Herald staff
Cascade’s Patrick Chung nearly had quite the decision to make.
If Chung and the Bruins baseball team had defeated Woodinville this past Saturday in a 4A state quarterfinal game, they would have advanced to the semifinals and a game against Puyallup on Friday at 1 p.m. in Pasco.
The problem? Chung is slated to play Chiawana’s Paul Chapuis in a first-round tennis match in the 4A state tournament in Richland on Friday.
In the end, the Bruins lost 8-3 and Chung can focus on tennis.
“It would’ve been great to have this dilemma,” Chung said of the baseball team joining him in the Tri-Cities.
Chung added that he would have went with baseball over tennis if the Bruins had advanced to the final four. “If it came down to it, though, the team comes first,” Chung said.
Last year, Chung lost his opening match at state but bounced back to win two before losing the fifth-place match to take eighth. It was an improvement on his first trip to state in 2011 when Chung went 1-2.
Ben Mietzner joins Chung at the 4A state tournament and is trying to improve upon his 1-2 performance at state last season. Mietzner continues a strong presence of Jackson boys tennis singles players at the state tournament, making it the 10th straight year a Timberwolves boys singles player has made it to state.
Last season, Mietzner beat Alex Lewis, of Federal Way, in the opening round last year, before losing the next two matches.
In doubles play, Snohomish’s tandem of Andrew Ivelia and Jory Strickland make their state debut against Richland’s Trent Prussing and Zach Fisher.
4A Girls
After finishing fifth in singles at last year’s state tournament, Edmonds-Woodway’s Myint-Zu Kyaw is trying her hand at doubles this season. Kyaw and partner Hanna Rehnfeldt beat Kamiak’s Jenna Gilbert and Elizabeth Norris in the 4A District 1 doubles championship match and now face Moses Lake’s Carina LeFave and Kylee McKay in the first round.
Snohomish’s Caroline Dreher will join Kamiak’s Sally Park (see story at left) as the two 4A Wesco girls tennis players at state. Dreher came from behind to beat Mariner’s Angela Moniaga 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to earn a berth in the state tournament for the first time in her high school career (Dreher lost to Park 6-3, 6-1 in the 4A District 1 championship match). Dreher faces Gonzaga Prep’s Lizzy Marcinkowski in the first round on Friday.
3A Boys
Meadowdale’s Nick Ekern and Glacier Peak’s Patrick Luangrath are both returning to state and looking to place for the first time. Both players will have the experience advantage as their two opponents, Bellevue’s Jared Madison and Hazen’s Gregg Furumasu, will be competing in their first state tournaments.
3A Girls
After going to state in doubles for two years straight, Mountlake Terrace’s Nicki Bouche will go by herself this year. Bouche may have lost to Danielle Brengelmann in the 3A District 1 championship match, but she still advanced to the state tournament as as singles player for the first time in her high school career. Unfortunately, Bouche receives a first-round showdown with Lakeside’s Cello Lockwood, who finished fourth last year and fifth in 2012.
Glacier Peak’s Madeline Maher also advanced to state to follow in the footsteps of former Grizzlies singles player Nadean Al-Ali. Maher takes on Shadle Park’s Audra Spargo in the first round on Friday.
With Bouche playing singles, Mountlake Terrace’s Tina Liu, who went to state with Bouche in doubles last year, will play with Allison Lorraine at state. Lorraine and Liu will try to better the eighth-place finish of Bouche and Liu in 2013.
Stanwood sends two doubles teams to state — Mariah Orcutt and Alyssa Sanford and Alessia Piazzi and Kylie Stevens — after sending the doubles team of Christina Wolf and Rachel Rich last season.
