Jared Helmstadter teamed with brother Grey Rische to capture a vital come-from-behind three-set win Monday. (John Fisken photo)
This is how you start a season.
Having waited its turn seemingly forever, as all of the other fall sports teams at Coupeville High School played two or three contests, the Wolf boys’ tennis squad finally saw action Monday.
And what action, as they used three come-from-behind wins to topple 2A Sequim 4-3 in a non-conference match.
The season-opening road win came against a school that not only is much larger than 1A Coupeville (it has three times as many students) but also is the defending 2A Olympic League champs.
On this day, that mattered not to the Wolves, as they battled back to claim three-set wins in three separate matches, all after having lost the first set.
It was actually even more of a comeback, as Coupeville trailed 3-1 on the day, and if any of the final three matches had fallen the other way, team defeat would have been the flavor of the day.
Instead, it was miracle time.
“We couldn’t have been any closer to elimination,” said Wolf tennis coach Ken Stange. “This was the best team win I’ve ever experienced with the boys.”
Connor McCormick pulled out a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win at second singles to kick-start things.
“Connor took his doubles skills to the singles court,” Stange said. “He served and volleyed, which is pretty rare for singles players.
“Connor epitomized calmness today; his final set showed he was able to maintain a high level of consistency and concentration in the match,” he added. “He has always been our best net player. It was fun to see him use those skills in singles.”
The Wolves put the match away by dominating in doubles, winning three of four.
Joey Lippo and William Nelson strolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win at second doubles, while #3 (Jimmy Myers/Lilan Sekigawa) and #4 (Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter) had to dig down deep for their victories.
Myers and Sekigawa lost a tense tiebreaker 7-6 to open their match, then rebounded to take the next two sets 6-4 and 10-8, while Rische and Helmstadter prevailed in a razor-tight match 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.
“Jimmy and Lilan were high energy, and so were their opponents. They didn’t make it look easy,” Stange said. “Instead, they made it look like it took every ounce of their energy to win.
“They play an unorthodox style. Combined with the high energy, they will often put opponents into uncomfortable situations.”
With the match squared at 3-3, the deciding point came from Coupeville’s real-life brothers.
“Grey and Jared picked up the deciding point. They knew that they were the deciding match, too,” Stange said. “In the past, pressure has been a bugaboo for them.
“I’ve been preaching staying relaxed. They made good on it. They breathed.”
Coupeville’s three losses came at first singles (Sebastian Davis fell 6-1, 6-0), third singles (Garrett Compton went down 6-2, 7-5) and first doubles (Joseph Wedekind/John McClarin were nipped 6-4, 6-2).
But wait, there’s more:
The Wolves pushed their hosts hard in JV action as well, winning two matches.
5th doubles — Nick Etzell/Cole Payne won 8-6
6th doubles — Aiden Crimmins/Nile Lockwood lost 6-3
7th doubles — Tiger Johnson/Jaschon Baumann lost 6-4
8th doubles — Jakobi Baumann/Santiago Ortiz won 6-3
9th doubles — Nick Blalock/Payne lost 6-0
