Nick Etzell | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Nick Etzell’

Netters postseason bound!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged CHS Wolves, Mason Grove, Nick Etzell, South Whidbey, tennis on October 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Zach Ginnings teamed with Jaschon Baumann to put up a strong fight at #4 doubles Tuesday afternoon. (John Fisken photo)

Tuesday was the appetizer, Thursday is the main course.

Two days before it heads off to the Olympic League tournament, the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis squad wrapped up regular-season play with a 6-2 non-conference loss at South Whidbey.

The match gave the Wolves, who finished 5-8 on the season, some valuable court time, as two of their previous three matches were rained-out.

With little at stake, CHS shuffled its roster a bit Tuesday, giving doubles ace Joey Lippo his first crack at playing singles.

Thursday, the Wolves will take three singles players (Nick Etzell, Jakobi Baumann and Mason Grove) and three doubles duos to Chimacum for the league tourney.

John McClarin/Joseph Wedekind, Lippo/William Nelson and Grey Rische/Jimmy Myers will represent CHS, which went 4-0 in conference play to nab its second straight regular season league title.

The top four finishers in each flight at the league tourney advance to districts Oct. 26-27.

Complete Tuesday results:

1st singles — Joey Lippo lost to Levi Buck 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(7-2)

2nd singles — Nick Etzell beat Jeffrey Parker 6-3, 6-0

3rd singles — Jakobi Baumann lost to Nick Simmons 7-5, 4-6, 10-2

4th singles — Mason Grove beat Andrew Baeslar (retired)

1st doubles — Joseph Wedekind/John McClarin lost to Ryan Wenzek/Austin Sterba 7-5, 6-2

2nd doubles — Grey Rische/Jimmy Myers lost to Kody Newman/Cameron Asay 6-2, 6-2

3rd doubles — Aiden Crimmins/Tiger Johnson lost to Ari Rohan/Aengus Dubendorf 6-0, 6-1

4th doubles — Jaschon Baumann/Zach Ginnings lost to Larsen Christiansen/Sean Drake 6-3, 6-0

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Double your pleasure!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged CHS Wolves, doubles, Klahowya, Nick Etzell, strategy, tennis on September 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Jimmy Myers stays warm (and undefeated) as he and doubles partner Grey Rische stroll to a fifth straight win. (John Fisken photos)

With a flip of the wrist, Joseph Wedekind lashes yet another winner.

Rische has the magic touch.

Jakobi Baumann, just a wee bit intense on this afternoon.

Strategy.

It’s what separates mere coaches from gurus, and longtime Coupeville High School tennis head honcho Ken Stange has always lived in the second category.

He proved that once again Friday, shuffling his roster and playing mind games with visiting Klahowya, then watching his Wolves dance away with a 4-3 win and sole possession of first-place in the 1A Olympic League.

After battling large schools and private schools in preparation, Coupeville passed its first test to defending its league title.

While there are still five league matches to go — three against Chimacum and rematches with Klahowya Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 — the Wolves are sitting pretty at 1-0.

And they got there because Stange read the tea leaves and beat Klahowya at its own game, primarily by pulling Nick Etzell from his normal #1 singles slot and instead deploying him as half of a doubles duo.

It worked beautifully, as Etzell and partner-for-the-day Jakobi Baumann capped a Wolf sweep in doubles play.

“We swept the top three doubles matches with ease. The question was, how would a pair of singles players fare at #4 doubles,” Stange said. “After a bit of a rocky start, they rolled to victory.

“Jakobi got more steady and consistent as the match wore on, and Nick was able to take full control of the court,” he added. “I’ve asked him to do many things over the years — singles, and doubles with a plethora of partners.

“Today I asked for something different. I needed him to step up and take over a doubles match. He did just that.”

The coaching change-up forced Etzell to alter his style of play, and he responded beautifully.

“It’s a bit out of his character to be so assertive on court. He likes to share the load, so to speak,” Stange said. “Today, he covered a great deal of court real estate, and he lit up his opponents with a combination of touch angle shots and devastating power.

“It was so impressive!”

While all three other CHS doubles teams rolled, the win at #3 from Wolf seniors Jimmy Myers and Grey Rische was extra-notable, as it improved the duo to 5-0 on the season.

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st singles — Nile Lockwood lost to Taylor Fite 6-1, 6-0

2nd singles — Mason Grove lost to Caden Haga 6-0, 6-1

3rd singles — Aiden Crimmins lost to Spencer Winters 6-1, 6-1

1st doubles — Joseph Wedekind/John McClarin beat Parker Short/Will Stewart 6-1, 6-2

2nd doubles — Joey Lippo/William Nelson beat Ben Cook/Dominic Levenseller-Watson 6-0, 6-1

3rd doubles — Grey Rische/Jimmy Myers beat Logan Brunson/Morgan Seidel 6-2, 6-1

4th doubles — Jakobi Baumann/Nick Etzell beat Joe Bowman/Matt Hytinen 6-3, 6-2

JV:

5th doubles — Jaschon Baumann/Tiger Johnson lost to Haga/Levenseller-Watson 8-3

6th doubles — Grove/Elliot Johnson lost to Winters/Seidel 6-1

7th doubles — Zach Ginnings/Koby Schreiber lost to Connor Swaney/Eric Loehrs 8-2

**To see more photos (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes) pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/BT-20160916-Coupeville-vs-Klah/

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Positives, not negatives!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, tagged 1A vs. 2A, CHS Wolves, Kingston, Nick Etzell, tennis on September 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Nick Etzell upended a big school foe Wednesday by disrupting his playing style. (John Fisken photo)

While the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis squad slid to its fourth consecutive loss Wednesday, falling 5-2 at Kingston, the loss to a large 2A school wasn’t without its bright moments.

Three things in particular stood out.

Freshman Mason Grove made his varsity debut, having shot up the singles ladder at the last practice, and fought hard through a close match.

Going him one better were the #3 doubles duo of Jimmy Myers and Grey Rische, who rebounded from a set down to win a thriller and remain the only unbeaten players on the Wolf roster.

While Coupeville is 0-4, having faced three 2A schools and a 1A private school power, the senior duo is a spotless 4-0 in their first go-round as partners.

Topping the afternoon was a huge breakthrough for #1 singles player Nick Etzell, who used his wiles to outfox his foe and grab his first win at the top of the roster.

“Nick was a man possessed today,” said CHS tennis coach Ken Stange. “He played a more experienced opponent, but he employed a smart strategy.

“He took all the pace off the ball, hitting shots that were high and deep. His opponent needed balls that were hit hard,” he added. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a player stay so true to a plan of attack.”

The win, and the way it was achieved, reinforced why Stange thinks so highly of his junior ace.

“To call him coachable would be a major understatement,” he said. “I’m very proud of his effort today, and every day.”

Complete results:

Varsity:

1st singles — Nick Etzell won 7-5, 6-4

2nd singles — Nile Lockwood lost 6-0, 6-2

3rd singles — Mason Grove lost 6-2, 7-5

1st doubles — Joseph Wedekind/John McClarin lost 6-0, 6-2

2nd doubles — William Nelson/Joey Lippo lost 6-0, 6-7, 6-2

3rd doubles — Grey Rische/Jimmy Myers won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

4th doubles — Aiden Crimmins/Jakobi Baumann lost 6-4, 6-3

JV:

5th doubles — Jaschon Baumann/Tiger Johnson lost 8-3

6th doubles — Nick Blalock/Koby Schreiber lost 8-3

7th doubles — Elliot Johnson/Zach Ginnings lost 8-1

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Feel the intensity! Taste the action!!

Posted in Boys Tennis, Girls Soccer, Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, John Fisken photos, Mia Littlejohn, Nick Etzell, Soccer, tennis on September 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mallory Kortuem (right) sacrifices her noggin for the good of her team. (John Fisken photos)

John McClarin plays doubles, with his own shadow making a superb partner.

Lindsey Roberts is not so sure about this soccer ball’s ability to levitate in mid-air.

Nick Etzell shows off a laser-like focus at the net.

On the attack, it’s Nile Lockwood, destroyer of worlds.

“The goal’s that way! THAT WAY!!” Sage Renninger (back) directs Kalia Littlejohn as she heads off on the attack.

William Nelson dances with his racket.

“All your goals are mine, fool!!” Mia Littlejohn, caught in the midst of a four-goal explosion Tuesday vs. Chimacum.

Tis the season to snap pics.

Bouncing from court to field and back again, wanderin’ photographer John Fisken went crazy snapping pix of Coupeville’s fall sports teams in action over the past two days.

The photos above, a medley of eye-catching moments, are courtesy him and showcase girls’ soccer and boys’ tennis.

To see more of his work (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes!) pop over to:

Soccer — http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/GS-20160913-Coupeville-vs-Chim/

Tennis — http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/BT-20160912-Coupeville-vs-Sequ/

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A little late, but not forgotten!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Tennis, Happy birthday, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Facebook, Happy birthday, Nick Etzell, tennis on August 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Nick Etzell gets ready to mash a return. (John Fisken photos)

Etzell comes up gunning during summer ball.

In my defense, Nick Etzell is not on Facebook.

Without the social media monster alerting me every 13 seconds that it’s someone’s cake day, the birthday beat gets a lot harder to properly run.

But, having been relentlessly prodded by Wolf fans who noticed me “slipping,” let’s take a few moments (a day late) to commemorate another trip around the sun by the youngest Etzell.

The Coupeville High School junior is the kind of easy-breezy dude who probably couldn’t care less I missed his actual birthday.

Nick has never seemed all that preoccupied with tooting his own horn, letting his play on the courts and field speak for itself.

And the kid’s got talent, just like all of his older siblings.

The lanky one may not be as willing to rip chunks of flesh from his knees as older brother Ben, but he’s still a deadly racket-wielder on the tennis court.

The top returning singles player from a year ago, after the graduation of Sebastian Davis and Connor McCormick, Etzell has the kingdom lying at his feet as he enters his third campaign under Ken Stange.

Toss in basketball, where the Wolf fan base hopes he returns after taking a year off, and baseball, where he’s a strikeout-hurling mound ace, and Nick is a star on the rise.

And one who just happens to be relentlessly smart and a great guy who lights up every room he enters.

So, a day late, happy birthday, Mr. Etzell!

PS — If you want to pretend I wrote this all yesterday, that would be sweet.

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