Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘tennis’

Jimmy Myers, seen here last season, teamed with Lilan Sekigawa for a key win Friday. (John Fisken photo)

   Jimmy Myers, seen here last season, teamed with Lilan Sekigawa for a key win Friday. (John Fisken photo)

It was a day of grit, topped by joy and music.

Getting a spark from Cole Payne, who won a three-set thriller less than 24 hours after thinking a shoulder injury might sideline him, the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis squad routed host Klahowya 6-1 Friday.

The win lifted the Wolves to 2-0 in 1A Olympic League play and may have already clinched them a league title banner.

With one more match-up against the Eagles Oct. 9, Coupeville, which beat Klahowya 5-2 earlier in the season, has already guaranteed that it has dethroned the defending league champs.

The only lingering question is whether the Wolves (3-2 overall) will still have to go through the joint Chimacum/Port Townsend program to claim the title.

Chimacum skipped out on the first scheduled match because of a lack of players, and there is still no word on whether the Wolves and Cowboys will meet one, two or three times … or never.

For the moment, having knocked off the Eagles in style, the Wolves headed home and found themselves serenaded as if they had won the title.

A musician on the ferry drew the attention of the Coupeville players, and the atmosphere topped off a day filled with wins and pizza.

“We are on the ferry and we hear a violin playing. We all go over and sit to listen,” said Wolf doubles ace Jared Helmstadter. “Great music. Nice way to relax and think of the good and wonderful things we have in this world.

“Just a great time with a bunch of good guys. Great way to celebrate a win for Coupeville!”

Scores from Friday:

Varsity:

1st singles — Sebastian Davis beat Trask 6-0, 6-0

2nd singles — Connor McCormick beat Schoening 7-5, 6-1

3rd singles — Cole Payne beat Swaney 3-6, 6-3, 11-9

1st doubles — Joseph Wedekind/John McClarin lost to Haga/Fite 6-3, 6-0

2nd doubles — Joey Lippo/William Nelson beat Short/Short 7-5, 6-2

3rd doubles — Jimmy Myers/Lilan Sekigawa beat Winters/Cook 6-3, 6-1

4th doubles — Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter beat Hytinen/Wasburg 6-1, 6-2

JV:

5th doubles — Nick Etzell/Garrett Compton lost 7-5

6th doubles — Nile Lockwood/Aiden Crimmins won 6-1

Read Full Post »

Sebastian Davis, seen here last season, pushed a top foe hard Monday, getting himt o cramp-up in the second set. (John Fisken photo)

   Sebastian Davis, seen here last season, pushed a top foe hard Monday, getting him to cramp-up in the second set. (John Fisken photo)

Monday was throwback day.

The Coupeville High School boys’ tennis team hit the road — for the fourth time in four matches — and went down Everett way to reacquaint themselves with their former Cascade Conference mates at Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

To no one’s surprise, a ritzy private school has managed to build an impressive tennis program in three short seasons, a fact the 2A Wildcats reminded the Wolves to the tune of 5-0.

The non-conference loss dropped Coupeville to 2-2 on the season, with both of their losses coming against top-level competition.

The Wolves (1-0 in league play) will now pick up pursuit of their first 1A Olympic League title, playing five of their final six regular season matches against league foes.

The first of those matches, however, has been postponed.

Coupeville was supposed to make its home debut this Wednesday, Sept. 30 against Chimacum, but that match has been postponed and will be rescheduled later in the season.

Monday’s match, if nothing else, featured the return of the coolest-sounding high school tennis player in all the land.

Priever Pretorious may play for ATM and not Coupeville, but was there ever a name that sounded more like a mysterious tennis assassin?

No, no there was not. Well played, parents.

Monday results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Sebastian Davis lost to Houston Schmutz 6-2, 6-3

2nd Singles — Connor McCormick lost to Ryan Castillo 6-1, 6-3

1st Doubles — John McClarin/Joseph Wedekind lost to Priever Pretorius/JT Burtsche 6-1, 6-4

2nd Doubles — Joey Lippo/Lilan Sekigawa lost to Parker Sand/Trent Maier 6-2, 6-2

3rd Doubles — Jared Helmstadter/Grey Rische lost to Luke Van Hollebekke/Josh Palafina 6-4, 6-3

JV:

4th Doubles — Jimmy Myers/Garrett Compton won 6-2

**Only JV score reported**

Read Full Post »

Wolf senior Connor McCormick celebrates his win at #2 singles with the president of his fan club. (Wendy McCormick photo)

   Wolf senior Connor McCormick celebrates his win at #2 singles with the president of his fan club. (Wendy McCormick photo)

(Ken Stange photo)

   Coupeville’s netters pose with the brand spanking new score cards they bought for their coach. (Ken Stange photo)

Langley is where Wolf tennis dreams often go to die.

It’s an undisputed fact South Whidbey has had a stellar tennis program for eons, and, while the names may change, the quality hasn’t.

That was proven again Thursday, as the Falcons dumped Coupeville 4-1 in a non-conference tilt, sending the Wolves to their first team loss after two straight wins to open the season.

While a loss is never fun, there was hope on this day, however.

First, South Whidbey is annually the toughest foe CHS faces, and you only get better by playing the best. And, once in awhile, a Wolf rises up and smacks a Falcon upside the head.

Thursday it was #2 singles player Connor McCormick, who roared back after dropping the first set, eventually winning a three-set slugfest.

Connor has been so steady and he continues to hone his game,” said Coupeville coach Ken Stange. “He’s turned into a solid singles performer.”

Stange also paid tribute to the doubles duo of Joey Lippo and William Nelson, who were nipped in an epic third-set tiebreaker and top gun Sebastian Davis, who had the misfortune of clashing with Falcon net royalty.

Joey and William played a fantastic match,” Stange said. “It was a thriller. A few points here or there and the outcome could have been reversed.

Sebastian also played well at #1 singles, but young Kody Newman is a talented ninth grader. We are no stranger to the Newman clan. They’ve been slaying us for years!”

Newman’s many older siblings combined to accumulate four state tennis titles.

Also putting Stange in a top-drawer mood was a surprise present from his players, who showed up bearing brand-new scorecards for the CHS tennis courts.

The new addition will be on display when the Wolves host their home opener Wednesday, Sept. 30 against Chimacum.

“I had no idea this was coming,” Stange said. “From what I gather, a bunch of the guys got together, they pooled what I know was a decent chunk of change, and then they took it upon themselves to make it happen. I was touched.

“From the opening day of practice, we’ve had a great deal of fun, and the boys have represented the school and community quite well,” he added. “This is a great example of their goodness.”

Complete Thursday results:

Varsity:

1st Singles — Sebastian Davis lost to Kody Newman 6-1, 6-4
2nd Singles — Connor McCormick beat Ryan Wenzek 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
1st Doubles — John McClarin/Joseph Wedekind lost to Jacob Nelson/Hank Papritz 6-3, 6-1
2nd Doubles — William Nelson/Joey Lippo lost to Michael Hastings/Ari Rohan 4-6, 6-3, 14-12
3rd Doubles — Jimmy Myers/Lilan Sekigawa lost to Angus Dubendorf/Larsen Christensen 6-4, 6-1

JV:

1st Singles — Cole Payne lost 8-1
2nd Singles — Garrett Compton lost 8-6
1st Doubles — Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter lost 8-6
2nd Doubles — Nile Lockwood/Aiden Crimmins lost 8-1
3rd Doubles — Nick Etzell/Tiger Johnson lost 8-1
4th Doubles — Jakobi Baumann/Jaschon Baumann lost 8-3
5th Doubles — Nick Blalock/Santiago Ortiz lost 8-2

Read Full Post »

Cole Payne pulled out a three-set win Friday to help lift the Wolves to a huge win over Klahowya. (John Fiskern photo)

   Cole Payne pulled out a three-set win Friday to help lift the Wolves to a huge win over Klahowya. (John Fisken photo)

Slow start, hot finish.

Recovering nicely after a couple early bumps, the Coupeville High School boys’ tennis team stormed back to thrash host Klahowya 5-2 Friday, taking the first step to winning a league title banner.

The win lifted the Wolves to a flawless 2-0 on the season, 1-0 in 1A Olympic League play.

If the CHS boys want to join their female counterparts, who put up a league title banner in the spring, they’ll have to dethrone the defending champs, which just happens to be the team they walloped.

They did it by sweeping all four doubles matches and getting a win at #3 singles from converted football player Cole Payne.

Coupeville trailed in the match early, after dropping two of the first three matches to be wrapped.

Singles players Sebastian Davis (6-4, 6-0) and Connor McCormick (7-5, 6-2) were nicked by the Eagles, but the doubles duo of John McClarin and Joseph Wedekind rolled to a win (6-3, 6-1) to keep Wolf hopes semi-high.

Hope surged when Joey Lippo and William Nelson pulled out a victory in three sets (6-0, 5-7, 6-4) knotting the match at 2-2.

After that, it was all Wolves, all day.

Payne came back to net a 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 win in his first-ever varsity singles match, and then Coupeville got straight-sets wins from the duos of Jimmy Myers/Lilan Sekigawa (7-6, 6-4) and Grey Rische/Jared Helmstadter (6-2, 6-2).

The Wolves also rolled to wins in the only two JV matches that were done before the siren call of the ferry forced them back on the bus.

Nick Etzell and Garrett Compton won 6-3, while Nile Lockwood teamed up with Aiden Crimmins to pull a sweet 6-0 bagel job on the Eagles.

Read Full Post »

Nile Lockwood fires up a service during practice. (Ken Stange photo)

   Nile Lockwood fires up a serve Wednesday afternoon during practice. (Ken Stange photo)

Nile Lockwood has made a fast impression.

“He’s a wild one, but he’s also very kind and funny,” said Coupeville High School tennis coach Ken Stange.

“And sometimes inappropriate,” he added with a huge laugh.

Since Stange is an easy-going free spirit with a wild sense of humor himself, it’s a player/coach match made to order.

Lockwood, a Wolf freshman who started playing tennis six month ago, made his regular-season debut Monday in Sequim, teaming with Aiden Crimmins to play doubles.

It’s just the start of a journey Lockwood hopes will go on for some time.

“I started because it was a lot of fun to play and everyone was super friendly,” Lockwood said. “My goal is to have a great season and win most of my games and make varsity next year.”

Like most younger players, he’s beginning to learn what parts of his game are already set, and what needs to be tweaked.

“One of my strengths is my power,” Lockwood said. “I would like to work on my backhands, because they’re not as strong as my forehand.”

Away from the court he has hopes to “get through high school with good grades and go to college” and he has come to deeply appreciate the help offered by family, his coach and some of the Wolf veterans.

“The people that have helped me out the most are (fellow Wolf player) John McClarin, Ken Stange and my mom for getting me to all the practices and lessons I’ve taken,” Lockwood said. “And just about everyone on the team.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »