Aaron Curtin will have to wait until May, but he’ll play in his second straight state tennis tourney. (Wendy McCormick photo)
Day two, not as fun as day one.
But, even though the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis squad lost all three of its matches Friday at the District 3 tennis tourney in Tacoma, there were positives.
First and foremost is that even though he fell in Friday’s championship match, Wolf senior Aaron Curtin will be headed back to state in May.
After advancing as a doubles player last season, Curtin went solo this year and has gone 5-1 in the postseason.
His win streak finally came to an end when he fell 6-3, 6-2 to Griffin Welsh of Charles Wright Academy.
Welsh finished second at the 1A state tourney last spring.
“Aaron put up a monstrous fight,” Coupeville coach Ken Stange said. “Even though he lost, he played some of the best tennis of his life.
“He had a difficult regular season, much like last year when he played (doubles) with Ben Etzell. Also like last year, he found his groove in the postseason,” he added. “I guess I could call him Big Game Aaron. How about Teddy Roosevelt 2.0, because he speaks softly and carries a big stick?”
Making the transition from working as a team to stalking the court as a one-man wrecking crew is not easy.
“Qualifying for state in doubles is one thing, but earning a state berth in singles is a much more difficult proposition,” Stange said. “He beat some tough players, and he gave the champ some stiff competition.
“It’s been an honor working with Aaron these past four years, and I’m fortunate to have another state run with him, this spring,” he added. “It should be a blast!”
This will be the first time that Stange, who has coached 19 seasons at CHS (10 boys, nine girls) will take a player to state in back-to-back seasons.
Coupeville’s #2 player, junior Sebastian Davis, finished fifth at districts.
After splitting a pair of matches Thursday, including a loss to Welsh, he faced off with Steen Jennings of Vashon Island Friday, falling 6-2, 6-0.
Jennings took third and has a shot at garnering a trip to state, depending on yet-to-be-determined state allocations.
“The tourney wasn’t all bad for Sebastian. All three of his matches gave him valuable experience as we look to next season,” Stange said. “The Olympic League tourney (where he finished second) was his coming out party, and he rode the wave into districts.
“Next year, he’ll be the guy who is vying for a state berth instead of settling for fifth,” he added. “He’s found the killer instinct. I can’t wait for his fourth and final CHS season!”
The doubles duo of Loren Nelson and Connor McCormick capped “a very odd tourney” with a 6-3, 6-0 loss to a pair from Eatonville.
In their first full year of playing varsity doubles, they advanced through the league tournament, then opened district play with a walk-over win when a rival begged off with a migraine.
Unfortunately, their second round opponents were the three-time defending state champs, and that went about as well as expected, setting up Friday’s elimination match.
“They lost, but fought hard,” Stange said. “Like Sebastian, they gained valuable experience in seeing the quality of play at the higher level tourneys. Next year, they will likely make an impact at districts.”
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