Bulldog individuals stay perfect, yet team falls at Coeur d'Alene

Sandpoint’s girls doubles swept Coeur d’Alene’s teams and Lily Anderson came through with her first win in varsity singles, but the Vikings beat the Bulldogs 8-4 on Thursday afternoon. Although the Bulldogs fell, head coach Kent Anderson saw a lot that he liked from his team, which has found its rhythm with almost one month of competition under its belt.

“It was an 8-4 loss, overall but still a strong showing,” Anderson wrote in an email afterwards. “We’re improving with each hour on the court as we progress toward districts.”

Even with the team loss, some of the Bulldogs kept up their winning ways — most notably Tessa Beeman and Allura Livingston at No. 1 girls doubles. The duo has yet to lose to 5A and 4A Inland Empire League schools so far; Coeur d’Alene’s No. 1 girls doubles team was the latest to fall to Sandpoint’s experienced team.

“They won in typical fashion playing strategic, smart tennis by always hitting to the open court,” Anderson said of Beeman and Livingston, who won their match 6-4, 6-2.

Not to be overlooked by their teammates, Hadley Goodvin and Olivia Ramirez helped Sandpoint sweep in girls doubles with a 6-4, 6-3 two-set win of their own. Speaking of undefeated, Hadley Goodvin has yet to lose this season as well.

“Hadley is on an amazing run of her own, going undefeated this season while playing both doubles and singles,” Anderson said.

Over on the boys’ side, Christian Story and Declan Plummer kept their undefeated streak alive with a 7-6. 7-3, 6-2 win in No. 1 boys doubles.

Like they have so many times this year, their multifaceted attack and endurance stymied their opponents to maintain their perfect record.

“Christian and Declan had a hard fought victory,” Anderson said. “They came from behind to win the first set in a tie-breaker then ramped it up in the second set to win relatively easily. Their speed, power and finesse is tough to overcome.”

But Anderson’s “match of the week” was Charlie Johnson’s close loss in a three-set marathon to Coeur d’Alene’s Bayley Throm. The duo captivated the crowd during the last set of the evening by trading big serves and Johnson’s big, top-spin drives.

The Bulldogs will have a week of rest to prepare for the two-day Inland Empire Classic, held at Central Valley High School in Spokane, Wash. on April 26-27. Day one action starts at 9 a.m.

Coeur d’Alene 8, Sandpoint 4

Sandpoint athletes in bold

GIRLS SINGLES: No. 1. Madi Whitehouse d. Jenny Slaveck, 6-1, 6-0. No. 2 Amy Corette d. Colleene McBride, 6-4, 7-5. No. 3 Lily Anderson d. Mariah Piazza, 6-1. 7-6, (7-3).

GIRLS DOUBLES: Allura Livingston/Tessa Beeman d. Kim Gunnerson/Maggie Bloom, 6-4, 6-2. Olivia Ramirez/Hadley Goodvin d. Abby Markowski/Rachel Hoopman, 6-4, 6-3.

BOYS SINGLES: No. 1 Bayley Throm d. Charlie Johnson, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). No. 2 Noah Cobb d. Anton Morau, 6-2, 7-5. No. 3 Justin Jaworski d. Charles England, 6-1, 6-1.

BOYS DOUBLES: Declan Plummer/Christian Story d. Nez Ogle/Kobie DeLeonard, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. Tabor Dussault/Carter Johnson d. Wes Sando/Guillermo Fernandez, 6-4, 6-3.

MIXED DOUBLES: Sarah Swider/Chris Swider d. Josh Jessen/Taryn McBride, 6-0, 6-0. Emma Childress/Nick Probst d. Tyler Korn/Denali Terry, 6-3, 6-4.