Elaira Nicolle teamed with Genna Wright Wednesday to win a match against South Whidbey. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Play until the sun goes down.
That seemed to be the objective Wednesday for the final two varsity doubles teams on the court as Coupeville and South Whidbey clashed.
By the time Wolves Kameryn St Onge and Maggie Crimmins finished their epic battle with Falcons Oliana Stange and Ally Lynch, every other court was empty.
And, even though the result of their bout wouldn’t change the outcome of the team match (South Whidbey eventually won 4-1), the duos raged on against the dying sun.
One second-set game went to 24,507 deuces (give or take a few) as all four players took turns whacking crowd-pleasing winners.
Then, at the end, as Crimmins and St Onge tried to pull out a second-set tiebreaker (and force another, match-deciding tie breaker) things got downright bloody.
St Onge, who had been cranking wicked left-handed winners that skidded through the alleys, ripped open a finger and had to make a bee-line for a first-aid kit.
“We’re never going home, are we?”, said Jon Crimmins, Maggie’s proud papa, chuckling as he gazed at a marsh occupying the space where the CHS baseball diamond of his youth once sat.
And, while Stange and Lynch pulled out the win a few points later thanks to a couple of sweet winners, it was a fairly-perfect cap for all involved.
While the final team score was the same as the first time these teams met back in mid-March, the scrappy underdog Wolves (4-8 on the season) showed marked improvement against the Falcons (7-1).
Sophomore sluggers Tia Wurzrainer and Avalon Renninger battled back from a set down to win Wednesday, while freshman Genna Wright won six more games in her second go-around with battle-hardened Ashley Ricketts.
The strong play continued to the JV matches, where Coupeville won twice and Emily Fiedler and Jaimee Masters, in particular, laid down some brilliant shots.
If nothing else, the non-conference match was a good tune-up for Thursday’s ultra-important match-and-a-half at Silverdale.
The Wolves (2-1 in Olympic League play) will wrap a rain-delayed match (it’s sitting at 2-2 with three bouts still undecided), then play their regularly-scheduled tilt with Klahowya (0-3).
Win both and CHS vaults a half game ahead of Chimacum (3-1) and guarantees it will play for a fourth-straight league title.
Complete Wednesday results:
Varsity:
1st Singles — Claire Mietus lost to Robynn Maciel 6-0, 6-2
2nd Singles — Genna Wright lost to Ashley Ricketts 6-3, 6-3
1st Doubles — Payton Aparicio/Sage Renninger lost to Mary Zisette/Alison Papritz 6-2, 6-2
2nd Doubles — Avalon Renninger/Tia Wurzrainer beat Farriss Jokinen/Ainsley Nelson 2-6, 6-3, 10-6
3rd Doubles — Kameryn St Onge/Maggie Crimmins lost to Ally Lynch/Oliana Stange 7-5, 7-6(7-5)
JV:
4th Doubles — Jillian Mayne/Zara Bradley lost to Erin Brewer/McKenna Kelley 8-5
5th Doubles — Megan Behan/Nanci Melendrez lost to Elizabeth Simmons/Lynda Moran 6-4
6th Doubles — Jaimee Masters/Emily Fiedler beat Jenna Pfeiffer/Capri Pierce 8-4
7th Doubles — Bradley/Mayne played Sadie Wilson/Joanie Welever No score recorded
8th Doubles — Elaira Nicolle/Wright beat Mira Harvey/Denise Breton 6-2
Coupeville Sports 