South Whidbey High School brothers Levi and Ranger Buck are still in the running to qualify for the state tennis tournament after winning two of three matches at the first day of the Emerald City League Championships Saturday, Oct. 19, in Redmond.
The conference tournament, which actually is the Emerald City League, bi-district, 1A/2B/1B tournament all rolled into one, concludes Monday, Oct. 21, at the Woodinville Sports Club.
The first round of the ECL tournament was loser-out; the winners advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
The top three finishers in singles and doubles qualify for the state tournament, which is held in May because some Washington schools play boys tennis in the spring.
Senior Levi and sophomore Ranger opened the ECL doubles tournament with a 6-0, 6-2 win over a pair from Bear Creek.
They then lost 6-4, 6-2 to what mother and South Whidbey coach Karyle Kramer called a “sleeper team.” The duo from Seattle Academy did not play together in doubles this season prior to the tournament. Will Norden and Dimitri Vladimir went on to beat the top-seeded team in the semifinals and will play for the title Monday.
The Bucks bounced back to defeat a team from Eastside Prep 6-4, 6-1. The Falcons now face Sammy Yang and Declan Vail of Overlake Monday. The Owl pair beat the Bucks twice in close matches during the regular season.
“We’ll have to be playing our best tennis to take them out,” Kramer said.
If the Bucks prevail, they will need to win more more match to take third and claim a state berth.
South Whidbey’s other doubles team, senior Ben Roughsedge and sophomore Jordan Wu, had an “impressive match,” Kramer said, although they lost 6-3, 6-1 to a Seattle Academy team that went on to qualify for the championship match.
“They knew they were going up against a top team but didn’t fold and didn’t bow down,” Kramer said. “It was Ben’s last match (being a senior), and it was a respectable, inspirational one with which to exit.”
Falcon freshman Emmett Layman drew the No. 1 seed and current finalist Tyler Wurzer from University Prep in the singles tournament and lost 6-0, 6-0.
Sophomore Max Rodriguez lost to a Bush opponent 6-0, 6-1.
“Both guys are young and played against guys who had significantly more experience then them — hard to be disappointed or upset with either of them,” Kramer said. “They did the best they could do; they just played against better tennis players.”
South Whidbey and Coupeville are the only North Sound Conference schools which provide boys tennis, so the two teams compete in the tradition-rich Emerald City League. An ECL school has finished either first or second in the state tournament in nine of the past 10 years.
“Our bi-district team was relatively young — two seniors, three sophomores and a freshman,” Kramer said. “Overall, I’m proud of the entire team — their improvement and the way in which they conduct themselves on and off the court. Their sportsmanship is exemplary.”
