia Garfis (PT) 8-0
Beat Grace Yaley/Chloe Patterson (Chim) 6-3, 6-0
Beat Avalon Renninger/Tia Wurzainer (Coup) 6-0, 6-0

 

Avalon Renninger/Tia Wurzrainer:

Beat Anna Wells/Kelisha Harris (Kla) 8-0
Beat Taylor Bruce/Marianne Marker (Kla) 6-2, 6-3
Lost to Aparicio/S. Renninger (Coup) 6-0, 6-0

 

Maggie Crimmins/Kameryn St Onge:

Lost to Yaley/Patterson (Chim) 9-7

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