Shmotolokha wins singles tennis title

Sehome High School’s Max Shmotolokha became the 2A District singles tennis champion on Tuesday, Oct. 20, with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Emahd Khan from Shorecrest High School.

In doubles, Shorecrest’s Daniel Wacker and Faiz Kahn earned the championship title over Reece Gilbert and Shane Lynette from Sehome with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win.

“Max has been our No. 1 player for years,” Sehome coach Bonna Giller said in a phone interview. “He’s been to state the last three years. His expectation was to win the district title.”

Gilbert and Lynette were undefeated singles players for Sehome throughout the season, and were put together as a doubles team just days before the district tournament.

“Sometimes great singles players don’t equate to a great doubles team but it worked well this time,” Giller said.

Sehome was the overall district champion with 23 points for the tournament, Shorecrest was second at 17 points and Bellingham High School was third with 11 points.

The top two singles players and the top two doubles team from the district championship will go on to compete at the 2016 State Championship May 27-28, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Shmotolokha wins singles tennis title."