Area Sports by Michael Dashiell

Not that anyone’s counting, but Sequim’s girls tennis squad is running up a pretty nice streak here.

With a nail-biting win against Bremerton March 17 and a relatively easier showdown with Klahowya two days later, that makes 38 consecutive league matches without a loss, a streak that spans parts of four seasons.

But it didn’t come easy.

Bremerton’s Knights took

Sequim to three sets in two doubles matches but couldn’t finish the job, giving Sequim a 4-3 win in the season opener and 37th consecutive league win.

Sequim’s Kyla Hall and Stephanie Nguyen won their singles matches in straight sets, but the Knights loaded up their top players in the doubles divisions. The strategy seemed to work as the Knight’s No. 1 team topped Wolves Blaire Maloney and Angela Richards, 6-0 and 6-1.

But the match came down to the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches. Bremerton’s Kendal Mantzke and Courtney Wasserberger had Sequim’s Diana Earl and Caihley Baker down one set and 6-2 in a tiebreaker, giving the Knights four match points. But Earl and Baker came back to win the tiebreaker 10-8, then outlasted the Knights 6-4 in the final set.

Sequim’s Mary Cherrett and Kali Wake also survived a three-set match, topping Crystal Membrere and Paige Mitchell 6-4, 3-6 and 6-4.

“I think we’ll give them a much better match in three or four weeks,” Sequim coach Doug Hastings said, looking ahead to the Wolves’/Knights’ April 14 rematch in Sequim.

Two days later, the Wolves topped Klahowya 6-1, giving up just two games in four doubles matches. In singles play, Hall won her second match of the season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against top Eagle Jessica Wilson. Earl outlasted Shelby Hunter in three sets (4-6, 6-4, 6-4).

The Wolves were scheduled to travel to Poulsbo to take on Kingston March 25 — results were unavailable at press time. Sequim hosts North Mason March 27 and play away March 28 at Olympic.