Lineups looking strong for what could be final year
By Tony Dondero
Enterprise reporter
The Shoreline Community College men’s and women’s tennis teams are poised to make runs at the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College championships this spring in what could be the last year of the sport at the school.
Shoreline CC athletic director Doug Palmer has proposed replacing tennis with cross country next year (see related story page 25) mainly for financial reasons.
“We’re all more motivated to take a couple titles to make a statement to all concerned,” said coach Eric Moujtahid-Webster.
On the men’s side the Dolphins feature No. 1 singles player Wes Abney who played at Shorewood. Abney hurt his right serving shoulder while playing select baseball in high school and took two years off from sports. He’s back healthy this year and hopes to play for a four-year school next year. The No. 2 singles player is Shusetsu Toda from Japan, who will be paired with Abney at No. 1 doubles.
At No. 3 singles is sophomore Frances Roque, who Moujtahid-Webster coached as a No. 1 singles player at Franklin High in Seattle in 2003. At No. 4 singles is freshman Mitchell Chavez, a former No. 1 singles player at Ballard. He and Roque will play No. 2 doubles. At No. 5 singles is Josh Santoso of Malaysia and at No. 6 singles is Justin Gilnick out of Nathan Hale. Santoso and Gilnick make up the No. 3 doubles team.
The Dolphins alternate doubles team is Anthony Vo from Hong Kong and Raymond Wivia from Indonesia.
“The guys are strong this year,” Moujtahid-Webster said.
Green River and Spokane Falls are also contenders. Green River beat Shoreline for the NWAACC title in 2006.
Meanwhile, the women’s team boasts the best talent it’s had in years.
“For the first time in the history since I’ve been here, we have depth,” said Moujtahid-Webster who is in his fourth year at Shoreline. “We have bona fide high school and tournament players.”
Kari Fiske, who competed in the Class 4A state tournament in singles for Shorewood last year, is the No. 1 singles player for the Dolphins. Fiske, who had a scholarship to play tennis at Division I Portland State, ended up at Shoreline after the NCAA declared her ineligible for having only 3.5 high school English credits instead of the required four. Fiske believed that two classes, one she took at King’s as a sophomore and a magazine class she took at Shorewood counted toward her eligibility requirement, but found out when she arrived at Portland State they did not. Fiske’s appeal was denied and she lost significant practice time. She eventually decided to return home to live with her family and attend Shoreline instead of sitting out a year to get eligible at Portland State.
Shoreline’s No. 2 player is freshman Betty Wang, a former No. 1 singles player at Skyline.
At No. 3 singles is Moujtahid-Webster’s daughter Erica Webster, a sophomore and a former No. 1 singles player at Holy Names Academy. At No. 4 singles is freshman Raquel Fahnbulleh, another former No. 1 singles player at Holy Names. Last year’s No. 1 singles player, Maasa Tadakoro from Japan, fills the No. 5 slot. The No. 6 singles player is Janet Watanabe, who hails from Japan but who graduated from Nathan Hale.
Fiske and Wang, Webster and Fahnbulleh, and Tadakoro and Watanabe are the respective doubles teams.
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