Four players get oh-so-close to berths at state

Hopes for the Wolverines’ tennis team came to an abrupt halt last weekend as everyone went down swinging.

“It was awful. We all bageled,” junior Josh Lehr said of Friday Harbor’s tough time at the 1A Quad-District Boys Tennis Tournament Thursday and Friday at the University of Washington.

Senior Amanda Root’s chances to advance in singles were dashed at Bally’s in Federal Way Saturday at the 1A Bi-District Girls Tennis Tournament. Root lost to Sara Finkleman of Charles Wright Academy 2-6, 4-6. She also lost to Zelda Porter from Vashon High School 3-6, 1-6.

Thursday at the Quad-District tournament, Lehr lost to Jamin King of Cascade Christian 2-6, 0-6, and then to Nathan Anderson, also of Cascade Christian, 0-6, 0-6.

“I didn’t have that tennis mindset,” Lehr said. “I was focused, but my fundamentals kept breaking down throughout the match. My serve was strong, but my ground strokes fell apart.”

Lehr said Friday Harbor’s decision to split the boys tennis season into fall and spring made a difference in his play because while other teams are at the peak of their strength coming into the post-season tournaments, “we were playing catch-up.”

Thursday, Friday Harbor’s doubles team of Pablo Lopez and Zack Milkis lost 1-6. 1-6 to Chad Warren and Ryan Layson of Cascade Christian, but won their next match against Vashon’s Reese Lazarus and Max Burnham 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Lopez and Milkis lost their final match Friday to the University Prep duo of Eric Wahl and Aron Dreyfoos 7-5, 4-6, 4-6.

On May 12, junior Peter Duggins lost to Alexi Porr of Bush School 6-1, 6-7 (5) 4-6, in an attempt to qualify for the quad-district tournament.