Girls tennis squad set to hunt big 3A game

Published 6:00 pm Sunday, March 11, 2001

“Falcon tennis player Meghan Denison-Quirk handles a return during a doubles volley drill this week.Matt Johnson / staff photoAfter 24 years of coaching tennis, there are two things Tom Kramer does not do: He doesn’t talk about the past and he doesn’t talk about the future.One year after three of his girls tennis players surpassed all expectations to win the 2000 2A state championship, Kramer is understandably reluctant to talk about expectations for the 2001 Falcons. The team is without the seven seniors who helped lead the team to an 11-3 record against 3A Wesco competition last year. The list of graduates includes state competitors Lindsey Sievers and Megan Forbes, as well as consistent winners such as Kelsey Ellis and Katie Shapiro.But there is plenty that is right about this year’s team. Kramer and assistant coach Jennifer Gochanour are currently coaching 47 tennis players on the largest girls tennis team in years. And out of that 47, there are several players with varsity experience to fill a few singles and doubles slots in the varsity lineup. Expected to be a force in this season’s meet schedule are Jenny Saephan — a 2000 state doubles placer — Kylie Bosum, Paige Jolley, and Kaitlin King. Beyond that, Kramer said, it will take some playing time to find the perfect lineup.I’m trying to figure who is best playing where, Kramer said.He will want to do that as soon as possible, since the competition is going to be stiff all season long. Although South Whidbey is a 2A school, scheduling concerns and a lack of tennis teams in the school’s North Cascades Conference force the Falcons to play against the bigger 3A Wesco schools. For other sports, the girls tennis schedule reads like a nightmare, full of matches against Everett, Jackson, Stanwood, and other huge, metropolitan schools. Not so for Falcon girls tennis. Though this year’s team is not as experienced as last year’s, recent history shows that South Whidbey’s girls are a match for almost any big-school team.Nonetheless, this season will probably be the last in which South Whidbey plays in the Wesco 3A. All the schools in the division will move up to 4A competition next fall, leaving the Falcons to hunt up some new opponents. Competition probably will not come from the NCC, which has only two other girls tennis teams — Lakewood and Blaine. True to form, Kramer said he is not thinking that far ahead. He just wants to get his team playing solid tennis. Nothing fancy. Defending the state championship is something he won’t think about.Last year is something that just happens, he said.The varsity Falcons open their season at home Tuesday against Monroe, while the junior varsity team travels to face the Bearcats on their home turf. Both meets start at 3:30 p.m. “