SEATTLE — Sequim’s Garrett Little finished third and Kendall Hastings eighth in the boys and girls state 2A tennis championships held at the Nordstrom Tennis Center this weekend.
Little won three out of four matches to take third. The only opponent who beat him was Josh Chou of Sammamish in the semifinals. Chou went on to win the state 2A championship.
Though boys tennis is a fall sport, the state championships are held in the spring along with girls tennis.
Little beat Jeffrey Truong of Fort Vancouver 6-2, 6-1, then followed that up with a 7-6, 6-0 win over Vijay Lin of Pullman to move into the state semifinals. He was beaten by Chou 6-1, 6-0, putting him in the third-place match.
Little then beat Zach Chai of Sehome 5-7, 6-1, default to get third.
Hastings lost her opening match 6-2, 6-3 to Tiffany Phout of East Valley (Spokane). Phout finished second in the state.
Hastings rebounded by beating Grace Gama of Ridgefield 6-2, 6-2 then Justine Bang of Sammamish 6-4, 6-3. She lost to Molly Romanchock of Hockinson 6-3, 7-5 to finish eighth.
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The Roughriders sent a singles player, Reef Gelder, and a doubles team, Damon Gundersen and Michael Soule to the boys tournament.
Gelder lost in the first round to Chou 6-1, 6-1. In the 2nd round, Gelder played against Matthew Rutz of Anacortes, losing 6-4, 6-2.
“We knew how loaded the singles bracket was going into the tournament and Reef had some really good moments, particularly against Rutz. It was a great learning opportunity and with Reef coming back next year, we’re excited to build on this opportunity to make another run in the fall,” said coach Brian Gundersen.
The doubles duo of Gundersen and Soule faced off against a familiar foe in Josh Smith and Drake Jones of North Kitsap in the first round, losing 6-1, 6-4. In the second round, Gundersen and Soule got off to a good start, winning the first set against Mikey Nester and Ryan Gruber of Ridgefield, but lost the next two to fall 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“Damon and Mike played well, especially considering how busy they have been with other athletic pursuits this year,” Gundersen said. “It was obviously a thrill to get to this level coaching my son and a close family friend that I’ve known forever. I was proud of all three boys and they represented themselves, their families and their school with class.”
Gelder returns next fall for his senior year, while Gundersen is off to Oregon State University and Soule is headed to Western Washington University.
