Coupeville Sports

Having barely made the ferry, Julia Myers, Allie Hanigan, Micky LeVine, Amanda d’Almeida and Iris Ryckaert celebrate. P.S. — the donuts aren’t real.

The Cowboys and the Redskins united and hunted down the Wolves.

Chimacum (the Cowboys) and Port Townsend (the Redskins) combine for their girls’ tennis program, and their united forces were just a bit too much for Coupeville High School Friday.

Sweeping the doubles contests, they edged the Wolves 4-2, dropping Coupeville to a still-impressive 8-4 on the season with one match to play. The final postseason tuneup comes Tuesday, when Lakewood visits Whidbey for its third beatin’ of the season.

Given more time (they had to ankle it to catch the last ferry out of town and the last two JV matches were called before they were done), the Wolves might have forced a tie in the varsity match.

Fourth doubles duo Mary Massengale and Sydney Autio had fought back to tie their match at a set apiece, but the time crunch prevented them from playing a full third set. Instead, they played a quicker 10-point tiebreak and couldn’t keep their momentum going.

Also playing strongly was third doubles duo Julia Myers and Wynter Thorne. This was their first pairing and Thorne’s varsity debut.

“Julia and Wynter played very well together,” said Wolf coach Ken Stange. “They are both tall and fast, and they covered the entire court. They could prove to be a solid combo next year.”

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Amanda d’Almeida beat Frances Sheldon 6-1, 6-0

2nd Singles — Allie Hanigan beat Justina Sutherand 6-1, 6-1

1st Doubles — Holly Craggs/Iris Ryckaert lost to Rachel Ramsey/Rebecca Ramsey 6-2, 6-0

2nd Doubles — Ivy Luvera/Ana Luvera lost to Sarah Allen/Rachel Maki 6-1, 6-1

3rd Doubles — Julia Myers/Wynter Thorne lost to Olivia Garten/Irina Lyons 6-4, 7-5

4th Doubles — Mary Massengale/Sydney Autio lost to MJ Richardson/Abbi Robocker 6-1, 4-6, 10-5

JV:

5th Doubles — Jacki Ginnings/Micky LeVine lost to Holly Taylor/Alyssa Wolfe 6-4

6th Doubles — McKenzie Bailey/Emily Gallahar beat Taylor Van Ness/Ezalyne Lamour 6-4

7th Doubles — Samantha Martin/McKenzie Bailey tied Holly Taylor/Anum Mushtaq 4-4

8th Doubles — Haleigh Deasy/Joye Jackson lost to Sophie Thurston/Miranda Appling 5-1

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Allie Hanigan prepares to unleash a knee-buckling serve. (John Fisken photo)

Best team in the school, hands down.

Ken Stange has the magic and his Coupeville High School girls’ tennis team has been the gold standard this spring. Now 8-3 after a win over visiting Granite Falls Thursday, the Wolves will go for double digits in the final week of the regular season.

The Wolves close with a trip across the water to play at Chimacum Friday, then welcome Lakewood, a team they have already beaten twice, to Whidbey Tuesday, April 30.

After that comes districts and things may get a bit dicey.

With only two singles players and two doubles teams advancing to tri-districts, it will be an uphill battle for Coupeville as they try to upset unbeaten Hayley and Carlie Newman of South Whidbey and a very deep squad from Blaine.

For now, though, the focus is on a 3-2 win over Granite Falls, and a satisfying one at that.

“It was exciting to see more close matches,” Stange said. “Players learn more from a close match, won or lost, than they do in in blowouts.”

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Amanda d’Almeida beat Rachel Mow 6-3, 6-2

2nd Singles — Allie Hanigan beat Brittany Young 6-4, 6-1

1st Doubles — Iris Ryckaert/Holly Craggs beat Hailey Arndt/Kaitlyn Gresli 7-6(9-7), 7-6(8-6)

2nd Doubles — Julia Myers/Emily Gallahar lost to Sierra Murdoch/Laura Gilbertson 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(8-6)

3rd Doubles — McKenzie Bailey/Sydney Autio lost to Cassie Hart/Annie Hart 6-2, 6-3

JV:

4th Doubles — Ana Luvera/Ivy Luvera beat Brianna Cervarich/McKenzie Meyer 8-4

5th Doubles — Wynter Thorne/Faith Shinn beat Nia Klinnert/Danielle Coleman 8-6

6th Doubles — Joye Jackson/Haleigh Deasy beat Kailan Pierce/Brynne Mota 8-6

7th Doubles — Samantha Thomson/Julia Jones lost to Tien Nguyen/Brittany Lindell 8-2

8th Doubles — Micky LeVine/Jacki Ginnings beat Kailan Pierce/Brynne Mota 6-1

9th Doubles — Mary Massengale/Samantha Martin beat Tien Nguyen/Brittany Lindell 6-2

10th Doubles — Maureen Rice/Joye Jackson lost to Briana Cervarich/McKenzie Meyer 6-2

11th Doubles — McKenzie Rice/Julianne Sem lost to Nia Klinnert/Danielle Coleman 8-3

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Iris Ryckaert and partner Holly Craggs battled through three sets and a do-or-die tiebreaker to come out on top Tuesday. (John Fisken photo)

They stared defeat in the eye and never blinked.

Rallying from a set down, Coupeville High School’s top two doubles duos pulled out heart-stopping come-from-behind victories Tuesday, turning the tide and lifting the Wolves to a 4-1 victory over visiting Lakewood.

It was enough to make CHS coach Ken Stange dance, but we’ll resist the temptation to run the justifiably famous photo of him doing just that for the 5,709th time. For now…

The win, which lifted the Wolves to 7-3 with three regular-season matches left, offered stark contrasts.

Both Coupeville singles players rolled to 6-0, 6-0 wins, while the visiting Cougars, who had loaded up their top players in the doubles matches, looked like they would run all three.

While the third doubles tandem of McKenzie Bailey and Samantha Martin weren’t able to make it back up the hill, the other Wolf duos came roaring back.

Iris Ryckaert and Holly Craggs had to endure a second-set tiebreaker just to keep their match going, while Julia Myers and Maureen Rice overcame early struggles as they adjusted to playing with a new partner.

In the end, with both their personal match and the team battle on the line, both Wolf duos played some sparkling tennis, rolling through their third sets by the time they kicked and clawed to be in them.

“I was thoroughly impressed with my one and two doubles teams,” Stange said. “Sure, they had to raise their levels of play to win. Many players can raise their game when needed. What truly impressed me today was their resilience and perseverance.”

With Ryckaert and Craggs, it was their fight even when way behind. Down 4-0 in the first, they refused to concede the set.

“Iris and Holly could have easily rolled over and lost the match. They did just the opposite,” Stange said. “They ran for errant balls. They picked each other up when they were down. They played as one being during the final two sets.”

And, for Myers and Rice, it was proof they can be counted on when the match is on the line.

“As for Julia and Maureen, they both have had their struggles during matches, and after dropping the first set, they too could have rolled over,” Stange said. “They didn’t relent. They proved that they could deliver in the clutch.”

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Amanda d’Almeida beat Hannah Krustinger 6-0, 6-0

2nd Singles — Allie Hanigan beat Violet Jensen 6-0, 6-0

1st Doubles — Iris Ryckaert/Holly Craggs beat McKayla Schwiger/Kylie Staley 5-7, 7-6(7-5), 6-3

2nd Doubles — Julia Myers/Maureen Rice beat Jenny Tsengelmaa/Zaya Tsengelmaa 2-6, 6-4, 6-3

3rd Doubles — McKenzie Bailey/Samantha Martin lost to Jackie Storer/Maddy DeYoung 6-2, 6-4

JV:

4th Doubles — Emily Gallahar/Sydney Autio beat Bea Kiel/Lexi Zbeigien 8-3

5th Doubles — Jacki Ginnings/Micky LeVine beat Erin Espeland/Camilla Madero 8-5

6th Doubles — Ana Luvera/Ivy Luvera beat Micaela Mendiondo/Kathryn Winder 8-2

7th Doubles — Mary Massengale/Breanna Koym beat Apinya Taweesub/Bea Kiel 8-2

8th Doubles — Julia Jones/Samantha Thomson lost to Lexi Zbeigien/Hannah Krustinger 8-0

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