PREP BOYS' TENNIS: Sehome claims NWC title with quick victory

DANNY GAWLOWSKI | DANNY GAWLOWSKI THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

• Boys' Tennis: Bellingham vs. Sehome

The victory for Sehome (13-0, 8-0) came 24 hours after a 5-2 victory over Squalicum, which also was previously unbeaten in Northwest Conference play.

"The last two days we've played, I think have been the strongest we've played all year," Sehome coach Bonna Giller said. "We called for them to step up to the challenge, and they did. As a coach, that's great to see."

Perhaps most impressive was Will Topp's 6-0, 6-0 victory over Kyle Buckham at No. 1 singles.

Topp, who improved his record to 12-0 on the season, did a good job of working the ball around the court, side-to-side and front-to-back, and capitalizing on nearly every mistake that Buckham made.

"I think (Buckham) can play a lot better than he did today," Topp said. "He just had an off day."

And Topp certainly did not.

"Will played a lot better today than he did (Tuesday in a win over Squalicum's Peter Cho)," Giller said. "He was hitting the ball much more cleanly. It's not that he played bad (Tuesday), but he was pushing his shots a little."

Also showing great improvement Wednesday was Evan Madill at No. 2 singles, who rebounded from his first loss of the season to beat Bellingham's Andrew Troutman 6-1, 6-2.

"I just tried to learn from my mistakes and improve," Madill said. "Some days you're just going to play better than others. All you can do is learn from your losses."

That level of maturity impressed his coach.

"Evan played very solid after a tough loss to (Squalicum's) Jake Turk," Giller said. "It says a lot about his character. I'm not sure he rebounds like that a year ago. It was great to see."

Micah Koenig gave the Mariners three singles wins with his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Diego Oliver, and Sehome swept the doubles matches. Matt Goebel and Dustin Koenig got a 6-2, 6-4 win, Dane Siegfried and Patrick Sodt got a 6-2, 6-4 win and Eli Davis and Cole McIlvaine grabbed a 6-2, 6-1 win.

"They came out ready to play from the very beginning and they jumped on top in just about every match," Chronister said. "Sehome played a really great match. Now they're the champions, and they deserve it."

Sean Cooper managed to keep the match from being a clean sweep by the Mariners, as he had to work to beat William Giller and the darkness 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) at No. 3 singles. The marathon match lasted three hours and gave Bellingham (11-1, 6-1) something to cheer about.

"I think we played some pretty good second sets at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles," Chronister said. "And obviously Sean played a great match. But Sehome took control of this match early."

Both coaches said they will use the remaining week and a half of play to ready their teams for the Class 2A Northwest District Tournament, which will be held the week of Oct. 20 at Sehome High School.

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.

SEHOME 6, BELLINGHAM 1

Singles: Will Topp (Sehome) def. Kyle Buckham 6-0, 6-0; Evan Madill (Sehome) def. Andrew Troutman 6-1, 6-2; Sean Cooper (Bellingham) def. William Giller 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5); Micah Koenig (Sehome) def. Diego Oliver 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles: Matt Goebel/Dustin Koenig (Sehome) def. Reed Welch/Ethan McKell 6-2, 6-4; Dane Siegfried/Patrick Sodt (Sehome) def. Andrew Clarke/Reilly Kintzele 6-2, 6-4; Eli Davis/Cole McIlvaine (Sehome) def. Alex Hong/Kevin Taff 6-2, 6-1

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