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Posts Tagged ‘Ken Stange’

Samantha Martin (left) and Sydney Aparicio celebrate their win at #1 doubles. (Tami Aparicio photo)

   Samantha Martin (left) and Sydney Aparicio celebrate their win at #1 doubles, which earned them Player of the Match status. (Tami Aparicio photo)

Maureen Rice (John Fisken photo)

Maureen Rice, kickin’ butt and takin’ names. (John Fisken photo)

Spring Break may have been on their minds, but, before they went, they had a butt-whuppin’ to administer.

Playing their final match before a nearly three-week gap in the schedule (they don’t return to the court for a match until April 15), the Coupeville High School girls’ tennis players pounded visiting Lakewood every way possible Wednesday.

The Wolves won the varsity match 4-1, then swept all four JV matches just for good measure. Not bad for the smallest 1A school in the state facing off with one of the biggest 2A schools in the Cascade Conference.

“It was a strong showing all around,” said CHS coach Ken Stange. “It felt good to get back in the win column after sustaining two beatings, especially since we have quite a bit of time off before we compete again.”

The victory, coming on the heels of losses at Blaine and South Whidbey, improved Coupeville to 3-2.

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Allie Hanigan beat Jackie Stover 6-0, 6-0

Allie was in the driver’s seat the whole way.”

2nd Singles — Jacki Ginnings lost to Christina Barber 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Jacki generated a good rhythm in the first set, hitting effective serves and moving her opponent around the court. She continues to develop her singles game, and is gaining control of her ground strokes.”

1st Doubles — Samantha Martin/Sydney Aparicio beat Kylie Staley/Zaya Tsengelmaa 6-3, 6-1

“This was a solid win for my #1 duo. They pulled away from their opponents halfway through the first set, playing smart and consistent tennis, and choosing the right opportunities to put the ball away.

Samantha was particularly dominant at net, while both she and Sydney hit solid shots from the baseline. They seemed to have a little extra pop on their serves, too.”

2nd Doubles — McKenzie Bailey/Wynter Thorne beat Alex Wolf/Maddie DeYoung 4-6, 7-6(7-3), 10-6

McKenzie and Wynter left it all on the court. They came out with their biggest win of the year, as well!

Wynter has been ill with bronchitis. It hasn’t stopped her from getting busy on the court. After missing Friday’s match at Blaine, she got back in the mix despite her fatigue. She was on the mend today, but not many kids would have played, if they were in Wynter’s condition.

“To top it all off, McKenzie was under the weather. They blew me away with how much focus and grit they showed out there today.”

3rd Doubles — Sydney Autio/Valen Trujillo beat Lexi Zbiegien/Erin Espeland 6-1, 6-0

“This was a new pairing and it worked out well. I’m going to try it again after we come back from spring break.

Sydney and Valen showed some good chemistry for a duo who hadn’t even played together in practice. They were energetic and focused, and each seemed to know where the other was and what the other was going to do.”

JV:

4th Doubles — Ivy Luvera/Ana Luvera beat Courtney Young/Courtney St. Jean 8-2

“The twins have played together before, and the Lakewood duo was no match for the Wonder Twins.”

5th Doubles — Haleigh Deasy/Maureen Rice beat Gillian Romeis/Paige Boersema 8-5

Maureen and Haleigh don’t usually make it look pretty, but they almost always come up with a win, and today was no exception.”

6th Doubles — Jazmine Franklin/Aura Corredor beat Freddie Stradthoff/Anna Drabloes 8-2

“It only took us one exchange student to beat Lakewood’s pair of exchange students!”

7th Doubles — Bree Daigneault/Valen Trujillo beat Kathryn Winder/Brianna Scheider 8-0

“We were without Micky LeVine today, so Valen doubled back to play with her other partner in crime, Bree. They won against Blaine, they won three times against South Whidbey, and they won today!”

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Jazmine Franklin moves in for a volley. (John Fisken photo)

Jazmine Franklin moves in for a volley. (John Fisken photo)

Jazmine Franklin plays to her own beat.

The Coupeville High School sophomore, who teamed with double partner Aura Corredor to win their first-ever high school tennis match Monday (an 8-3 doubles victory against a duo from Port Townsend/Chimacum), is a huge music fan.

“I’m extremely passionate about music,” Franklin said. “I have a musical family, so the rhythm comes easy, but I must admit, I’m a terrible singer.”

This is her first try at playing a high school sport, so, naturally, she was swayed by the pied piper of Wolf athletics, tennis coach Ken Stange, who traditionally brings in numerous first-time athletes.

“It looked fun,” Franklin said. “I enjoy the small team and how the opponents are so nice. I like how easy it was to improve by practicing.”

An ASB board rep, she plans to expand her school activities next year. For now, she’s enjoying her time on the hardcourts and working hard on fine-tuning her skills.

“I think my strength is power,” Franklin said. “I could work on my aim.”

She credits her mother as the main inspiration in her life (“My mom is an extremely hard worker who has influenced my drive in the things I do”) and wants to stake an early reputation as a winner on the court.

“My goal is to win three matches in a row with Aura, and to possibly become the number four doubles team.”

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Allie Hanigan -- numero uno on the hardcourts in 2014.

Allie Hanigan — numero uno on the hardcourts in 2014.

She came. She saw. She kicked her teammates rears.

Living up to her advance billing as the top returning Coupeville High School girls’ tennis player, senior Allie Hanigan successfully defended her hardcourt honor and will enter the season as the #1 singles player for the Wolves.

She survived a pre-season team tourney to claim the title, while junior Jacki Ginnings, who played as part of a doubles team with Micky LeVine last season, claimed runner-up honors.

The netters, who will be the first CHS team to kick off the spring season at home when they host Port Townsend Monday, Mar. 17 (4 PM), are still shuffling players as coach Ken Stange looks for the perfect combinations.

Recent partnerings include new doubles duos comprised of Samantha Martin and Sydney Aparicio and basketball buddies Wynter Thorne and McKenzie Bailey.

“We’re rounding it all out,” Stange said.

And, while he may tinker with his lineup up until the last moment, and then some more after that, he’ll do so with one thing set in stone — Hanigan is The Woman. End of story.

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Zen and the art of tennis. (Ken Stange photo)

Zen and the art of tennis. (Ken Stange photo)

We’re four days into the start of spring sports and we already have a winner for best story.

Ladies and gentlemen, Coupeville High School tennis guru Ken Stange.

Today at tennis practice, one of my players was having trouble keeping her lead foot firmly planted while serving.

It’s a common mistake volleyball players make when transitioning to tennis.

Despite our efforts, she just couldn’t keep that foot down!

I decided to lay down on the court and hold her foot down so she could learn how to serve properly.

After missing the first two tries, she hit a great serve.

However, her racquet followed through directly into my head!

Game. Set. Match. And still the undisputed champion.

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Allie Hanigan is the early favorite to be Coupeville's #1 player in 2w014. (John Fisken photo)

  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.

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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