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POSTED: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

PREP BOYS' TENNIS: Sehome sends four entries to state

Sports Desk - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - This year, there will be no six months of waiting and wondering, and there certainly won't be any heartbreak in early spring.

Sehome's singles player Evan Madill is in the Class 2A State Boys' Tennis Championships next May - he secured his spot with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over South Whidbey's Van Morgan in the third-place match on Saturday, Oct. 24, in the 2A Northwest District Tournament at Sehome High School.

"The most important thing at the district tournament is to make sure you get into state," Madill said. "I'm happy that I accomplished that, and I'm looking forward to going back to state."

LEEANN HERREA | FOR THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Madill advanced to the 2A state singles draw as a sophomore, winning his first-round match, before dropping his next two. He thought he had secured a return trip as a junior last year when he finished third at the district tournament, but because it was a reclassification year, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association did not release the number of seeds each district got until the spring when it had an accurate count of how many schools were participating in the sport. When the numbers came out, the Northwest District was awarded only two berths for fall 2008, and Madill was left out as an alternate.

But the district got three berths this year, meaning Madill's third-place finish Saturday was enough to get him back to state.

"It was so important for Evan to go to state as a senior," Sehome coach Bonna Giller said. "It was important to everybody on our team to see him do it, because he worked so hard to go there."

Madill is far from the only Mariner going to state, though, as Sehome qualified four total entries. It was the first time the school had accomplished the feat, according to Sehome athletic director Colin Cushman.

William Giller and Bjorn Thorpe joined Madill by qualifying for state on Saturday, as they came back to beat Lynden's Briley Benner and Andrew Blair 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles third-place match.

"The No. 1 goal for this team was to get four teams through to state," Bonna Giller said. "I'm so proud of the effort they all put in to accomplish this. It was a team goal, and I think they started to put a little peer pressure on each other to get it done out here. They all saw Evan do it first, and then it just kind of spurred the other guys on."

The Mariners entered the day with two entries already locked up, after Will Topp grabbed a singles semifinal victory and Matt Goebel and Myles West did the same in the doubles draw on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Goebel and West, who entered as the top doubles seed, went on to win the district title, beating Bellingham's Andrew Troutman and Kyle Buckham 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in a very-well played championship match by both teams.

"That was some outstanding tennis there," Bonna Giller said. "I thought Andrew and Kyle played great for Bellingham, and it took a great match by Matt and Myles to win that one."

About the only thing that didn't go the Mariners' way on Saturday was Topp falling to South Whidbey's Riley Newman 6-3, 6-4 in the singles championship match, which was a rematch of the previous two district title matches and last year's state championship showdown.

Sehome still easily claimed the team district crown with 24 points. South Whidbey was second with 12, while Bellingham finished third with 10.

"I'm really proud of what this team accomplished," William Giller said. "All the effort that all these guys put in really showed today, and it's exciting to be taking this many people to state."

After the first set of Saturday's third-place doubles match, it was hard not to wonder if Sehome's dream of sending four entries to state one year after winning the team state championship with three entries was in jeopardy. Benner and Blair were in control of their state-qualifying match and seemed to have William Giller and Thorpe off their game.

"I was very concerned after that first set," Bonna Giller said. "I had to give one of my famous speeches after that one - one of those 'You have got to get going' types of things."

The speech worked, as William Giller and Thorpe, who were paired together in only their eighth match after spending most of the regular season at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, quickly took command in the second and third sets.

"I think we got a little mad at ourselves, and we started playing together better when we moved our feet better," Thorpe said.

Topp, who rolled his left ankle during his semifinal victory over Morgan on Thursday, didn't appear to have any problem with his mobility on Saturday against Newman. He wore a brace and did a good job covering the court.

The defending state champion definitely challenged Topp and his mobility with a number of well-placed shots.

"Riley just was just playing great," Bonna Giller said. "We would have loved to have seen Will win that match, but our game plan coming in was to get all four teams through to state, and we're happy we were able to do that."

In about seven months, they'll get to see if getting an extra entry to state is enough to help them defend their team title.

"It's going to be pretty exciting playing for a state title this spring," Madill said. "It was fun watching it all happen last year, but I'm looking forward to being on the court and helping the team go after it this year."

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

ON TO STATE

State qualifiers from the Class 2A Northwest District Boys' Tennis Tournament:

SINGLES

1. Riley Newman, South Whidbey

2. Will Topp, Sehome

3. Evan Madill, Sehome

Alternate: Van Morgan, South Whidbey

DOUBLES

1. Matt Goebel and Myles West, Sehome

2. Andrew Troutman and Kyle Buckham, Bellingham

3. William Giller and Bjorn Thorpe, Sehome