Entering the last weeks of the girls’ tennis season, the Pirates were able to improve their overall record to 6-4 with two well-deserved wins. Looking back, it seems like this tennis season has been more about fighting with and complaining about weather than anything else. Last week was no exception as Monday’s away match was rained out; and the Thursday match started, but was then delayed by a rain squall, after which coaches and players dried the courts only to have the match cancelled due to lightning. Despite the weather, the team managed to squeeze in a couple much-needed wins and continue their late-season momentum.
On Tuesday the team traveled to South Kitsap for a non-league match. South Kitsap is always a great match for the Pirates. It has large teams and a lot of courts, which allows everyone to play, and it’s a short commute as well. The Pirates left with a 5-2 win for the varsity and a lot of great matches for the junior varsity team.
In singles, Lizzy Maciejewski turned in a strong performance, winning 6-2, 6-1. Hanna Nelson split the first two sets, but won a tight tie breaker 10-8. In the longest match of the day, Lizzie Sutherland played her first singles match and took a hard earned 6-2, 7-6 win, giving Vashon a sweep in singles and a 3-0 lead.
In doubles the teams of Yulia Falia/Tobin Vaughan and Emme Osborne/Jane Oswald ran into tough South Kitsap teams and lost two tight, competitive matches. Peytra Gard/Abbie Fiano and Taylor Lighthall/Tabitha Gray then won their matches with similar 6-2, 6-1 scores to seal the team victory. The JV team did not fare as well, but were all able to play matches, gaining experience and showing significant improvement.
After the Thursday rainout, the team traveled to Tacoma to play a league match against Cascade Christian. This was an important match, as the Pirates needed a win to stay in contention for the league title. Because of the rainout, the team lost its home court advantage, and had to travel to Tacoma to play Cascade Christian for the second time this year. The team jumped out to a great start, leading in all five matches and taking four of the five first sets. However, Cascade Christian proved to be pretty resilient. Cascade took the first singles match in two hard sets, and then completed a comeback at first doubles with a third-set tiebreaker win. With the Pirates down 0-2 , Yulia Fiala/Tobin Vaughan got the Pirates a 6-2, 6-0 win at number two doubles, and Taylor Lighthall/Abbie Fiona tied the match with a 7-5, 6-3 win at number three doubles. In number two singles, Nelson won the first set, but was down 5-1 in the second. From there, she turned in a gritty comeback, winning six straight games for a 6-1, 7-5 victory, helping the Pirates escape with a critical 3-2 win.
This week is a busy one for the Pirates. First, on Monday after press time, Vashon hosted a large, strong Kings team. The hope was that this match would allow everyone to play in what might be the last match of the season for many of players. Monday was also senior day for 13 players who will graduate in June. On Tuesday, the team hosted Charles Wright with the winner taking the Nisqually League title.
On Thursday, the team will send six entries to the League Championship Tournament at Charles Wright. This all-day tournament determines who will move on to the District Tournament one week later.
— Pat Mulvihill is one of the VHS tennis coaches.
