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.
