Chelan Tennis Results for April 26 & 27
information submitted by Coach Rothlisberger, pixabay image
This weekend the Goats traveled to Spokane for the 77th Annual Inland Empire Tournament. We’ve been attending this tournament for about a decade, and this was by far the largest and most competitive tournament we’ve been a part of. The Inland Empire Tournament is billed as the largest high school tennis tournament in the nation, and this year featured 860 athletes from 57 schools at 11 different sites and almost 100 courts. A majority of the schools were larger than Chelan, but all WIAA classifications were represented. The format was “guaranteed two matches” but not “double elimination”. Essentially, if you lose your 2nd match, you’re done.
Many of our players had outstanding experiences and played some of their best tennis of the season. They had to – the competition was fierce. Chelan was the highest scoring 1A school in the tournament!
On the girls side, Chelan had a very unique opening round, losing 4 out of 5 matches, but each of them heartbreakers via a third set tiebreaker. However, the girls overcame disappointment, bounced back and marched their way through the consolation bracket to some strong finishes. We had four of the girls’ entries win three matches in a row on Friday!
At #1 singles, senior Maya Cowan lost her Friday opener to Shadle Park (Spokane), but won her next three in a row over Colville, Naches Valley and Gonzaga Prep to qualify for the consolation semifinals on Saturday. Maya lost another close 3-setter on Saturday to Ellensburg, but followed that up with a comeback win over Richland to finish 7th out of 49 athletes.
At #2 singles, sophomore Estee Flynn also rebounded from an opening loss to Kennewick to win three in a row versus Post Falls, Prosser and Pullman to qualify for Saturday’s matches. On Saturday, she played well but fell to her Gonzaga Prep opponent to take 6th out of 54 athletes.
Seniors Ellie McLemore and Josie Garfoot made a strong run through the #1 doubles championship bracket on Friday, defeating Ridgeline, Toppenish and Ferris before coming up short against eventual 3rd place Lewis & Clark in the quarterfinals.
Freshmen Alison Horner and Madeline Cowan had a breakout performance at #2 doubles. After a narrow loss to Post Falls in their opener, they also won three matches in a row to qualify for play on Saturday. In the consolation semifinal, Alison and Madeline narrowly lost to Ellensburg in three sets. In their final match after a mid-match rain delay, the Goats finished off North Central to take 7th out of 51 teams.
The 3rd doubles team of junior Taylor Hatherell and freshman Josie Bekel faced a tough draw, narrowly losing their opener to East Valley (Yakima) before being eliminated by powerhouse Richland in their 2nd match despite a close score of 3-6, 4-6.
On the boys side, Chelan won most of their openers but faced tough 2nd round matches.
Seniors Ian Garfoot and Cray Silva won their #1 doubles opener over Medical Lake, but were eliminated in their 2nd match by #4 seed Lewis and Clark.
Senior Caleb Sanderson and sophomore Wade Sanderson teamed up at #2 doubles to win their opener vs Saint George’s (Spokane), but narrowly fell to Central Valley in round 2 by scores of 4-6, 4-6.
Freshman Elijah Moody and 8th grader Owen Sanderson won their #3 doubles opener over Shadle Park, but were eliminated by #3 seed Richland in round 2.
Senior #1 singles player Rylen Moody lost his opener to East Valley, but bounced back to defeat LaSalle. Unfortunately his Friday ended with a loss to Davis (Yakima).
Senior #2 singles player George Neff lost his first two matches to perennial powers Sandpoint and West Valley (Yakima), but in very close fashion.
Next up: Chelan @ Eastmont on Tuesday, April 30
