Abby Mulholland hangs out with Wolf legend (and her uncle) Ryan O’Keefe. (Renae Mulholland photo)
Coupeville netters (l to r) Noelle Daigneault, Katelin McCormick, and Mary Milnes enjoy Senior Night festivities. (Wendy McCormick photo)
There was a sparkle to the day.
Yes, the weather was overcast, cold, and threatened to spit rain all Tuesday afternoon.
And yes, the opponent was a lethal tennis factory which has rightfully ruled Whidbey’s courts for years, making the scores a little lopsided in favor of the players not in Coupeville’s colors.
But, while the Wolf netters being swept by visiting South Whidbey is a part of the day, it is only one part.
The bigger story was longtime CHS tennis guru Ken Stange celebrating perhaps the biggest senior class of his nearly two decades at the helm of the program.
Before serves were launched Tuesday, before backhands sliced and overheads smashed, the Wolves celebrated eight young women from the Class of 2022, paying tribute to all they have accomplished in difficult times.
The Wolf seniors completely lost their sophomore season, then had their junior season reduced to playing just one rival school, thanks to a pandemic.
Even now, as seniors, they have only been able to get four matches played, due to a lack of readily available opponents since CHS reclassified from 1A to 2B.
But they have endured, and their pluck and resilience warmed the heart of their coach, who praised his eight-pack for all they brought to the program.
Noelle Daigneault, Eryn Wood, Katelin McCormick, Sophie Martin, Kim Castro, Mary Milnes, Leni Raduenz, and Abby Mulholland returned that praise in their Senior Night comments, as well.
“I really want to thank Coach Stange for teaching me everything I know about tennis,” Daigneault said. “This is a skill set I will be using well into my old age, and I’m glad I have it.”
Her thoughts were echoed by Wood, who told her teammates, “I am going to miss the endless joking around and laughter that came with being a part of this team.”
While Tuesday’s loss drops Coupeville to 3-1 on the season, it still has two regular season matches left to play, before a trip to Tumwater May 20 for the District 1/4 tourney.
The Wolves will join Friday Harbor, La Conner, and Stevenson for that rumble, with the singles and doubles winner advancing to state.
Complete Tuesday results:
Varsity:
1st Singles — Abby Mulholland lost 6-1, 6-1 to Abby Amundson
2nd Singles — Helen Strelow lost 6-0, 6-2 to Maia Richards
1st Doubles — Noelle Daigneault/Eryn Wood lost 6-0, 6-0 to Pearl Buck/Ellie Thomson
2nd Doubles — Katelin McCormick/Mary Milnes lost 6-4, 6-3 to Nikki Murnane/Kailey Ricketts
3rd Doubles — Hayley Fiedler/Vivian Farris lost 6-1, 6-0 to Catie Beech/Mikaela Nelson
JV:
4th Doubles — Sofia Milasich/Yodnam Nakakul lost 6-1 to Izzy Wood/Katya Schiavone
5th Doubles — Kim Castro/Leni Raduenz lost 6-0 to Carlie Kuschnereit/Baylie Kuschnereit
6th Doubles — Lucy Tenore/Skylar Parker lost 6-3 to Alyssa Staats/Nicole Parker
7th Doubles — Gwen Crowder/Karyme Castro lost 6-0 to Eva Wirth/Rylan Rook
8th Doubles — Neveah Hertlein-Darby/Yodnam Nakakul lost 6-1 to Carlie Kuschnereit/Baylie Kuschnereit
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