MILL CREEK
Meadowdale might have just been under .500 for the regular season, but the Mavericks definitely upped their game at the Western Conference 3A South Division boys tennis tournament.
The singles final was an all-Meadowdale affair and the Mavericks also had a doubles team in the finals Oct. 24 at Jackson High School.
Sophomore Scott Bohmke defeated sophomore Alex Casper 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) to claim his first singles championship.
The two Mavericks know each other pretty well.
“It was fun. He’s a really good player,” Bohmke said. “It’s tough when you play all the time throughout the season.”
Casper was a little cold to start out the first set but then was back in top form in the second set, Bohmke added. “In the second set he started playing better. He was more aggressive.”
In the final tiebreaker, both players made bold moves and the winner usually was the player who was more aggressive, Bohmke said.
Meadowdale finished 7-9 during the regular season but had a strong showing at the league tournament.
The Mavericks’ doubles team of Nathan Shields and Jace Sherrill took second place, losing to Shorecrest’s Devin Abney and Danny Brzovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 in the finals. Teammates Chris Johnson and Andrew Olsen upended Lynnwood’s Peter Nguyen and Andrew Nguyen 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) to take fifth.
“I think our team could have done a little better in the regular season,” Bohmke said. “We all did pretty good here at the Wesco tournament. That feels good.”
An added bonus of having Meadowdale players in the finals is that the two will be on opposites sides of the bracket at this week’s Northwest District 3A tournament in Mount Vernon.
In the Class 4A singles final, Jackson’s Michael Chamerski defeated Edmonds-Woodway senior Mike Stepenski 6-1, 6-2.
Chamerski lost a total of six games in three matches in his first league tournament.
“It went pretty well,” Chamerski said of the finals. “I just played the best I could. … It was a pretty nice tournament. A lot of spectators and everything. It was fun.”
Both Chamerski and Stepenski, along with Shorewood’s Spencer Shin, head to this week’s Northwest District 4A tournament.
“I feel like I have a good chance of getting to state from districts,” Chamerski said. “I’ll just have to see the best players from Wesco North.”
The North Division’s top seed is Stanwood’s Kyle Koetje. Friday’s final was the first meeting between Stepenski and Chamerski. Stepenski injured his ankle during warm-ups prior to their scheduled match during the regular season.
“I thought I played pretty well. It’s hard to get into a good rhythm,” Stepenski said. “He really knows how to play the game. He knows which shots to hit, when and where. He kept me off-balance.”
The Edmonds-Woodway senior, who also plays baseball and swims, has not encountered a player as good as Chamerski.
“He’s the best player I’ve ever played,” Stepenski said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been beaten that bad. … He’s an impressive player.
“At least I’m on the other side of the bracket from Chamerski (at districts).”
Stepenski defeated Jackson’s Robin Choi 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals on Oct. 23.
“That was a really close match,” Stepenski said. “Robin is a great player.”
Choi ended up finishing fifth and is the alternate at districts.
Jackson’s Mitch Williamson and Kevin Taylor advanced to the doubles finals where they lost to Shorewood’s Tristan Reni and Scott McConnell 6-2, 6-4. Both doubles teams advanced to districts.
Mountlake Terrace’s Joe Kim and Chris Raunio beat Edmonds-Woodway’s Ryan Warren and Ian Southcote-Want 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 to take third place and earn the South Division’s final berth to districts. Warren and Southcote-Want were scheduled to play in a play-in match against a duo from the North Division.
Edmonds-Woodway’s Jake Lagucik and Youngha Kim won over Kamiak’s Brian Jeon and Kenichi Kato by default to take fifth place.
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