Warrior duo wins South Division title

MILL CREEK

Edmonds-Woodway’s Michelle Nelson and Amanda Waldron kept their cool.

The Warrior duo won the first set 6-1 over Shorewood’s MacKenzie Bang and Lisa Hammon, but Nelson and Waldron then fell behind 3-1 in the second set and trailed 5-4 with the Thunderbirds serving in the Western Conference South Division girls tennis doubles finals.

Nelson and Waldron buckled down to win the next three games to claim their first league title 6-1, 7-5 May 9 at Jackson High School. The Edmonds-Woodway duo finished second as freshmen last season.

“We did not want to go to a third set,” Waldron said. “We knew we could do it in two sets.”

The Warrior sophomores also fell behind in the final game. Nelson and Waldron trailed love-30 and then 15-40 before battling back to deuce and then finally securing the victory.

“We’ve gotten down before and come back,” Nelson said.

The second set troubles started when Nelson and Waldron started out with a bad service game, which led to a loss of focus.

“It was hard to regain the momentum that we had from the first set,” Waldron said. “But we were tough. We just picked up the intensity so much.”

Nelson and Waldron opened with a first round bye and then defeated Jackson’s Jane Shin and Annika Swenson 6-0, 7-5 in a second round match before dispatching Mountlake Terrace’s Haley Reutimann and Teryn Bouche 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Having played in the postseason last year made a significant difference in Nelson and Waldron’s approach in this year’s league tournament.

“Last year we’d get too down on ourselves,” Nelson said. “We’re a lot more mature.”

The two also communicate more with each other on the court this year, Waldron said.

Nelson and Waldron caught a break in the second set when they lost focus.

“Fortunately they came back and they put a little run,” said Edmonds-Woodway coach Dan Cris. “They were able to pull it out. But as you keep going on and the competition keeps getting tougher and tougher, you can’t afford to make those lapses.”

Up next for Nelson and Waldron is the 4A District 1 tournament, which is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 17 at Jackson High School. The top three finishers in singles and doubles advance to the state tournament.

“With the experience under our belt this year, plus our new attitude toward the tournament, I think we’re going to do really well,” Waldron said.

Nelson and Waldron finished fourth last season and were the alternates to state.

“We could have taken first last year,” Nelson said. “It was just a lack of experience.”

Teammate Kira Kearsley advanced to the singles finals where she lost 6-0, 6-1 to Kamiak’s Elaine Baik. It was Kearsley’s third loss to Baik this season.

“She has a really good forehand,” Kearsley said. “Her serve is pretty good. She’s a really good player.”

The postseason is new to the Edmonds-Woodway freshman, whose goal was to play consistent throughout the tournament.

“I really enjoyed it,” Kearsley said. “I really wanted to do my best. … That’s really all I was thinking.”

Edmonds-Woodway had a good week, Crist said. “It’s the time that I can remember where everybody who played was in the money. We got first and fifth in doubles and we got second and sixth in singles. Everybody came away with some hardware. I’m very proud of them.

“We’ve got a young team going on to the next level. So hopefully they’ll continue to play well and advance to state.”

Jackson’s Linda Cung beat Edmonds-Woodway’s Lauren Ummel 6-1, 6-4 to take fifth place in singles. Mountlake Terrace’s Reutimann and Bouche prevailed 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) over Jackson’s Hana Kang and Rosana Tran in the third/fourth place doubles match. Edmonds-Woodway’s Lexie Miller and Sheridan Smalley beat Jackson’s Shin and Swenson 6-2, 6-0 for fifth place.

In the 3A tournament, Meadowdale’s Sara Portesan and Lianna Fijalka took third place, while teammates Erica Landa and Maya Rahkonen were sixth. The 3A District tournament is at Arlington and runs through Saturday.