SHS tennis beats Lakeland 10-2 to win the 4A IEL regular-season title
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Colleene McBride lunges towards the ball during a match against Post Falls on May 2. McBride won her No. 2 singles match at Lakeland, 6-1, 6-0.
No matter what players show up or are healthy, Sandpoint tennis seems to find a way to win.
Highlighted by Alana Siefert’s season debut in mixed doubles, the girls swept the singles and doubles, while the boys took two out of three in both singles and doubles in order to win the 4A District 1 regular-season team title on Monday.
“[Siefert] jumped right back into the fire, winning a three-set thriller in mixed doubles with Tyler Korn,” Sandpoint tennis head coach Kent Anderson wrote in an email. “The two of them make an interesting team: The combination of Alana’s consistent and accurate ground strokes and Tyler’s massive serve and tricky short court angles could prove to be a very tough for opponents to deal with. I wasn’t thrilled that Alana found herself in a marathon match on her tender leg but she held up well.”
Siefert, a 2018 state qualifier, was joined by state hopefuls Jenny Slaveck and the duo of Tessa Beeman and Hadley Goodvin as Bulldogs that notched dominant wins. Slaveck, whose past few weeks have seen her notch win after win, carried that momentum by winning her third-straight, 6-0, 6-0 win in No. 1 singles.
“Jenny is peaking at just the right time as we approach districts,” Anderson said. “Her weapon is her serve and it was flawless today.”
Sandpoint’s girls players were firing on all cylinders against the Hawks. No. 2 Colleene McBride was, in her coach’s words “too much” for her opponent as well.
“She’s serving with authority and isn’t afraid to swing out on her ground strokes when her opponent sets her up,” Anderson said.
Meanwhile, the boys routed the Hawks behind the play of Anton Morau, who came into his own during the Lakeland match at No. 2 singles.
“Anton continues to play at a very high level,” Anderson said. “His ground strokes have become very strong and consistent. His mixture of power drives and drop shot slices is very difficult to counter.”
Although Monday’s match saw Declan Plummer and Christian Story’s iron grip at No. 1 boys doubles come to an end, the pair fought in a three-set showdown against Lakeland’s David Durfee and Cody Wilding.
Although the regular-season team title puts the Bulldogs in a favorable position at districts, their work is far from finished.
“Our first goal was to win the league; now we take the show to districts,” Anderson said.
Districts are a two-day event, starting on Friday at 8 a.m. at Lakeland High School.
Sandpoint 10, Lakeland 2
Sandpoint athletes in bold
GIRLS SINGLES: No. 1. Jenny Slaveck d. Kelsey Brumbles 6-0, 6-0. No. 2 Colleene McBride d, Desiree Zito, 6-1, 6-0. No. 3 Denali Terry d. Rachel Moen, 6-1, 6-3. GIRLS DOUBLES: Tessa Beeman/Hadley Goodvin d. Cece Viebrock/Anna Altsulan, 6-1, 6-2. Lily Anderson/Olivia Ramirez d. Savannah Orrell/Elle Brown, 6-1, 6-2.
BOYS SINGLES: No. 1 Nathan Peck d. Charlie Johnson, 6-1, 7-5. No. 2 Anton Morau d. Keng Jaturanont, 6-1, 6-1. No. 3 Cayden Kindred d. Brady Manko, 6-4, 6-4.
BOYS DOUBLES: David Durfee/Cody Wilding d. Declan Plummer/Christian Story, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6. Tabor Dussault/Carter Johnson d. John Zubaly/Blaise Wright, 6-2, 6-2.
MIXED DOUBLES: d. Josh Jessen/Taryn McBride d. Sarah Boyer/Jared Roth, 4-6, 6-2 (10-7). Alana Siefert/Tyler Korn d. Abbie Grangier/Caleb Pearson, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.