Playing against a team they had seen twice before this year, the Falcon boys tennis team could not produce many wins as it faced off against the Blaine Borderites in a two-team sub-district tournament Wednesday.
On their home courts at South Whidbey High School, the Falcons posted one championship in doubles, but must wait at least a week before they know if any of the team’s singles players or if its number-two doubles team will qualify for the district meet.
District athletic officials have yet to name a date and place for the meet, which was originally planned for next spring. Protests from coaches convinced the officials to try for a fall date this year.
Winning big for the Falcons this week were Brian Wilson and Michael Berry. A late-season pairing at the top doubles position, the duo dismantled Blaine’s Freal and Werdal in the first round 6-1, 6-3, then dispatched Borderites Stauffer and Hamburg 6-3, 6-3 to take the title.
Dustin Sidhu and Bill Schneeman, the Falcons’ second team, had less luck with Stauffer and Hamburg. They lost 6-4, 6-4 to the Blaine pairing in the first round before recovering for a drawn out but symmetrical 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win over Freal and Werdal in a third-place match.
At singles, the Falcons fell victim to an upset. Top South Whidbey player George Spivikov lost a close 7-5, 6-4 match to Blaine’s Grant Sanders in the first round and did not earn the chance to play 2000 state tournament player Scott Bianchi in the second round. Spivikov and Bianchi had each beaten each other once this year and had been expected by their coaches to play the rubber match at sub-district.
Instead, Spivikov played freshman teammate Tim Klopfenstein in a third-place match. Spivikov, a senior, won handily by a 6-1, 6-0 score. Bianchi played and beat teammate Sanders for the championship.
Falcon coach Tom Kramer said his team will continue to work out until district officials decide on the date for the district tournament. Kramer said his third place finishers at the sub-district meet could qualify for the district meet if the contest has a small number of teams.
