Coupeville Sports

Dance, Stange, dance!!

David King: “As a fellow coach, I salute you!!”

There is a season for everything, and this is the season for beating the crud out of Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

While the private school power lives to crush everyone in sight, their girls’ tennis program is but a bud on the tree right now.

So, it’s a perfect time for a small, scrappy school like Coupeville — which has a deep roster and a long hard-court tradition — to make up for some frustration built up in other sports.

It was nothing but a good time for the girls in black and red Tuesday, as the Wolves pasted ATM 5-0 for their second bagel job of the Mildcats this season.

Now a sterling 4-0, Coupeville will get its first huge test Wednesday, when the true hard court queens — South Whidbey — arrive in town for a 3:30 all-Island battle royale.

The Falcons, a perennial state contender at the 2A level in years past, have dropped to 1A but retain an awe-inspiring lineup led by the Newman sisters, Hayley and Carlie.

“Tomorrow should be interesting, as we finally get to face off against South Whidbey. They should have a tough team,” said Wolf coach Ken Stange. “We’ve over-matched the schools we’ve played so far.

“South Whidbey will be good for the Wolf players,” he added. “It’s always fun to play against the best!”

Tuesday, Coupeville rolled, with highlights including Samantha Martin making her varsity debut and the soccer duo of Jacki Ginnings and Micky LeVine paddling a top duo quickly enough that they were able to make it to the boys’ soccer game with plenty of time to spare.

“Micky and Jacki are playing really well,” Stange said. “They beat up on a doubles team that consisted of ATM’s #2 singles player and half of the #1 doubles team. I have to get them into a varsity match, and soon!

“I’ve got other girls that are hitting better and better,” he added. “I’ve got a whole bunch of new players that are really athletic, and they are going to do some serious damage in the next few years.”

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Amanda d’Almeida beat Haley Sizelove 8-2

2nd Singles — Allie Hanigan beat Dana Tran 8-1

1st Doubles — Holly Craggs/Iris Ryckaert beat Taylor Herrera/Madeline Hoben 8-0

2nd Doubles — Ana Luvera/Ivy Luvera beat Amy Camilleri/Lena Villani 8-4

3rd Doubles — Breanna Koym/Samantha Martin beat Susana Bartra/Alicia Asmundson 8-6

JV:

4th Doubles — Jacki Ginnings/Micky LeVine beat Tran/Hoben 8-3

5th Doubles — McKenzie Bailey/Sydney Autio beat Camilleri/Villani 8-2

Read Full Post »

        Iris Ryckaert will have to wait until another day to be stylish while playing tennis. (John Fisken photo)

I’m not going to say it was a surprise.

With rain coming down so thick over Coupeville at one point Wednesday it was like being trapped in a waterfall going from the public library to your car, the lone sporting event scheduled for today was postponed.

Of course, later in the day, all the rain left and it was blue skies and sun.

Then, later, ferocious winds.

“I think the weather gods in charge of Whidbey are on some crazy mixture of crack cocaine and LSD today,” joked Coupeville High School girls’ tennis coach Ken Stange on Facebook.

In the end, what it meant was the all-Island showdown between unbeaten girls’ tennis teams, pitting the scrappy underdogs (3-0 Coupeville) vs. the larger-than-life reigning champs (South Whidbey, led by the one-two punch of Hayley and Carlie Newman) will have to wait for another day.

Read Full Post »

Allie Hanigan rolled to a huge win, bageling her foe. (John Fisken photos)

Samantha Martin played impressively in her doubles win.

Complete and utter domination.

That’s what the undefeated Coupeville High School girls’ tennis team (3-0) laid down on visiting Archbishop Thomas Murphy Tuesday afternoon. A good old fashioned butt-whuppin’, as it were.

The varsity swept to a 5-0 win, while the Wolves won seven of eight matches overall.

Since ATM had only seven players, the third varsity doubles match was a forfeit, then the extra player teamed with their top singles player to play doubles (ATM’s lone win) and the two doubles teams played a second match (and lost both).

Now you can say, well, ATM is in its first year of fielding a net squad. To which Wolf fans, not fond of being on the end of many, many whippings administered in many sports by the money-oozing private school, reply, cry me a river.

As the smallest public school in the Cascade Conference, we’ll take our moments. And there were plenty of them Tuesday.

1st Singles — Amanda d’Almeida beat Haley Sizelove 8-2

“This was a good match for Amanda,” said Wolf coach Ken Stange. “The wind gave her some trouble early, but she figured out how to deal with the wind from both sides of the court.”

2nd Singles — Allie Hanigan def. Dana Tran 8-0

“Allie knows that court 2 is dangerous on a windy day. She also knows how to adjust to balls that would make even the most old school knuckle-ball pitchers jealous.”

1st Doubles — Holly Craggs/Iris Ryckaert beat Taylor Herrera/Madeline Hoben 8-1

“Forrest Gump would say that Holly and Iris go together like peas and carrots.”

2nd Doubles — Ana Luvera/Mary Massengale beat Amy Camilleri/Lena Villani 8-2

“Ana’s sister Ivy couldn’t play today, so Mary made her varsity debut. She did not disappoint! They played very well today.”

3rd Doubles (Official) — Coupeville wins by default

3rd Doubles (Unofficial) — Breanna Koym/Emily Gallahar lost to Susana Bartra/Sizelove 8-3

4th Doubles — Jacki Ginnings/Micky Levine beat Herrera/Hoben 8-5

“Jacki and Micky played very well against the #1 doubles team from ATM. These two girls are so athletic and never give up on any ball. I wish I had a fraction of the reaction speed they both possess.”

5th Doubles — McKenzie Rice/Samantha Martin beat Villani/Camilleri 8-6

“Playing against the #2 doubles team from ATM, my frosh duo pulled out a close match. The season just grew more enjoyable for those two!”

Read Full Post »

Mary Massengale

Ivy Luvera

Ana Luvera

Iris Ryckaert

Micky LeVine

It was semi-sorta springish out there Monday.

The rains stayed away, the sky cleared, the sun came out, and, if you ignored the freezing wind, you might have thought it really was tennis weather.

Kicking off what could be a busy week (if the weather holds) with the first of four matches, the Coupeville High School girl netters hosted big-school rival Lakewood in a lively match.

Wolf coach Ken Stange charged from court to court, sending players here, then there, then stopping to find a cookie for son Fletcher, who was busy scratching lines into the cement with the back of his sneaker.

On the court, doubles duo Iris Ryckaert and Holly Craggs led the fashion conscious, each matching the color of their sunglasses to their tennis outfits.

Off the court, the metal bleachers were packed most of the afternoon with parents and fans, while ace photographer John Fisken clicked away from inside the metal chain-link fences.

Check out some of his work above, and, if you like it (and why wouldn’t you), take a gander at the rest over at thttp://www.cascadeathletics.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=3908&league=2&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=16&sport=0&tab=2 .

Read Full Post »