One more chance to dominate for SHS tennis

The Sandpoint High School tennis team earned almost all the awards for Class 4A District.

Kent Anderson took home coach of the year honors and Neva Reseska earned player of the year honors for the girls.

The Bulldogs also earned a district championship and the girls finished the regular season undefeated.

Sandpoint will be taking seven athletes to state today at the Boise Racquet Club, three singles players and two doubles teams.

One of those singles players is District 1 girls player of the year Reseska. The sophomore earned a state bid as a qualifier last year and ran into the number one seed in the opening round. This year, she enters the tournament as a district champion with the potential to receive a better first round matchup.

“She’ll have a chance of winning her first couple of matches,” Anderson said. “Then she’ll get a taste of the semi-finals, then after that, who really knows.”

Reseska’s athletic ability paired with her mental game has made her a force on the tennis court.

“She’s a natural athlete and has the ability to focus,” Anderson said. “That’s why she succeeds and beats people that train more than her. The mental aspect of the game is what separates her.”

Maise Brazill, who fell to Reseska in the district championship match 6-3, 6-2, also earned a state bid.

The junior has been on fire all season long. She finished the regular season with a record of 11-1.

“Record-wise, she’s one of the top three players in the state,” Anderson said. “She did primarily play second singles and didn’t go against the best one-on one each time. But if you’ve seen her scores, you know she won by a lot and it's been consistent.”

Anderson gave Brazill the nickname “never miss Maise" all the way back in seventh grade. This nickname has stuck with her throughout high school.

“I didn’t know who she was back then and she didn’t play tennis; she just wanted to learn,” Anderson said. “A lot of kids at that age started out swinging and missing, but (Maise) was going out and hitting and hitting and never missing. That’s when we came up with 'never miss Maise' and it stuck and she lives up to it.”

Olivia Petruso and Denali Terry earned a state bid after winning the district 1 championship for girls doubles.

The duo has been a reliable source of wins throughout the season, even if it's just one or the other.

“They’ve gone through their issues,” Anderson said. “There were many matches where one of them couldn’t make it. When they come back together, they don’t miss a beat.”

The seniors are two-time district champions and have developed a lot of chemistry throughout that time.

“They have silent communication where they know what they’re going to do,” Anderson said. “They convert spots without even having to talk about it. They had a good state tournament last year so they know what it takes.”

For the boys, Evan Wiley notched a second place finish at boys singles to earn a state bid.

Wiley has surprised Anderson with his performances over the last two years.

“Evan was a JV champion last year and I really didn’t see that one coming,” he said. “I’m sure that was a motivator for him this year. I didn’t expect a lot from him. I knew he’d be a good varsity player after last year, but he improved all season long.”

A bulk of that improvement can be traced back to the sophomore’s work ethic.

“He’s worked hard all season long,” Anderson said. “Right now we’re doing 6 a.m. beast mode practices and a lot of kids can’t make it, but Evan is always there. Whatever he has to do to get better, he'll do it.”

Wrapping up Sandpoint’s state qualifiers are Tyler Korn and Cayden Kindred.

The two seniors, who are best friends off the court, had a unique road to get to the state tournament. Kindred hadn’t been on the court since his freshman year and played most of this year as a singles player.

Korn was playing with various partners in the doubles ranks. The duo approached Anderson with the idea of a best friend pairing at number one boys doubles.

“They got together and said with the way we hit we think we can do major damage in doubles,” Anderson said. “I said if this is what you want to do, let’s give it a shot and it worked like a charm.”

The duo has had some exciting matches since becoming a pairing. Winning and losing in a lot of extra sets.

“They need to relax and put out a statement,” Anderson said. “If they play the way they like and overpower their opponents, they can get on a roll and win it all.”