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Archive for the ‘Girls Tennis’ Category

Julia Myers, crackin' heads and takin' names.

Julia Myers, crackin’ heads and takin’ names.

OK, if you lean in real close and listen carefully, I’m going to tell you a secret.

You ready? Made peace with the universe and prepared to have your world rocked? Holding on tightly to the edge of the couch, in case the shock knocks you off the cushions?

Here we go…

Julia Myers is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Oh, I know, I know. Your brain just went poof and turned into liquid and ran out of your ear and is puddling down there on the carpet.

Your mom is gonna be so PISSED.

But now you’re saying to yourself, how can this be?

Cause you’ve seen Julia play basketball for Coupeville High School, elbows slicin’ and dicin’ like Ginsu as she hauled in boards, leaving people from King’s screaming and crying and blubbering.

And that’s just their whiny lil’ coach…

You’ve seen her drop epic stink eye on South Whidbey with just a glance. A glance that coated the court in ice and froze the Falcons in mid-stride.

Of course, if you were watching closely, you also saw Ms. Myers follow up those actions with a small, secret grin, content in the knowledge that she had just blown up the joint and thoroughly wrecked the concentration of any opponent hapless enough to cross her path.

Cause really, that’s the true Julia — one giant smile boppin’ through life to her own tune.

With her large, blended family at her back (OG cool cat and big sis Taylor Herreman taught her everything she needed to know about droppin’ the stink eye on morons), Myers is having fun when she plays, whether it’s soccer, basketball or tennis.

The fact she’s able to have fun is great, because she’s a tough lil’ bugger who refused to let a shredded knee slow her down. She had to sit out sports during her sophomore year, but she came roaring right back as a junior last year.

I hope her senior year is as awesome as she is, and plays out exactly to her hopes and dreams. Julia deserves that much.

Oh, and her birthday, which just happens to be today? May that be splendiferous as well.

Just don’t get between her and any birthday cake. Cause she’s not afraid to swing an elbow or two.

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"Fast" Eddie Fasolo, all grown up and responsible and stuff, with girlfriend Alexa Glover.

“Fast” Eddie Fasolo, all grown up and responsible and stuff, with girlfriend Alexa Glover.

#45

#45, always with the rock in his hand.

Ken Stange hangs out with his tennis players. (Wendy McCormick photo)

Ken Stange hangs out with his tennis players. (Wendy McCormick photos)

I'm contractually obligated to run this photo with any story about Stange. Fact.

I’m contractually obligated to run this photo with any story about Stange. Fact.

They are the wild ones. The renegades. Individuals, through and through.

So, it’s kind of fitting that Ken Stange and “Fast” Eddie Fasolo share a birthday today — one day to honor two dudes who have always done it their way.

Stange is the barefoot-tennis-playin’, goatee-rockin’, dance-move-droppin’ net guru for the Wolves, a man who has made tennis the go-to sport at CHS for everyone from seasoned vets to green newbies not even sure which way to hold the racket on the first day of practice.

He’s had state meet participants under his watch, most recently Ben Etzell and Aaron Curtin last season, but it has always been his ability to bring in the player who had never thought about being an athlete in the first place that cements his rep.

The Wolf tennis squads have blossomed under his tutelage and grown by leaps and bounds. The deepest rosters of any sport at CHS and also the only ones where the coach is willing to recreate a Beyonce video with his players.

Across town, the legend that is “Fast” Eddie never grows old. He just gets more stories to tell.

The son of legendary OG surfer/coolest man to trod the Earth Bob Fasolo, Eddie starred on the hardcourt from the first moment he picked up a basketball.

Playing with brother Rob, the Fasolos laid down the smack (and, in the case of Eddie, talked a lot of it, too.)

But, while he could trash talk with the best of them, Eddie could also back it up, draining jumpers and playing the way his dad taught him — all out, all the time.

As he and girlfriend Alexa Glover await the arrival of their first child, the boy has become a man — and one his father would be proud of.

Can one day survive two legends celebrating their birthday at the same time? It’ll have to, because the dudes abide.

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Mary

Mary Massengale

tennis

Massengale flies to the ball during her senior tennis season. (John Fisken photo)

Mary Massengale has always been her own person.

And that’s exactly how it should be.

She started her high school career as a football player and ended it on the tennis court. And never took any crap from anyone along the way.

Whether on the field or operating in the real world (we served time together in the restaurant world), she has always been feisty, independent, outspoken and, under it all, a really sweet-natured, likable young woman.

She may not have gotten the big headlines during her time as a Wolf, but I don’t think that was ever a priority with her.

Mary had talent and skill, but played the game on her own terms.

The one time a photographer was able to snap a picture of her playing tennis, it made her mom, Bobbie, thrilled.

Mary just arched an eyebrow, rolled her eyes slightly and went back about her business.

She declined to re-hash her time as a football player, because, even though others found it note-worthy that a freshman girl had suited up and held her own on the gridiron, it was just a small slice of her life.

As she celebrates her birthday today, I hope that Miss Massengale is fully appreciated by all around her.

She is talented, she is her own woman, and she consistently surprises. There is nothing she can’t do.

While Mary may not waste much time sitting around talking about how awesome she is, it’s a word that fits.

She’s not going to toot her own horn, so we’ll do it for her.

Mary Massengale — a quiet winner who deserves some loud applause.

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Sydney Aparicio

Sydney Aparicio, an athlete who had fun in every season.

Sydney Aparicio knows a few people.

During her Senior Night festivities for volleyball, family of all shapes, sizes and ages crowded into the Coupeville High School gym. Each one wore home-made t-shirts that identified what their relationship was to the Wolf spiker.

Sydney’s mom. Sydney’s sister. Sydney’s cousin.

There were a lot.

Which is not a surprise, since her parents, Mitch and Tami (Stuurmans) Aparicio united two of Coupeville’s top sports families when they got married.

Sydney, who celebrates her birthday today, played tennis, softball and volleyball, as well as following in her mom’s footsteps as one of the leading CHS cheerleaders.

She did it all well, and always with a huge smile.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Miss Aparicio frown. Ever.

I’m sure she has at some point in her life, but her smile was always front and center during her athletic days, win or loss.

Sydney always had fun, regardless of the sport, and it was infectious.

Following in the footsteps of her parents, and a billion aunts and uncles, she set the path for equally bubbly little sister Payton, who will be a Wolf freshman this fall.

She kept the family tradition of excellence alive and seemed to genuinely enjoy herself through every season, every game.

That’s a rare quality, and one shown by a rare young woman.

Happy birthday, Miss Aparicio, and may your days ahead be as smile-inducing as the ones you lived out as a Wolf.

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McKenzie Bailey

McKenzie Bailey

McKenzie Bailey may be the second sister, but she’s a star in her own right.

The Coupeville High School junior-to-be, who celebrates her birthday today, makes a dandy duo with big sis McKayla, the Photo Bomb Queen of Cow Town.

Together, and with lil’ sis Mollie, they’re keeping family tradition alive by kickin’ fanny in as many sports as possible.

And, in the brief moment when they’re not actually playing themselves, each of the Bailey girls can usually be found at one of their sister’s games, being loud and proud in support.

In her two years at CHS, McKenzie has been a true throw-back, one of the few Wolves to play year-round.

Bouncing from volleyball to basketball to tennis, where her star might be the brightest, Miss Bailey lives up to the reputation that comes with her last name.

She works hard. She plays hard. She’ll crack a girl in half and leave her on the hardwood (if necessary).

And, she’ll always, kinda, sorta, know where the camera is during every game. Cause no one has EVER accused a Bailey of being camera shy.

Which is why McKenzie and her family are the very definition of awesome.

They give me a lot to write about, and they provide me with billions of photo opportunities — which means less actual work for me. Win-win.

As long as there’s a Bailey doin’ their business in a Wolf uniform, we’re solid gold.

So thank you, McKenzie, for being a great athlete, an amazing sister and a pretty terrific person, all wrapped in one.

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