BELLINGHAM — Erica Bosman’s joyful yell and fist pump was all that need to be said after the singles final at Saturday’s Class 2A Northwest District girls’ tennis tournament.

The Lynden senior was back on top of the district — the same place she had been just two years before as a sophomore.

“This feels so good,” Bosman said after beating South Whidbey’s Lindsay Newman in a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 thriller. “Last year I just couldn’t get it done, and then to get back here this year. It feels great.”

If anybody understood how Bosman felt on a day that saw all four matches go three sets, it was probably teammates Jill Toronchuk and Brandi Benner. The duo defended their district doubles title and got a little revenge against the team that beat them in last spring’s 2A state title match by earning a 6- 3, 2-6, 6-2 win over Bellingham’s Molly Beaumont and Mandy Hatch.

With the two titles, Lynden, which finished fifth in the Northwest Conference standings, backed up its district title from last year. The Lions finished with 16 points to 13 for Bellingham and 11 for South Whidbey.

“I’m not surprised at all by these girls,” Lynden coach Trey Ballard said. “All three of them have worked so hard. They’ve put in the time outside of practice and worked on things they needed to work on. They all played great tennis today. I couldn’t be prouder of what they accomplished, but I’m not surprised.”

If there was a surprise Saturday, it may have been Blaine’s Veronica Rooney grabbing the third and final singles berth to the May 23-24 state tournament in Seattle with her 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Burlington-Edison’s Jayne Thomas in the third-place match.

The heart-breaker of the day for Whatcom County tennis fans was Bellingham’s Shannon Gowan and Sarah Twiford falling short on their bid to earn a trip to state in a third-set tiebreaker after digging out of a 3- 1 hole. South Whidbey’s Victoria Comfort and Nicole Zalewski claimed a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory to earn the last trip to state, leaving Gowan and Twiford as state alternates.

“The level of tennis we saw in all four matches today was just amazing,” Ballard said. “Every court was fun to watch.”

Ballard obviously had the most fun watching what was happening on the two center courts where his Lions battled for district titles against the opponents that kept them from state titles just less than a year ago.

When Newman won the first set of Saturday’s district singles final with a shot that caught the net and barely managed to bounce over for the point, Bosman admitted she wondered if she was on her way to a fourth straight loss to the South Whidbey junior.

“I was really frustrated after that first set,” Bosman said. “And I started to wonder what was going on. But I went out in the second set and found my rhythm.”

After giving up a break midway through the second set, Bosman got the advantage back at 5-4 and then served for the winner to ensure that all four matches would go three sets. It was the first set that Newman had lost all year, according to Ballard, and momentum was on Bosman’s side when she went up 4-1 in the third.

But the defending state champ was as cool as the blue shoes she wore, battling back to take a 5-4 advantage.

Bosman evened it at five by winning her serve and then broke Newman’s serve to claim a 6-5 lead.

When Newman was long on match point, Bosman was able to celebrate regaining her crown as district champion.

“She is an amazing player,” Bosman said of Newman. “You think you’ve made a great shot against her, and then she gets to it and returns it. She’s as good as they get, and it feels good to win this one.”

Benner and Toronchuk took control of the first set in their match when they broke Hatch and Beaumont’s serve to take a 5-3 lead.

But momentum quickly shifted as Bellingham took control of the second set and won 6-2.

“We know they are a good team, and we didn’t expect them to just roll over after the first set,” Toronchuk said.

“We just had to stay confident and keep playing hard, and we got things turned around,” Benner said.

Though Benner and Toronchuk will enjoy Saturday’s win, they know it’s a strong possibility the two pairs could face again in less than two weeks at state. And just maybe it will be with another state title hanging in the balance.

“We’re just honored to be going back to state, and we’re excited to see what we can do,” Benner said.

Rooney shares that excitement; as the junior qualified for her first state tournament with her hard-fought win.

Gutsy victories are nothing new for Rooney, who seemed to spend just about as much time lying on the court after sacrificing her body for a shot as she did standing on it during the tournament.

Saturday marked the third time Rooney went to three sets in three days — she ended up winning all three.

“I’ve been working so hard for this,” said Rooney, who admitted she’s looking forward to the nearly two weeks of rest before the start of the state tournament. “It feels so good to see it pay off. I’m really looking forward to playing at state.”

Rooney began to take control of the third set when she broke Thomas at 3-3.

“We both wanted this so bad,” Rooney said. “We both wanted to go to state, and she kept winning her serve and I kept winning mine. Somebody had to break serve to win it, and I was able to do that at 3-3 ... I feel exhausted right now, but it feels so good to know I’m going to state.”