Tennis:
The Friday Harbor High School girls’ tennis team waited patiently for the spring sun to shine. After several cancellations due to weather this season, they finally played matches against Coupeville Mar. 24 and South Whidbey Mar. 28.
“We ended up losing both of them but had really strong play from our first and second singles (Lucy Martin and Emilie Mason) and first doubles (Lillia Gamez and Amelia Eltinge) in both matches,” Coach Kevin Cullen said. “I was proud of all the girls, with only two courts and the rain that we’ve had, each of these girls has only been on the courts four or five times before these matches.”
Tennis courts can be dangerous to play on when wet due to being very slick, so even when matches are canceled, practices can be cut short as well, according to Cullen. He added that slippery courts can make it difficult to practice consistently enough, but praised the team’s attitude and effort despite the difficulties.
Their season will be concluded on Apr. 25 in an away game against Coupeville.
“We are looking forward to our courts being completed so we can get back into our league and start building the program back up,” he said.
Fastpitch:
The Friday Harbor High School girls’ fastpitch team kicked off with two losses at the beginning of the season, but came back with two wins, evening the scale. During their most recent game on Apr. 1, the scales tilted back out of their favor, as they lost 26-0 against Coupeville High School.
Prior to that, the Mar. 18 game was lost 22-0 against Mt. Baker High School and the Mar. 26 game was lost at 15-0 against Nooksack Valley High School. Things started looking up when they won 11-2 against Darrington High School at a conference game on Mar. 28. A second game was held that day against Darrington in which Friday Harbor won 10-0.
“In the past few games what has stood out to us coaches is our team’s unity,” said Assistant Coach Alexa Mora.
She went on to say that the team is currently focused on gaining more experience with the game, as the pandemic has robbed them of practice. Being a team-based sport, it can also be hard to practice the game solo as cohesiveness in the team is needed for success.
“We are a team. We win and lose as a team,” she said.
Baseball:
The baseball team has been scoring big wins this season. Most recently, they fought for a close win of 3-2 against Coupeville High School Apr. 1. They went into that game with prior wins of 14-0 against Darrington High School on Mar. 28, 13-3 against Mount Vernon Christian High School on Mar. 25, and 4-2 against Mount Baker High School on Mar. 18.
Golf:
The Friday Harbor High School boys’ team had a match on Mar. 31 against Lummi at the San Juan Golf club. On the 9-hole course, the scores are as follows:
Jack Mason 36, Torsten Raichlen 44, Jack Hess 49, Alden Carli 49. This brought the team total to 178, which topped Lummi’s team total of 244.
“Jack Mason scored 36; Our Spring Street senior Torsten Raichlen scored 44. The 8th graders continue to be impressed with Jack Hess 49 and Finn Graham 50,” stated Jack Rice, golf coach. “The real sleeper on the team is Aldon Carli, scoring 49; after playing only one season he shows exceptional talent as a beginning golfer.”
During their next match on Mar. 29 against LaConner at the Swinomish golf course in Anacortes, the team total for the men’s team came out to be 209 with the women at a collective score of 200. LaConner’s men’s team came out to a low four score of 189 with the women at 160.
The individual Friday Harbor scores are as follows for the men’s team: Jack Mason 43, Torsten Raichlen, 51 Ryan Rautenberg, 53 Jack Hess, 62. Friday Harbor For the women’s team: Izzy Graham 63, Yumi Thomas 68, Morgan Douglas 69.
“This was the first road trip of the year for the Friday Harbor Wolverines,” Rice said. “LaConner took us to the cleaners. They have a good team but we got ambushed.”
On top of that, the Swinomish course has been underwater for three months. All but one green was in good condition.
Rice also described the roughs as being extra wet and tall.
“If any club more than a 9 iron was used to get out of it, the player was doomed for disaster,” he said. “This is how golf teaches life lessons and why we play other courses so we can learn and adapt to changing conditions. We look forward to getting even with LaConner in our next home match!”
