Area Sports by Michael Dashiell

A tough draw for the defending state champs.

Sequim advanced three of the Wolves’ 11 players — singles player Angela Richards and doubles duo Blaire Maloney and Kyla Hall — to the 2A district tournament after a tough divisional tourney May 9, 10 in Belfair.

Richards was scheduled to play for the district third seed Monday afternoon, the final match of the tourney, because of a late draw on Friday afternoon.

“I’m not surprised,” Sequim coach Doug Hastings said. “I thought we might have one more doubles team get in to the district (tournament).”

Hall and Maloney earned a district berth after finishing second in the doubles bracket, losing in three sets to a team from Klahowya.

The top three players from the 2A district tournament, set for May 16-17 in Federal Way, advance to the class 2A state tourney.

“Angela (Richards) can be up in the top three or four, and Blaire and Kyla are in the top three or four,” Hastings said. “If they play par tennis or better they have a fair chance.”

Here are recaps from Sequim’s final matches heading into the divisional playoffs:

Sequim sweeps Klahowya

In their final tune-up for the playoffs, the Wolves found their Eagle counterparts a rather easy mark.

Sequim players didn’t lose a set in a 7-0 sweep of their Silverdale visitors May 6.

Richards scored a 6-0, 6-0 win against Klahowya’s Issa Bruce while Kali Wake and Caihley Baker, normally doubles players, each won their first singles matches of the season.

Hall and Maloney swept away Klahowya’s Mariadela Rosa and Cassie Winter 6-4 and 6-2 in No. 1 doubles action to improve to 6-0 in 2008. Kari Hankins and Jaysa Hill won 7-5, 6-1 in No. 2 doubles play while Sarah Boucher and Renee Brilhante were up 5-1 in the first set before their Klahowya opponents retired. Sequim’s Sarah Hogoboom and Dung Quach topped Kristine Garcia and Jessica McMullen 6-3 and 6-2 for their first doubles win.

The Wolves finished 8-4 for the regular season.



Wolves stop losing

streak by beating Bucs

Finding themselves in unfamiliar territory — amid a losing streak — Sequim’s girls tennis squad responded with a 6-1 crushing of Olympic League foe Kingston on May 2.

Sequim won all but one singles match as the Wolves ran their season record to 7-4 in league play and overall.

Richards didn’t lose a game in blanking the Buccaneers’ top singles player Rachel Bishop, while Hogoboom got her first singles win of the season by topping Hannah Hays 6-3 and 6-2.

In doubles action, Sequim’s Hall and Maloney outlasted Theresa Tucci and Kristina Lambert 1-6, 6-0 and 6-1, while Baker and Diana Earl improved to 7-2 as a doubles team with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Kingston’s Michelle Hunter and Maddie Miller.

Wake and Mary Cherrett are now 9-0 as a duo with a straight set win while Hankins and Hill also won in straight sets.



Roughriders take rival match

The team that gave the Wolves its first loss in nearly four years did it again.

Port Angeles swept the singles matches and eked out a doubles match win to down Sequim 4-3 on April 30, the Wolves’ third loss in a row.

Sequim’s Hall took Port Angeles No. 1 Tinka Hanan to three sets before falling 6-1 in the third set.

Maloney and Richards combined to edge P.A.’s top doubles squad of Vanessa Estes and Cassidy Fairchild (6-1, 1-6, 6-3), while Baker and Earl didn’t lose a game in a two-set whitewashing of Roughriders Megan Hixson and Coco Piper.

Cherrett and Wake similarly didn’t lose a game in their straight-set win, Sequim’s third victory of the match.



Seahawks sweep

league doubleheader

Thanks to a schedule abridged by unseasonably poor weather, the Wolves and Seahawks put a doubleheader on their calendars for April 28. In one long day of tennis, fans and players alike were treated to quite a duel.

After topping Sequim 5-2 in the first match, Peninsula swept the singles grouping and needed a third set tiebreaker in the fourth and final doubles match to pull out a 4-3 win in the nightcap.