VANCOUVER — All four of Tenino’s entires into the District IV 1A Girls Tennis Tournament advanced through and earned spots in the State 1A championships here Friday and Saturday.
Kirsten Jorgensen defeated teammate Shelby Frasl 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in the singles finals, while Kelli Neer and Janelle Young defeated teammates Emily Mankowski and Tailar Kennedy 6-4, 6-4 in the doubles finals.
The Beavers went undefeated in the regular season, as well, winning all but one match via sweep.
“We dominated the regular season, but the tournament is really the only thing that matters,” Tenino coach Andy Bowerly said. “It is a different style of tennis and a war of attrition. You have to be able to recover quickly physically and not get mentally tired.”
Mankowski and Kennedy defeated Ridgefield’s Cassidy Reid and Tess Trosko in a wild 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) semifinal in what Bowerly called the match of the day.
“The tie-breaker was one of the most emotional roller coasters I have ever been on. Our girls were up 6-3, needing one point to win, then they lost 4 in a row to fall to 6-7,” he said. “Then it went back to even until they finally broke through and got a gift from God with a double fault from Reid to win the match. Definitely an epic match to remember.”
It was the third district championship for Jorgensen and Young, and the second for Neer.
The Beavers finished third in state last season. This year’s State 1A Girls Tennis Tournament begins Friday morning at the Yakima Tennis Center. Jorgensen faces Reardan’s Lauren Schultz; Shelby faces Granger’s Italia Magarelli; Kennedy and Mankowski face LaSalle’s Katie Carrol and Margaret Busey; and Young and Neer take on Athena Barbour and Sierra Keener from Colville.
