This weekend was a lot of fun for the guys. They got to see and play some great tennis in the special 8-team event at the Portland Tennis Center. This tournament featured the one of the top 2 high school tennis teams from every conference across the state of Oregon. Each team ranked and placed their players in 8 categories (#1-4 singles and #1-4 doubles). After the line-ups were entered, the tournament director created an individual bracket of 8 players or doubles teams for each position in the line-up. As a result, each of our Grizzly participants competed in a "mini-tournament" against players from each of the 7 other schools represented at the event. The tournament started at 9am on Friday morning and finished around 2pm on Saturday afternoon. Our guys played some great matches and finished 7th out of 8 at the event. We were close to finishing 6th behind Clackamas, who earned 2 more points than us this weekend. Below are the final team standings, along with the individual results for our players in each of their respective brackets.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:
1. South Eugene - 55 pts.
2. Barlow - 28 pts.
3. Sprague - 27 pts.
4. Wilson - 26 pts.
5. Cleveland - 19.5 pts.
6. Clackamas - 15 pts.
7. McMinnville - 13 pts.
8. Lake Oswego - 7 pts.
#1 SINGLES: (Jesse Stahl - finished T7th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Jesse lost to Matt Casey (Wilson -3rd place finish) 0-6, 4-6
Consolation Semifinals - Jesse lost to Brent Wheeler (Sprague - 5th place finish) 3-8
#2 SINGLES: (Alex Worth - finished T7th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Alex lost to Paul Warner (Wilson - 2nd place finish) 2-6, 0-6
Consolation Semifinals - Alex lost to Chris Aholt (Lake Oswego - 6th place finish) 4-8
#3 SINGLES: (Micah Bristow - finished 6th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Micah lost to Eli Zauner (South Eugene - 1st place finish) 0-6, 2-6
Consolation Semifinals - Micah defeated Kevin Phuong (Clackamas) 8-4
5th Place Match - Micah lost to Todd Johnson (Wilson) 4-6, 6-1, 3-6
#4 SINGLES: (Casey Baker - TOURNAMENT CHAMPION!!!)
Quarterfinals - Casey defeated Kyle Helm (Barlow) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Semifinals - Casey defeated Vic Burlaka (Clackamas) 7-5, 6-3
Championship - Casey defeated David Govshtein (Wilson) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
#1 DOUBLES: (Chris Colvin/Myles Horton - T7th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Chris/Myles lost to Ryan Kingzett/Alex Motsch (1st place finish) 2-6, 0-6
Consolation Semifinals - Chris/Myles lost to Austin Winters/Dan Cohrs (LO) 6-8
#2 DOUBLES: (Russell Jarmer/Connor White - 4th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Russell/Connor def. Kevin Huang/Riley Zhao (Clack) 6-2, 6-0
Semifinals - Russell/Connor lost to Stefan Schirle/Ryan McAfee (Barlow) 4-6, 3-6
3rd Place Match - Russell/Connor lost to Diego Molina/Paul Beard (LO) 1-6, 0-6
#3 DOUBLES: (Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson - 4th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Nathan/Adam def. Alec Berkley/Dylan Stokes (Wilson) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
Semifinals - Nathan/Adam lost to Reid Martin/Jack Smith (LO) 1-6, 2-6
3rd Place Match - Nathan/Adam lost to David Ho/Anthony Thammavong (Clack) 6-3, 2-6, 1-6
#4 DOUBLES: (Will Worth/Ben Lewis - 6th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Will/Ben lost to Austin Schwartz/Zac Blume (Barlow - 2nd place) 4-6, 4-6
Consolation Semifinals - Will/Ben defeated Brandon Khor/Andrew Le (Wilson) 8-4
5th Place Match - Will/Ben lost to Brian Knees/Scott Kreeager (LO) 6-7(2), 4-6
Overall, the kids played very well this weekend against tough opponents, many of whom will most likely qualify for the state tournament in their respective leagues this spring season. Although Jesse and Alex lost both of their matches, they played at a very high level against tough opponents. At No. 3, Micah had a tough draw playing the eventual champion from South Eugene in the 1st round. However, he bounced back winning 8-4 over an opponent from Clackamas, before losing a tough battle in 3 sets to a strong player from Wilson for 5th place in the 3 Singles bracket. Casey was the player of the tournament for us, and received the customary "GAME BALLS" for both days of competition. He played more games than most players did this weekend, and played with a smart gamestyle, mixing slices with hard groundstrokes . . . and his efforts led him to become tournament champion in the No. 4 Singles Bracket! Excellent job Casey!
In doubles, Chris and Myles played the eventual champions from South Eugene in the 1st round, and got off to a great start winning the 1st two games of the match. However, the players from SE started making some incredible volleys and outlasted our Grizzlies in that match. At the No. 2 spot Connor and Russell played a great 1st round match only succumbing 2 games all match! In the semi-finals they played a tough team from Barlow and lost in 2 close sets 4-6, 3-6. In the 3rd place match, they faced the "twin towers" from Lake Oswego. Their opponents both stood around the 6'3 or 6'4 mark and had big serves to go along with their height (one was also an exchange student from Ecuador). The big hitting team went on to win 6-1, 6-0 to claim 3rd place. With the absence of Jake and Kevin (normal No. 3 doubles team), Adam and Nathan slid up one stop in the line-up to the No. 3 doubles spot. They rose to the occasion by playing aggressive yet consistent tennis to win their opening round match over a talented team from Wilson in 3 sets. In the semi-finals they ran into a team from Lake Oswego who liked to "swing for the fences" on every shot. Unfortunately, these 2 were on the money during the match and outlasted Adam and Nathan 6-1, 6-2. In the 3rd place match the next day, Adam and Nathan played a skilled team from Clackamas and got off to a great start, winning the opening set 6-3, before losing 2-6, 1-6 in the final two. Finally, at the No. 4 doubles spot Will Worth and Ben Lewis (who had never played together before in competition) brought a great deal of energy into their matches, and had a great weekend of tennis. They lost their opening match 4-6, 4-6 to a talented team from Barlow, won the 2nd match over a team from Wilson, and lost a close match in 2 close sets in the 5th place match to a team from Lake Oswego 6-7(2), 4-6, despite a back injury from Will that occurred at the beginning of the 2nd set. Later in the match he was able to win a few points off of his "underhand spin serve" which provided entertainment for all who were watching the match!
All in all, the my goals for the weekend were achieved by the guys. They competed hard, were successful in their matches, gained valuable insights about how to play and win at a high level, became accustomed to tournament play (which we will be our format in our District Tournament and at the State Tournament), were exposed to what the level of competition will be like at the State Tournament this May, and most importantly, they had a lot of fun watching and playing tennis, and while bonding as a team. The guys really stepped up their intensity, focus, and level of play this weekend, and I am very pleased with their efforts this weekend. We are at the half-way point in our season and the team has played very well up to this point. From here on out I will challenge the guys to raise their level of intensity, focus, energy, and skills so that we can achieve our overall team goal of winning the Pacific Conference regular-season and district tournament championships. The kids are on the right track to achieving this goal, and will continue to improve and be successful at their current rate of achievement and improvement! Thanks to all who provided snacks and drinks for us this weekend (the Whites, Cases, Johnsons, Kiffs) and to those who traveled up to Portland to watch us play.
Take care.
-Coach Gabrielsen
