For another year the Mercer Island girls tennis team secured the SeaKing district tennis title, putting another notch in their already perfect season. The undefeated team, which was also a KingCo league champion, beat the second-place team, Bainbridge, by 10 points. The boys tennis team finished the district tournament in second, 10 points behind Seattle Prep.
The girls team qualified Nora Tan for the state tournament after she finished third at districts, beating Juanita’s Maria Jouravleva 6-3, 6-4. In the girls singles semifinals, Natalie Allen of Holy Names Academy beat Nora Tan 6-1, 7-5. Allen would go on to lose the district title game to Sasha Carter of Bainbridge Island.
Ellie Rudee will serve as the first alternate to state after taking fifth overall, beating Bobbi Ellison of Bishop Blanchet, 6-1, 6-1, in the consolation bracket.
In the girls doubles competition, both Mercer Island teams will be making the trip to state, as Chelsea Bailey and Julia Schubach beat their teammates, Kelly Crandall and Julia Zook, in the district third/fourth place game 6-0, 6-4. Crandall and Zook won their first round match against Payton Burnett and Clare McReynolds of Seattle Prep, before losing their semifinal match against Anissa Bryant-Swift and Malia Lum 6-1, 7-6 (6). Bryant-Swift and Lum would go on to win the district doubles title over Bainbridge Island’s Kate Jameson and Grace Porter. Bailey and Schubach won their first match in the quarterfinals to advance to play Jameson and Porter in the semifinals.
In the boys singles district tournament Jordan Smith earned fourth place for a spot at the state competition, after losing to Dragos Puscalau of Sammamish 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Thursday afternoon. Smith won his quarterfinal match, before playing Reid deLaubenfels of Nathan Hale in the semifinals. Smith lost 6-1, 7-5 to deLaubenfels, who would go on to win the district title.
In the doubles competition Max Franklin and Andrew Smith took second overall, losing the district title match to Andrew LaCava and Jason Bediones of Seattle Prep 6-3, 6-4. The Islander duo won their first match in the quarterfinals and beat Seattle Prep’s Drew Beckman and Evan Beckman 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to advance to the championship.
The second Mercer Island boys double team of Matt Sedlacek and Jared Thomas took fifth place, beating Colin Turner and Ian Turner of Bishop Blanchet 6-2, 7-6. Sedlacek and Thomas will serve as first alternates at the state tournament.
The 3A state tournament will take place at the Vancouver Tennis Center in Vancouver, Wash. on May 28-29.