MILL CREEK
Edmonds-Woodway freshmen Michelle Nelson and Amanda Waldron didn’t play their best tennis at the Western Conference 4A South Division girls tennis tournament.
But their best still was good enough for a second-place finish in the doubles tournament and a berth in this week’s 4A District 1 championships.
Nelson and Waldron advanced to the finals where they lost to Jackson’s Linda Cung and Christine Lee 6-3, 7-5 May 11 at Jackson High School.
“We did a pretty good job for not playing doubles the whole season,” Waldron said. “It’s a big change and I think we have a lot of improvement to do. I know we’ll get a lot better.”
Nelson and Waldron played at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, this season. The league tournament was the first time the two have teamed up this year, though they have played doubles before outside of school.
“I don’t think they played their best tennis. They don’t think they played their best tennis,” Edmonds-Woodway head coach Dan Crist said. “That’s OK. They’re freshmen and they’re going to learn and they’re going to get better and we’re going to come away from this tournament being a little bit smarter and having a little bit more knowledge.”
The Edmonds-Woodway duo opened strong, winning the first three games in the finals. But then Cung and Lee rallied to win the next six games and take the first set.
“I think we got down on ourselves once they were up,” Nelson said. “We didn’t have enough momentum to keep going. I think we just need to come out with more energy near the end.”
Nelson and Waldron again started out strong in the second set, winning the first two games. The two led 3-1, 4-2 and were on the verge of winning the set at 5-4. But Cung and Lee again rebounded to win the next three games to capture the set and the match.
“We got more aggressive,” Cung said. “We picked up our game. We got more consistent and tried not to overhit too much. … I think we get more competitive when we’re down, but when we’re up we kind of lose our focus.”
Cung and Lee’s experience (both have played at districts before) made a difference, according to Crist. Cung is junior, while Lee is a senior.
“They’ve both been here before and they’ve both very solid players,” Crist said. “You’re not going to give players like that a lot of second chances. You open doors. They’re going to beat you and that’s what happened.”
The Jackson duo used frequent lobs to keep Nelson and Waldron off-balance.
“We couldn’t get those lobs and it kind of got us down,” Nelson said. “We were just thinking we couldn’t get them and so they got a streak and they kept their momentum and we couldn’t keep up with them.”
Nelson and Waldron, who had a first-round bye, defeated Mountlake Terrace’s Rene Nouen and Sara Cumberland 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
“They weren’t ready. They came in and they played a horrible first set and the knew they played a horrible first set,” Crist said. “A lot of it was nerves. They haven’t been here before. So the next round they played a little bit better.”
Nelson and Waldron then knocked off Shorewood’s Elle MacGeorge and Seneca Shafer 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals.
“They’re a good doubles team,” Crist said of his freshmen duo. “They’re one of the few teams that plays doubles. They’re not singles players. They’re playing doubles.”
Nelson and Waldron, who have played tennis together since the sixth grade, decided their best shot at advancing to the state tournament would be in doubles.
The two have complementary styles of play.
“I’m aggressive at the net and she’s good back,” Nelson said. “We thought we could go really far being a doubles team.”
In the singles finals, Kari Fiske, Shorewood’s No. 1 singles player, beat Anna Chatilo, the Thunderbirds’ No. 2, 6-1, 6-0.
“This was probably my toughest match all year,” said Fiske, who is undefeated this season. “I don’t like to play my friends. I had to pretend Anna was someone I didn’t like.”
The top three singles and doubles teams at districts qualify for the state tournament May 25-26 in Vancouver.
Eli places second in singles at 3A tourney
Meadowdale’s Stephanie Eli took second place at the Western Conference 3A South Division girls tournament and advanced to this week’s district competition.
Eli lost 7-5, 6-2 to Everett’s Julie Mills in the singles championship match May 11 at Jackson High School.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Eli said. “I felt like it was a fun match. … Coming in and expected it to be a good match.”
The back-and-forth first set could have gone either way, Eli said. “I liked how I played in the first set, so I just tried to do that in the second set. But it didn’t work out for me.”
In the doubles tournament, Meadowale’s Sara Portesan and Lianne Fijalka finished fourth.
The 3A District 1 tennis tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 18-19 at Mount Vernon High School.
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