Allie Hanigan is the early favorite to be Coupeville’s #1 player in 2014. (John Fisken photos)
Julia Myers is one of many returning letter winners for the Wolves.
The queen is gone. Long live the queen.
Amanda d’Almeida has graduated and is off in college playing soccer, leaving the #1 singles slot open as the Coupeville High School girls’ tennis squad gears up for a new season. Let the battle for hard-court supremacy begin.
Longtime Wolf tennis guru Ken Stange has numerous options to fill the top spot, and will hold an inter-squad tourney to see who wants to claim top dog status.
The early favorite, however, has to be senior Allie Hanigan. With two strong seasons behind her, the graceful netter is the top returning player on a veteran-heavy team and sliding up one spot on the rankings ladder would seem in the cards.
How the other varsity spots play out, both at #2 singles and with the doubles teams, should be interesting.
They might also change somewhat from match to match, with CHS having a number of battle-tested players fighting for the jobs.
Samantha Martin, who played in last year’s district doubles tourney, is joined by returning letter winners Jacki Ginnings, Micky LeVine, Ana Luvera, Ivy Luvera, Breanna Koym, Maureen Rice, Wynter Thorne, Julia Myers and McKenzie Bailey.
If any of them stumble, three newcomers are waiting for their time to shine, as well. Senior Sydney Aparicio is jumping over from softball and freshmen Valen Trujillo and Bree Daigneault have been impressive in off-season workouts.
“I’ve seen Sydney play, and she could challenge for a varsity spot,” Stange said. “So could Valen and Bree. They’ve been practicing, even in bad weather.”
While he’ll have a deep roster (“I’ve got bunches of returning players and my new kids seem to be eager to get out there and play”), no one on the current roster has played at the very top for a consistent amount of time.
“I’ve got lots of girls who have played varsity tennis, but none of them have played much at #1 singles or doubles,” Stange said. “We’ll have to learn by beating up on ourselves, and then we’ll see what we can do against the competition.”
The cream of that competition will be the usual suspects from down the Island. Even with the loss of state meet veteran Hayley Newman, South Whidbey is still the team to beat.
“It’d be nice to take it to the Falcons,” Stange said. “South Whidbey, even though they don’t have any more Newman sisters, is always tough. Karyle Kramer runs a solid program.”
The Wolves will face more teams than in years past, as Stange and Coupeville AD Lori Stolee have been able to expand the schedule to seven teams and 13 matches.
Archbishop Thomas Murphy, Granite Falls, Lakewood and South Whidbey join the Wolves as Cascade Conference schools fielding squads, while perennial rival Friday Harbor, powerful Blaine and the combined forces of Port Townsend and Chimacum (the two schools play as one for tennis) round out the opponents.
Regardless of who is on the other side of the net, or which Wolf players end up in the varsity slots, Stange has one overwhelming wish. The same one he takes into every season on typically weather-torn Whidbey.
“I’m just hoping for some dry courts!!”
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