PREP GIRLS' TENNIS: Pearce won’t let defeat get her down

Andy Bronson | ANDY BRONSON THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

• Girls' Tennis: 2A Northwest District Tournament

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“By eighth grade, I was pretty much back to normal,” Pearce said. “But it was after many long nights in the hospital.”

Pearce said doctors believe her allergies to gluten, wheat and dairy products may be one of the causes for the onset of the illness.

Today, she said she manages the disease by taking “about 70” vitamins per day and sticking to a gluten-free, dairy-free diet

“It’s a chronic illness, so it’s something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life,” Pearce said. “Sometimes that can be kind of scary. But it’s something I need to do. I just do things that I love to take my mind off it all.”

The one thing Pearce loves most of all is playing tennis.

“Tennis is kind of my medicine,” she said. “It’s so fun being on the court and hearing the sound of the racket hitting the ball. It’s kind of cheesy, but I really love playing tennis.”

She even loves to play when her game has left her a little, such as it did at times during Thursday’s loss to Rooney.

After dropping the first set, Pearce battled back to the take the second.

During that second set, Rooney was “stunned” a little by a fall.

“Maddie made a real nice shot that I was reaching for,” Rooney said. “I didn’t realize I was going down, but all of a sudden I was sliding across the surface. It stunned me a little bit ... I allowed it to get me out of my game, but I was able to come back strong.”

The third set was tied 3-3 with Pearce serving numerous times for game point, but each time Rooney managed to win the point to bring it back to deuce.

“Maddie got the advantage so many times, but she just couldn’t get that winner,” Bellingham coach Steve Chronister said. “Give Veronica credit, because she played a really tough match.”

Rooney eventually won the game and swept the next two to take the match.

The loss was only the third of the year for Pearce (15-3), who split time between No. 1 and No. 3 singles for the Red Raiders depending upon whether Molly Beaumont and Mandy Hatch were playing singles or doubles.

Now Pearce needs to win three straight consolation matches to grab the third and final seed out of the district to the May 23- 24 Class 2A state tournament. Her first match will come against teammate Michelle Klein at noon today.

“I’m certainly hoping I can do it,” Pearce said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Rooney won’t have an easy road to state, either, as she next faces South Whidbey’s Lindsay Newman in a noon semifinal today. Newman, who is the defending 2A singles state champion, enters today’s match with a perfect 16-0 record and did not lose a game in her two firstround matches Thursday.

“She’s tough,” Rooney said of Newman. “I think I got a game off her last time. I’ll just have to go out and play my best and see what happens.”

To play her best, Rooney will need to make a quick recovery from a pair of marathon three-set matches. Before facing Pearce, Rooney topped Sehome’s Karen Frankenfeld in the single-elimination first round 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, and the fatigue showed at times between points late in the quarterfinal match.

“I’m exhausted right now,” Rooney said. “But I’m very happy.”

Also advancing to the tournament semifinals were Burlington Edison’s Jayne Thomas and Lynden’s Erica Bosman.

Bosman, who was the singles runner-up to Newman at state last year, matched Newman by winning all 24 games she played Thursday.

Bellingham advanced a pair of doubles teams to the semifinals. Hatch and Beaumont, the defending 2A doubles state champions, breezed to a pair of straight-set victories, dropping only two games in the process.

They’ll be joined on the other side of the bracket by Shannon Gowan and Sarah Twiford, who beat Seahome’s Chloe Tull and Anna Sather 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.

“Obviously, we’re happy to have both doubles teams through,” Chronister said.

Gowan and Twiford will face Lynden’s Jill Toronchuk and Brandi Benner, who had to come back for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Sehome’s Emma Cowan-Young and Christie Thompson. The unbeaten Lynden duo (15-0) were runners-up to Hatch and Beaumont last year at state and entered the district tournament as the top seed and the defending district champions.

South Whidbey’s Victoria Comfort and Nicole Zalewski are the fourth doubles team in the semifinals and will face Beaumont and Hatch at 2 p.m. today.

Second day action starts at noon today, and championship and third-place matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.