MILL CREEK — Once Jackson’s Alex Yee defeated Edmonds-Woodway’s Reid Fenning in a hard-fought semifinal match, Yee’s teammate Mike Reading breathed a sigh of relief.

As far as the top-seeded Reading was concerned, the pressure was off in the Western Conference South Division tournament singles final that was scheduled to follow.

“I just have a lot of fun when I’m playing Alex,” said Reading, whose semifinal opponent had to forfeit due to an injury. “When I saw him win the semifinal match I was really happy because anytime you get to play a guy from your own team, it makes it so much more fun.”

Reading successfully defended his league singles crown with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Yee Oct. 21 at Jackson High School.

The senior standout rallied from a 5-4 deficit in the first set and then had to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the second set.

Yee’s 6-7 (1-7) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Fenning was significant in that it meant that Yee was slotted into the opposite bracket as Reading at the district tournament, giving him a better shot at earning a berth to state.

The Northwest District 4A tournament is scheduled to wrap up today (Friday, Oct. 29) at Stanwood High School. The top two or possibly three singles players and doubles teams advance to next spring’s state tournament. The district’s exact allocation to state will be determined in early spring.

“I’m real excited,” said Reading, who also is the defending district champion. “I love playing guys from the North because they’re new faces … I think me and Alex both have a decent chance of making state. That’s the goal. We just want to go out there and play our best because if we can make it together that would be a lot of fun.”

Reading cruised through the early rounds of the league tournament, losing only one game in his first two matches.

Yee also posted a pair of straight set victories before running into Fenning in the semifinals.

“I knew I was playing well,” Yee said of his semifinal match. “He (Fenning) gets to everything. He never gives up on any points. So it’s basically that I had to battle myself almost.”

This will be the first time Yee has played singles at the district tournament. In his previous appearances Yee has gone as part of a doubles team.

Reading, who finished sixth in singles at state as a junior, heads into the district tournament more relaxed and confident.

“I feel like I understand what I’m doing out there more, so it allowed me to be a lot more relaxed,” Reading said. “I can just focus on my game. I don’t really notice my nerves as much.

“It’s just experience. Once you learn how to win, you know exactly what you have to do.”

Shorewood’s Scott Bourne and Steve McCall outlasted Edmonds-Woodway seniors Mike Maldazys and Sam Zipper 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in the doubles final.

“We had a second-set meltdown,” McCall said. “We kind of struggled trying to overhit.”

The pair’s primary cause for concern going into the decisive third set wasn’t their strokes. It was whether Bourne would be able to spot the ball in the twilight.

The lights at the courts did little to help Bourne, who suffers from night blindness.

“I couldn’t really see the ball. It was pathetic,” Bourne said. “Everything’s kind of a blur. I can’t really see where the ball is. I had to stick my racquet out and hope I hit it.”

The unique tactic seemed to work as the Thunderbirds took control of the third set by sweeping the first four games despite Bourne’s limited vision.

Unforced errors plagued Bourne and McCall during the first two sets. Both misfired on putaway volleys and passing shots, allowing the Warriors to keep the match close.

“Basically they just came out with a lot of energy,” Maldazys said. “We kind of lost our energy after the second set.”

Zipper is hoping for a rematch at districts.

“We need to execute a little better,” he said. “We had some big points. We missed some easy shots. We just need to finish the points that we had.”

Jackson’s Nick Reed and Phil Kim placed sixth in doubles.

Assistant sports editor Charlie Laughtland contributed to this story.