Shorewood, Shorecrest take doubles titles

MILL CREEK

Shorewood’s duo of Tristan Reni and Scott McConnell won the Western Conference South Division doubles title and vaulted into the 4A District 1 tournament as a No. 1 seed.

“We did what we came to do,” Reni said. “We didn’t really expect any less but it definitely wasn’t a sure thing.”

Reni and McConnell beat Mitch Williamson and Kevin Taylor of Jackson 6-2. 6-4 Friday Oct. 24 to clinch the berth.

“We were able to take the net against them. That’s what did it,” Reni said.

Reni, a senior, and McConnell, a junior, went to districts as the No. 3 seed last year, but earned the third berth to state. Last year Reni and McConnell went 0-2 at state and lost to two state-placing teams. They’ll be a favorite to get to state this time.

“People are going to be ready for us this time,” Reni said. “No one will take us for granted.”

“I think if we play our game. We have a pretty solid shot,” Reni said. “Everything is a bit more crisp.”

Shorewood’s Spencer Shin finished third in singles to earn a spot at districts, which starts Oct. 29 at Stanwood High School.

Shorecrest doubles team surprises

Shorecrest’s Danny Brzovic and Devin Abney came into the Wesco 3A Crossover tournament seeded seventh but battled through three, three-set matches to take the doubles title.

“We thought we had a good chance of going on to districts,” Brzovic said. “That was our goal. We kept going.”

Brzovic and Abney beat Nathan Shields and Jake Sherrill of Meadowdale 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 in the final to clinch the No. 1 seed to 3A Districts.

The pair’s biggest comeback came in the third set against Peter Nguyen and Anthony Nguyen of Lynnwood. Down 5-2 and facing a trip to the consolation bracket, Brzovic and Abney rallied to win 7-5.

“The key word was focus. Once we started focusing we blew by,” Brzovic said.

“I think our new goal is going for state,” Brzovic said. “We’re definitely going to push ourselves to see how far we can go.”

The Scots’ Mike Uppinghouse and Nathan Bright took third by defeating Daniel Snyder and Evan Ebert of Everett, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.

Shorecrest’s Jason Hollenbach-Landraitus finished third in singles with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Everett’s Brendan Soelling to earn a trip to 3A districts, which starts on Oct. 30 at Mount Vernon High School.