First-year Coupeville netters Logan Martin (left) and Miles Davidson pushed their rivals from state power University Prep to a third set Thursday afternoon. (Charlotte Young photo)
Flaky dough. Delicate pears. The perfect touch of sweetness, without being cloying.
What? Yes, of course they played tennis Thursday afternoon in Coupeville, and yes, I’ll tell you about it.
But first, a big shout-out to University Prep coaches, who handed out complimentary, crafted-in-Seattle pastries after the match was done.
You sirs, are the real heroes, and the “working press” thanks you.
I may even have to reconsider the whole “bitchin’ and whining about private schools” stance I so love to traffic in.
Maybe. Possibly. We’ll see.
It may take me a while to warm up to schools like King’s and Archbishop Murphy, but U Prep, you had me at “free, delicious pastry.”
Oh, and the tennis match which preceded my sultry taste-bud tango with my unexpected delish dessert? It went about as expected.
U Prep, which is almost always in play for glory at the state tourney, won 5-0 to stay atop the battle for Emerald City League supremacy.
But public school Coupeville, which sits at 1-8 headed into a Friday home match with The Bush School, a team the Wolves beat earlier this season, put up some nice resistance.
Most of it came in two matches – #1 singles and #3 doubles.
U Prep’s top gun, Tyler Wurzer, finished third at the state tourney as a sophomore, and, if anything, his game has just gotten more impressive during his junior campaign.
The Puma pounder slapped winners from every direction, combining big power with uncanny touch, and yet Coupeville’s Drake Borden didn’t go down without delivering some impressive shots of his own.
One point in particular was a big fan-pleaser, as the duo exchanged knockout punches from the baseline.
With Wurzer drifting ever so slightly to his left, Borden lashed a long shot to the deepest, darkest corner in the right, and the ball clipped the last little bit of open space, biting the line, then spinning away into the fence for a winner.
It earned a quick acknowledgement from Wurzer, who smiled ever so slightly, and a big roar from Borden’s loyal rooting section, led by CHS coach Ken Stange, who jumped up and punched the air.
The closest match came at #3 doubles, where first-year players Miles Davidson and Logan Martin, who are still in the trial-run part of their tennis careers, fought back to take the second set and force a match-deciding tiebreaker.
While the young Wolves eventually fell to their more-experienced foes, they did so only after putting in their best performances of the season, with both coming up with sweet work at the net.
Complete Thursday results:
Varsity:
1st Singles — Drake Borden lost to Tyler Wurzer 6-0, 6-2
2nd Singles — Mason Grove lost to Mattias Keaunui 6-2, 6-3
1st Doubles — James Wood/Zach Ginnings lost to Nicholas Arron/Jackson Wurzer 6-0, 6-0
2nd Doubles — Thane Peterson/Andrew Aparicio lost to Axel Andrews/Eli Pruzan 6-0, 6-0
3rd Doubles — Miles Davidson/Logan Martin lost to Mitchell Zell/Trevor Zell 6-1, 6-7(5-7), 10-4
Exhibition:
3rd Singles — Koby Schreiber lost to Will Cast 6-2, 6-0
