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Posts Tagged ‘Helen Strelow’

Net ace, coach exit after state run

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on May 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Helen Strelow closed out her stellar CHS tennis career with a strong run at the state tourney. (Jackie Saia photo)

Class and competitive fire.

Coupeville High School senior netter Helen Strelow has both traits, and so does her coach, Ken Stange.

So, it’s sort of fitting the two concluded their prep tennis careers at the same time, putting a bow on things at the 1B/2B state championships in Yakima.

Strelow battled hard in her third match of the tourney before falling 6-2, 6-3 to Gwen Gilliam of Goldendale in a loser-out match Saturday morning.

The Wolf ace, who split a pair of bouts Friday, finishes her final campaign with an 11-3 record.

Gilliam advanced to the 3rd/4th place match, where she lost 6-0, 6-4 to Liberty Linklater of Okanogan.

That was a reversal of fortune for both, as Gilliam beat Linklater in the first round of the two-day tournament.

The championship match was a family affair, with Avi Sahota of Jenkins (Chewelah), last year’s runner-up, knocking off lil’ sis Simi 6-2, 6-3 to claim the title.

For Strelow and Stange, the van ride back to Whidbey Island caps their time with the CHS tennis program.

The former graduates in a few days, while the latter is retiring after a nearly two-decade run coaching Wolf girls’ and boys’ tennis.

Ken Stange is retiring after coaching Wolf tennis since 2005. (Jackie Saia photo)

As he exited Yakima, Stange paused for a moment to praise Strelow, who provided him with the sixth, and final, trip to state during his coaching tenure.

“She is an amazing person,” he said. “Artist, scholar, athlete, and one of the kindest people anyone could ever know.

“She improved from week to week, day to day, on a consistent basis,” Stange added.

“She certainly has a spot on my all-time CHS team!”

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Strelow shines at state tourney

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on May 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Helen Strelow is alive and kicking heading into day #2 of the state championships. (Photos courtesy Brian Strelow)

She’s sticking around.

Having traveled all the way to Yakima for the 1B/2B state tennis championships, Coupeville’s Helen Strelow is giving the school van time to cool down before the trip home.

The Wolf senior split a pair of matches Friday and returns to action Saturday with a chance to finish as high as 3rd.

Strelow fell 6-1, 6-1 to Simi Sahota of Jenkins (Chewelah) in her opener, then bounced back to whack Amy Dorman of Lake Roosevelt 6-1, 6-3 in the afternoon.

With the split, the Wolf ace, now 11-2 on the season, earns a matchup with Gwen Gilliam of Goldendale.

That slugfest is a loser-out affair, with the victor squaring off later Saturday in the 3rd/4th place matchup against either Maddie Castro of Cle Elum or Liberty Linklater of Okanogan.

The top four finishers claim awards, with Simi Sahota scheduled to play older sister Avi Sahota in the championship match.

Strelow smacks a return at the swanky Yakima Tennis Club.

This is Strelow’s third appearance at a state championship event, but her first as a netter.

She twice advanced to the final run of the season in cross country, qualifying for state as both a junior and senior.

During her final campaign on the trails, Strelow was a captain as the Wolf girls made it to state as a complete team for the first time since the ’80s.

 

League rivals eliminated:

Friday Harbor’s Megan Mellinger and Kira Clark, who won the tri-district doubles title when Strelow won the singles crown, went two and out Friday in Yakima.

The Wolverines fell 6-2, 7-5 and 6-3, 6-0 to teams from St. George’s and Pateros, respectively.

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Your tennis hardware belongs to us!

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on May 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Your District 1/2/4 girls’ tennis champs hail from Coupeville. (Photo courtesy Nicole Strelow)

They’re the net queens of three districts.

Sparked by a singles title from Helen Strelow and a 2nd place performance from the doubles duo of Vivian Farris and Hayley Fiedler, the Coupeville High School girls’ tennis squad stood tall Friday in Seattle.

Holding off league rival Friday Harbor as well as Three Rivers Christian of Longview, the Wolves captured some hardware, bringing home the District 1/2/4 team title.

Now, Strelow and coach Ken Stange are off to the 1B/2B state tourney, which goes down May 26-27 at the Yakima Tennis Club.

For the Wolf net guru, who announced his retirement recently, it will be his sixth trip to the big dance since taking over the CHS tennis programs in 2005.

Strelow, a senior who twice ran at the state cross country meet, will be joined by Friday Harbor’s Megan Mellinger and Kira Clark, who pulled out a three-set win to capture the doubles crown.

Tri-District action went down at the swanky Amy Yee Tennis Center, with each school sending two singles players and two doubles teams.

The tourney was a single-elimination event, with the top seeds (Strelow and Farris/Fiedler) given a first-round bye.

To win her singles title, Strelow faced off with a pair of new rivals, fending off players from Three Rivers Christian to run her season record to 10-1.

Her only loss this spring was to a rival from 3A Mount Vernon in a match added to the schedule at the last moment.

Farris and Fiedler, who split a pair of sets before being edged 12-10 in an epic third-set tiebreaker in the doubles championship, finished 7-4 on the season.

Five of Coupeville’s six players at Tri-Districts depart after this season, with foreign exchange student Djina Radenovic joining seniors Lucy Tenore, Farris, Fiedler, and Strelow.

Junior Skylar Parker, who teamed with Tenore to capture a first-round win Friday, can return.

 

Friday results:

 

Helen Strelow:

Beat Aurora Fortunati (Three Rivers Christian) 7-5, 4-6, 10-7
Beat Jenna Dennis (Three Rivers Christian) 6-4, 7-6(7-1)

 

Djina Radenovic:

Lost to Jenna Dennis (Three Rivers Christian) 6-2, 6-0

 

Hayley Fiedler/Vivian Farris:

Beat Ava Martin/Georgia Keune (Friday Harbor) 6-1, 6-3
Lost to Megan Mellinger/Kira Clark (Friday Harbor) 7-5, 4-6, 12-10

 

Lucy Tenore/Skylar Parker:

Beat Brynn Stephans/Gracie Cowan (Three Rivers Christian) 6-1, 6-2
Lost to Megan Mellinger/Kira Clark (Friday Harbor) 6-0, 6-2

 

Skylar Parker (left) and Lucy Tenore split a pair of matches while playing together for the final time. (Jackie Saia photo)

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Netters bid farewell to home court

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , on May 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Helen Strelow leads off a collection of CHS tennis Senior Night pics. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The bench is going to be a little bare next season.

The Coupeville High School girls’ tennis team celebrated Senior Night Friday, and seven of 11 players on the roster will depart.

The Wolves, who are also losing longtime coach Ken Stange, honored five seniors and two foreign exchange students under sunny skies.

Snapping away was cameraman John Fisken, who delivers us the pics seen above and below.

Karyme Castro

Emma Morano (second from right).

Lucy Tenore

Hayley Fiedler

Djina Radenovic (center).

Vivian Farris

The magnificent seven with a final bow.

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Wolves, Wolverines finish in a dead heat

Posted in Girls Tennis, tagged , , , , , on May 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville netters (l to r) Helen Strelow, Vivian Farris, and Hayley Fiedler are off to bi-districts next week. (Fred Farris photo)

You couldn’t ask for a closer rivalry.

Four times Coupeville and Friday Harbor’s girls’ tennis teams clashed this season, and all four matches ended with the same 3-2 score.

The Wolves won the first two, while the Wolverines rebounded to claim the second pair, including Friday’s regular-season finale on Whidbey Island.

In doing so, Friday Harbor earns a share of the Northwest 2B/1B League crown, while CHS coach Ken Stange still notches his 12th title with the girls’ program.

He has 17 titles at the school since taking over both the boys and girls tennis programs in 2005.

With the regular season done, Coupeville is off to the bi-district tourney next Friday, May 19 at the Amy Yee Tennis Center in Seattle.

That single-elimination royal rumble pits District 1’s Coupeville and Friday Harbor against District 4’s Three Rivers Christian, which hails from Longview.

Each team will send two singles players and two doubles teams to bi-districts, with the winners advancing to the state championships.

 

Friday’s results:

 

Varsity:

1st Singles — Helen Strelow beat Isabella VanderYacht 6-0, 6-3

2nd Singles — Djina Radenovic lost to Megan Mellinger 6-0, 6-0

1st Doubles — Hayley Fiedler/Vivian Farris beat Kira Clark/Betty Furber 6-4, 6-0

2nd Doubles — Skylar Parker/Lucy Tenore lost to Georgia Keune/Ava Martin 5-7, 6-4, 10-7

3rd Doubles — Kaitlyn Leavell/Brynn Parker lost to Lilli Turnbow/Sophia Ramirez 6-2, 6-2

 

JV:

4th Doubles — Karyme Castro/Emma Morano lost to Ava Gamez/Norah Leighton 6-0, 6-5

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