Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

PREP BOYS' TENNIS: Top singles, doubles seeds advance to 2A district semifinals

BELLINGHAM - Like a number of the pairs in the doubles draw for the Class 2A Northwest District Tournament, Bellingham's Kyle Buckham and Andrew Troutman played primarily singles through most of the regular season.

The seniors played together only five times in 16 matches before Tuesday, Oct. 20, winning all five.

Even though they played separately, there was never any doubt that they would be playing together when the postseason rolled around. After all, they had been doubles partners since their sophomore year, when they advanced to the 2A state tournament and placed sixth.

"Trout and I know each other so well," Buckham said. "We've been playing together so long, we know how each other moves and the strengths of each other's games. It doesn't take too long for us to come together and start clicking."

The Red Raiders duo had things clicking on Tuesday, on a cool, yet dry first day of the district tournament at Sehome High School, using two quick victories to advance to the tournament semifinals.

"The more you play together as a doubles team the stronger you get," Troutman said. "It takes a couple of games to get in a good flow playing with each other. I think we're getting there. ... I think there's always room for improvement as we continue to get back in the flow."

That could be scary for the other three teams that advanced to the doubles semifinals. Troutman and Buckham, who entered as the No. 2 seed in doubles, did not lose a game in their first-round win over Burlington-Edison's Etienne Luiten and Cody Saben, before they beat Squalicum's Ian Krause and Greyson Herdman 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

Buckham and Troutman were far from the only top seed to advance on Tuesday, as the top four seeds in both draws all moved on to the semifinals, which are scheduled to be played at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Sehome if the weather continues to be dry enough.

The top three seeds in the singles bracket were dominant, as expected. Sehome's Will Topp (No. 1) and Evan Madill (No. 3) and South Whidbey's Riley Newman (No. 2) each won a pair of 6-0, 6-0 matches to advance to the semifinals.

It was because of those three players that many coaches chose to move their top singles players into the doubles draw in the hopes that they could grab one of those three berths to state, instead.

Buckham and Troutman met up with one such pair in the quarterfinals, when they squared off with Krause and Herdman, who played doubles together only once during the regular season.

The Bellingham duo knew their Storm counterparts well, as they faced them in singles play last week during conference play. Buckham and Troutman each won their matches in straight sets in that Oct. 12 meeting.

"If you can beat somebody in singles, you'd like to think you can beat them in doubles," said Buckham, who looked strong despite battling flu-like symptoms the night before. "You know their strokes and you learn how to beat them, so we were confident coming in. I've played Ian a thousand times before, so I was definitely familiar with him."

Buckham and Troutman put that knowledge to good use, as they made quick work of the Storm duo and got within a win of earning a trip back to the state tournament.

After the disappointment of finishing fourth at the district tournament last year, both said nothing else would be acceptable.

"(Last year) is a huge motivation for us," Buckham said. "We didn't feel we played all that well, so we wanted to come in here and make sure we played our best this year. We want to make it back to state and get a district title if we can."

Buckham and Troutman aren't the only doubles teams in the semifinals looking to get back to state. Sehome's No. 1 team of Myles West and Matt Goebel and No. 2 team of William Giller and Bjorn Thorpe also advanced with a pair of wins Thursday. Though they have new playing partners this year, Goebel and Giller each made it to state and placed last year.

Giller and Thorpe advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-4 first-round win over South Whidbey's Zach Comfort and Harrison Price and a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lynden's Briley Benner and Andrew Blair in the quarterfinals.

Goebel and West, who entered as the doubles top seed, breezed past South Whidbey's Jonah Jolley and Erik Vanderbilt-Matthews 6-1, 6-0, but struggled in the quarterfinals. Anacortes' Tyler Hayes and Corey Geffe, who was playing on an ankle he rolled in the first round, won the first set 6-4.

"I rarely yell at my kids," Sehome coach Bonna Giller said. "I may raise my voice to make sure they hear me, but I don't yell that often. I yelled after that first set. I told them they needed to get going. I think I scared them a little bit. It was like throwing cold water on their face."

Goebel and West responded winning the second set 6-1 before closing it out with a 6-3 win in the third.

With their win, the Mariners have two singles players and two doubles teams in the semifinals. Last spring they won the state championship with three entries at state - a mark they hope to beat this year.

"To have all four teams one win away from qualifying for state is pretty impressive," Giller said. "Our guys played pretty good for the most part today, so we just need to keep it going."

In addition to Andrew Troutman and Buckham in the doubles semifinals, Bellingham still has Elias Troutman and Welch alive in the doubles consolation bracket and Reed Welch in singles consolation play.

Krause and Herdman are the only Squalicum players still alive. They will face Lynden's Benner and Blair in the first round of the consolation bracket on Wednesday. The Lions also still have Will VanderVeen in singles consolation play.

CLASS 2A NORTHWEST DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

At Sehome High School

Tuesday's results

Singles

Play-in matches

Brendan Riley (South Whidbey) def. Kurtis Reardon (Lynden) 6-0, 6-2; Kyle Hoback (Squalicum) def. Jack Lefebvre (Burlington-Edison) 7-5, 6-2; Josh Crowe (Bellingham) def. Jay Roper (Lynden) 6-3, 6-0; Dougal Brownlie (Squalicum) def. Michael Kim (Anacortes) 6-2, 6-0; J.J. Small (Burlington-Edison) def. Casey Hsu (Anacortes) 7-5, 6-0

First round

Will Topp (Sehome) def. Brendan Riley (South Whidbey) 6-0, 6-0; Will Stewart (Burlington-Edison) def. Tanner Larson (Squalicum) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Ethan McKell (Bellingham) def. Kyle Hoback (Squalicum) 6-3, 6-2; Van Morgan (South Whidbey) def. Josh Crowe (Bellingham) 6-0, 6-0; Evan Madill (Sehome) def. Dougal Brownlie (Squalicum) 6-0, 6-0; Tobias Goldman (Anacortes) def. Nick Smith (Sehome) 6-1, 6-0; Will VanderVeen (Lynden) def. Nolan Barniol (Bellingham) 6-3, 6-1; Riley Newman (South Whidbey) def. J.J. Small (Burlington-Edison) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals

Will Topp (Sehome) def. Will Stewart (Burlington-Edison) 6-0, 6-0; Van Morgan (South Whidbey) def. Ethan McKell (Bellingham) 6-4, 6-3; Evan Madill (Sehome) def. Tobias Goldman (Anacortes) 6-0, 6-0; Riley Newman (South Whidbey) def. Will VanderVeen (Lynden) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles

Play-in matches

Jonah Jolley/Erik Vanderbilt-Matthews (South Whidbey) def. Corey Campbell/Chris Archer (Anacortes) 7-5, 6-1; Travis McKee/Sebastian Kent (Lynden) def. Sean Higgins/Brandon Bessler (Anacortes) 6-1, 7-5; Payton Weidenbacher/Jake Davis (Sehome) def. Steve Raden/Malcom Donahoe (South Whidbey) 6-1, 6-0; Zach Comfort/Harrison Price (South Whidbey) def. Andrew Clarke/Reilly Kintzele (Bellingham) 6-2, 6-4; Etienne Luiten/Cody Saben (Burlington-Edison) def. Austen Wagner/Karl Shilhanek (Squalicum) 6-3, 6-0

First round

Matt Goebel/Myles West (Sehome) def. Jonah Jolley/Erik Vanderbilt-Matthews (South Whidbey) 6-1, 6-0; Corey Geffe/Tyler Hayes (Anacortes) def. Nathan Vail/Ryan Crawford (Squalicum) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Elias Troutman/Reed Welch (Bellingham) def. Travis McKee/Sebastian Kent (Lynden) 6-2, 6-1; Carson Thompson/Zach Holtzheimer (Burlington-Edison) def. Payton Weidenbacher/Jake Davis (Sehome) 6-4, 6-2; William Giller/Bjorn Thorpe (Sehome) def. Zach Comfort/Harrison Price (South Whidbey) 6-2, 6-1; Briley Benner/Andrew Blair (Lynden) def. Craig Babington/Brandon Jenkins (Burlington-Edison) 6-2, 6-1; Ian Krause/Greyson Herdman (Squalicum) def. Jacob West/Aaron Libolt (Lynden) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Andrew Troutman/Kyle Buckham (Bellingham) def. Etienne Luiten/Cody Saben (Burlington-Edison) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals

Matt Goebel/Myles West (Sehome) def. Corey Geffe/Tyler Hayes (Anacortes) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3; Carson Thompson/Zach Holtzheimer (Burlington-Edison) def. Elias Troutman/Reed Welch (Bellingham) 6-3, 6-3; William Giller/Bjorn Thorpe (Sehome) def. Briley Benner/Andrew Blair (Lynden) 6-1, 6-2; Andrew Troutman/Kyle Buckham (Bellingham) def. Ian Krause/Greyson Herdman (Squalicum) 6-3, 6-1

Wednesday's matches

Singles

Consolation first round

Will Stewart (Burlington-Edison) vs. Ethan McKell (Bellingham); Tobias Goldman (Anacortes) vs. Will VanderVeen (Lynden)

Championship semifinals

Will Topp (Sehome) vs. Van Morgan (South Whidbey); Evan Madill (Sehome) vs. Riley Newman (South Whidbey)

Doubles

Consolation first round

Corey Geffe/Tyler Hayes (Anacortes) vs. Elias Troutman/Reed Welch (Bellingham); Briley Benner/Andrew Blair (Lynden) vs. Ian Krause/Greyson Herdman (Squalicum)

Championship semifinals

Matt Goebel/Myles West (Sehome) vs. Carson Thompson/Zach Holtzheimer (Burlington-Edison); William Giller/Bjorn Thorpe (Sehome) vs. Andrew Troutman/Kyle Buckham (Bellingham)