All-Bellingham semifinal set in 2A girls’ tennis state draw
Though he has two doubles tandems playing in a Class 2A State Semifinal at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Bellingham coach Steve Chronister admits he may not watch all of the match.
“When it gets to that point and you have two teams going against each other, you really can’t coach them — they’re going to have to do it on their own,” Chronister said in a phone interview. “I’ll probably watch the other match and scout who they’ll be playing.”
Ellie Iwersen and Oriana LoCicero advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set in the first two rounds on Friday, May 27, a feat that was matched by teammates Sophia Lawrence and Alice Hiebert.
“They just got after it so well,” Chronister said. “I’m so proud of the way they all played. The hit the ball and competed.”
Chronister said the race for the team championship has come down to Bellingham, Sehome and North Kitsap.
Another doubles semifinalist
Sehome’s Lauren Smith and Andrea Zucchi also swept into the other semifinal with a pair of straight-set victories on Friday. They will face Franklin Pierce’s Lauren Baker and Maddy Ross on Saturday.
“They’re doing well, as expected,” Sehome coach Bonna Giller said in a phone interview. “They’ve got a couple of tough matches (Saturday).”
A win would set up the third straight all-Whatcom County 2A girls’ doubles final and the sixth in the past nine years.
Michelutti starts strong
Squalicum singles player Catherine Michelutti cruised to the semifinals in the singles draw, dropping only three games in her first two matches on Friday. She beat Bremerton’s Sarah Casia 6-2, 6-1 and Tumwater’s Nicole Howard 6-0, 6-0.
She will face Foster’s Ana Rios in the semifinals.
Sehome’s Ali Morrow advanced to the quarterfinals, but lost to North Kitsap’s Danya Wallia. She rebounded in the consolation bracket to secure at least a seventh-place medal and possibly a fourth.
Class 2A Girls’ tennis state tournament singles results
Player | School | Round: Opponent (School) | Result |
Catherine Michelutti | Squalicum | First: Sarah Casias (Bremerton) Quarter: Nicole Howard (Tumwater) | W 6-2, 6-1 W 6-0, 6-0 |
Ali Morrow | Sehome | First: Bridget Calvert (Cheney) Quarter: Danya Wallis (North Kitsap) Cons: Rachel Wilkerson (Centralia) | W 6-1, 6-2 L 6-0, 6-0 W 6-1, 6-2 |
Class 2A Girls’ tennis state tournament doubles results
Players | School | Round: Opponents (School) | Result |
Lauren Smith/Andrea Zucchi | Sehome | First: Stella Fosberg/Chloe Watson (Highline) Quarter: Sarah Kaufman/Sophie Bird (Ridgefield) | W 6-1, 6-1 W 6-1, 6-2 |
Ellie Iwersen/Oriana LoCicero | Bellingham | First: Megan Cragg/Gillian Grennan (North Kitsap) Quarter: Hayden Blaser/Hannah Jeffries (Centralia) | W 6-0, 6-3 W 6-3, 6-0 |
Sophia Lawrence/Alice Hiebert | Bellingham | First: Alexa Yadama/Ana D'Acosta (Pullman) Quarter: Sarah Hamal/Emma Saas (Kingston) | W 6-2, 6-1 W 6-3, 6-4 |
This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "All-Bellingham semifinal set in 2A girls’ tennis state draw."