Falcons send three to second round of District 1 tennis

BELLINGHAM — Three Falcon girls tennis players had a shot at the 2A state tennis tournament.

South Whidbey advanced junior singles player Hayley Newman and doubles team Amelia Weeks, a sophomore, and Kalie Stayskal, a senior, to the second day of the District 1 girls tennis tournament.

Newman, the Falcons’ top singles player and the second seed in the tournament won her first match in straight sets. After a first-round bye, Newman defeated Burlington-Edison’s Melissa Bretvick 6-3, 6-0. As she had all season, Newman came out tentative, playing “pusher” tennis, a defensive style that favors waiting for the other player to make a mistake and lose the point.

“She knows that if she wants to win against the big hitters, she must play a more aggressive style of tennis than she’s used to,” said Falcon head coach Karyle Kramer.

Just down the street from Sehome High School where the singles matches were, Weeks and Stayskal swept their first opponents at Western Washington University. The Falcon duo defeated Lakewood’s Jenny Tsengelmaa and Zaya Tsengelmaa 6-0, 6-0. In the second round, Weeks and Stayskal downed Granite Falls’ Sara Rood and Bailey Ainley, 6-0, 7-5.

South Whidbey’s second doubles team narrowly won and lost in its two matches. Jessica Cary, a senior, and Tess Radisch, a junior, defeated Anacortes’ Carly Anderson and Kylee Berlin 4-6, 7-6, 6-1. In the second set, Cary and Radisch railed 5-4 and saved three match points to force a tiebreaker.

In the second round match, Cary and Radisch lost to Bellingham’s Tess Owen and Cari Pearsall. The Red Raiders’ second doubles team won 6-2, 6-4.

“We had our chances in the second set to tie the match, including break points at 4-4 and 4-5,” Kramer said. “Pearsall and Owen just won a few more key points than we did in the second set, but it was a great effort on Tess and Jessica’s part.”

The final doubles match for South Whidbey was a straight set loss. Claire Hofius, a senior, and Lucy Rock, a junior, lost 6-0, 6-2 to Burlington-Edison’s Ana Dotlich and Heaven Henry.

“We had a hard time in the first set getting used to their hand signals and mixed up net play,” Kramer said.

“Lucy and Claire had a good season and should be proud of the way they represented us all season long.”

The Falcons’ second and third singles players lost in the first round. Carlie Newman, a freshman, lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-1  to Bellingham’s Kira Vizorka. In the freshman’s first district tournament match, Newman played defensive tennis that resulted in her first singles loss of the year.

“She was tight in the first set and once she got that under her belt I thought she would relax and hit the ball better,” Kramer said. “Instead, she tightened up, hoping her opponent would make the mistakes.”

Tessa Chiarizio (right), a senior, lost 6-2, 6-0 to Sehome’s Jane Clawson. It was Chiarizio’s first district tennis tournament, and Kramer said Clawson was more consistent with her hits.

South Whidbey’s remaining players had matches Tuesday afternoon after the Record went to press. Newman in singles, and Stayskal and Weeks in doubles, need to win two matches to advance to the state 2A girls tennis tournament.

Contact South Whidbey Record Sports, South Whidbey School District, South Whidbey Fire/EMS Ben Watanabe at bwatanabe@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-221-5300.

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