Sandpoint tennis moves on to 4A state championship

RATHDRUM — The Sandpoint boys and girls tennis teams swept the 4A regional title Saturday, May 13 at Lakeland High School.

After a terrific regular season, Sandpoint was able to continue its winning ways this past weekend. The girls won the team title by 31.5 points over Moscow while the boys squeaked by Lakeland with a 7.5-point margin.

“It was crazy hot on Saturday; the court surface had to be close to 100 degrees,” head coach Kent Anderson said. “Some of these athletes were on the court for over four hours. It was a war of attrition in many ways. This is why tennis can be such an extreme sport.”

In boys singles, Jacob Dawson was able to cruise to 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lakeland’s Ben Ryan in the championship match. Sandpoint’s Matthew Norton then fell just short of Ryan in the second-place match, losing in three sets.

In girls singles, Sandpoint’s Neva Reseska took first place by defeating teammate Maisie Brazill, 6-2, 6-4. Brazill then came back to win the second-place match over Moscow’s Millie Richards to qualify for state.

“Neva won the long-awaited showdown between her and Maisie. Neva won with her customary calm and steady approach. Maisie played well but came up just short; she then dominated her next match to qualify.”

Evan Wiley and Aden Heitz qualified for state by winning the second-place match in boys doubles 6-4, 6-3. The duo could not get past Lakeland’s Brady Hanna and Cole Andres in the championship match.

“Evan and Aden played with incredible passion in the championship match against a tough Lakeland duo. A big crowd was cheering for every point, but when the dust settled the boys came up short. However, the boys were clearly ready for that second-place match,” Anderson said.

In girls doubles, Aubrey Knowles and Sydney Webb lost a heartbreaking three set tiebreaker in the championship match, but came back to win the second-place match, 6-4, 6-0 to move on to the state championship.

Rounding out the state qualifiers for Sandpoint was Fisher Dail and Berkley Cox in mixed doubles. Dail and Cox were able to win the second-place match, 6-3, 6-4.

“Fisher and Berkley had a great tournament. Berkeley was pounding serves and ground strokes while Fisher floated near the net cracking volley winners to both corners,” Anderson said.

The Idaho State tennis tournament begins Friday, May 19 at Timberline High in Boise.

4A

BOYS TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 56.5. 2, Lakeland 49. 3, Moscow 21.5.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 64.5. 2, Moscow 33. 3, Lakeland 29.

(Top two in each to state)

BOYS SINGLES — Consolation bracket: Second round: Matthew Norton, Sandpoint, d. Ethan Ballard, Sandpoint, 6-0, 6-0. Ryan Genteman, Lakeland, d. Asher Drake, Lakeland, 6-2, 6-3. Semifinal: Norton, Sandpoint, d. Drake, 6-1, 7-6 (1). Placing matches: Championship: Jacob Dawson, Sandpoint, d. Ben Ryan, Lakeland, 6-1, 6-0. Second-place match: Ryan, Lakeland, d. Norton, Sandpoint, 6-3, 4-6, 12-10.

GIRLS SINGLES — Consolation bracket: Second round: Millie Richards, Moscow, d. Elly Tutin, Sandpoint, 6-3, 6-4. Amber Tafoya, Moscow, d. Taryn Hemming, Moscow, 6-3, 6-0. Semifinal: Richards, Moscow, d. Tafoya, Moscow, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. Placing matches: Championship: Neva Reseska, Sandpoint, d. Maisie Brazill, Sandpoint, 6-2, 6-4. Second-place match: Brazill, Sandpoint, d. Richards, Moscow, 6-2, 6-0.

BOYS DOUBLES — Consolation bracket: Second round: Miles Tomlin/Same Greene, Moscow, d. Ellis Jaeckel/Lucas Ting, Moscow, by injury default. Alex Brown/Toby Tebbe, Lakeland, d. Brennan Johnson/Ivan Steinbachs, Sandpoint, 6-3, 7-5. Semifinal: Brown/Tebbe, Lakeland, d. Tomlin/Green, Moscow, 6-2, 6-3. Placing matches: Cole Andres/Brady Hanna, Lakeland, d. Evan Wiley/Aden Heitz, Sandpoint, 6-4, 6-4. Second-place match: Wiley/Heitz, Sandpoint, d. Brown/Tebbe, Lakeland, 6-4, 6-3.

GIRLS DOUBLES — Consolation bracket: Semifinals: Maile Evans/Patch Howard, Sandpoint, d. Petra Kennedy/Alyssa Halvorsen, 6-1, 6-0. Alice Drucbert/Shelby Wear, Lakeland, d. Cate Gloeckner/Isabel Clark, Moscow, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 10-3. Championship: Drucbert/Wear, Lakeland, d. Evans/Howard, Sandpoint, 6-3, 6-1: Final: Ella Carlson/Addie Raebel, Lakeland, d. Sydney Webb/Aubrey Knowles, Sandpoint, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 10-6. Second-place match: Webb/Knowles, Sandpoint, d. Drucbert/Wear, Lakeland, 6-4, 6-0.

MIXED DOUBLES — Consolation semifinals: Wyatt Thornycroft/Abigail Duke, Moscow, d. Suzie Nichols/Michael Pearson, Lakeland, 6-2, 6-3. Adrian Doty/Owen Larson, Sandpoint, d. Amanda Olson/Brock Raebel, Lakeland, 6-1, 4-6, 10-6. Championship: Thornycroft/Duke, Moscow, d. Doty/Lawson, Sandpoint, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8. Final: Bryce Hanson/Samantha Unger, Moscow, d. Fisher Dail/Berkeley Cox, Sandpoint, 6-2, 6-3. Second-place match: Dail/Cox, Sandpoint, d. Thornycroft/Duke, Moscow, 6-3, 6-4.