The VHS girls’ tennis team is off and running, having completed five matches, with two wins and two losses in league play, and with one “friendly” win.
Cascade Christian Academy
This away game 2-3 loss for the team took place on March 16. With 10 practices prior to the match, we were challenged to field a full team, due to the eligibility criteria, but managed to be very competitive.
At number one singles, senior Julia Papa acquitted herself nicely for her very first time playing singles. She dropped the first set 2 games to 6, then through pure grit, managed to capture the second set 6-4.
Due to the limited number of courts, we agreed to use a 10 point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set. Unfortunately, Papa did not triumph in that endeavor, falling 7-10.
Kaiya Van Brost, a junior, performed the duties as our second singles player. This too was her first singles match and she was bested in straight sets 2-6, 1-6.
Senior Rebekah Furr stepped up to fill the third singles position, for the first time as well, in a match lost 0-6, 0-6.
Number one doubles players Eva Winiecki and Hannah Oberlander, both seniors, bested their opponents in a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 match.
Number two doubles team Myra Butler, a junior, and Lila Kramer, a senior, dominated in their 6-0, 6-0 victory.
Eatonville High School
This “friendly” match win, 4-1, took place on March 18.
Number one singles player Delilah Higuera, a senior, lost her match in a competitive contest 2-6, 3-6.
Number two singles player, Myra Butler, was successful in her first-ever singles match with a split sets victory of 2-6, 6-1 and 7-4 in the third set tiebreaker.
Third singles player Jessica Levin, a junior who was playing her first singles match, came away with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
The number one doubles team of Eva Winiecki and Hanna Oberlander secured a tidy victory of 6-2, 6-0 over their opponents. The number two doubles team of Julia Papa and Rebekah Furr, both seniors, also had little trouble with a 6-2, 6-0 win, in their first-ever time playing together.
Life Christian Academy (LCA)
This away match win, 3-2, took place on March 23.
Due to inclement weather, this meet was played indoors at the Lakewood Racquet club on three courts. For some team members, this was their first indoor experience.
LCA’s top two singles players were very skilled and bested Delilah Higuera (#1) 1-6, 0-6 and Julia Papa (#2) 2-6, 1-6
Our number three singles player Jessica Levin had a workmanlike outing with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Hannah Oberlander and Eva Winiecki continued their winning ways with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph in the number one doubles spot.
The pairing of Lila Kramer and Maren MacLean in the number two doubles position proved successful with a 6-1, 6-1, dominating performance.
East Jefferson High School
This home match win, 3-2, took place on March 25.
East Jefferson brought some JV players on the bus, and with VHS having six courts, a lot of tennis was played.
Delila Higuera faced another very skilled player in a match that became competitive in the second set. Alas, Higuera fell 1-6, 4-6.
Myra Butler filled the number two single-slot and had a barn burner of a match, with a scoreline of 6-4, 4-6, and a 10-8 tiebreaker win.
Jessica Levin played tough but dropped the match 4-6, 2-6.
The match of the meet was our number one doubles team of Eva Winiecki and Hannah Oberlander. Though it was a straight-set victory of 6-4, 7-6, it was anything but routine. The second set tie-breaker went on for what seemed like an eternity. Lila Kramer and Julia Papa teamed for the number two doubles spot and fought off a very game pair with a 7-5, 7-5 squeaker.
JV doubles matches were played by Rebekah Furr and Merman MacLean, 6-3, 6-3. Kaiya Van Brost and Tuula Beck, a freshman, had good 6-4, 6-3 wins.
Klahowya High School
This away match loss, 0-5, took place on April 1.
With very windy and cold conditions in play, a gifted and seasoned number one singles player for Klahowya took the win over Myra Butler, who stepped up to fill our number one single spot, 1-6, 1-6.
The most competitive match was played by Gwen Burwell, at number two singles. She dropped the first set, 1-6, and then regrouped to take the second set in a 7-6 tiebreaker, 7-6 with the third and deciding set tiebreaker being a 6-10 loss.
Natalia Matusky, a junior, handled the number three singles position and succumbed 3-6, 2-6, in a respectable first match-of-the-season effort.
Number one doubles action was also hotly contested, with Julia Papa and Hannah Oberlander coming up short with a 6-7, 4-6 loss.
Lila Kramer and Maren MacLean again paired for the number two doubles contest and were bested 2-6, 5-7.
JV action saw Kaiya Van Brost and Rebekah Furr win their eight-game pro set, 8-3; Maddie Youman and Eliza Pinckney were winners at 8-4, and Izzy Fisher and Grace Lappe fell 2-8.
Our next match will be against a long-time nemesis Charles Wright Academy, at home, at 3:45 p.m. on April 6 (prior to the Beachcomber’s publication date).
