Coupeville sends 3 to 2nd day of district play | Tennis

Coupeville High School singles player Allie Hanigan and the doubles duo of Wynter Thorne and Jacki Ginnings are still alive for a tri-district berth after the first day of the District 1A Tennis Tournament at South Whidbey High School Tuesday, May 13.

Coupeville High School singles player Allie Hanigan and the doubles duo of Wynter Thorne and Jacki Ginnings are still alive for a tri-district berth after the first day of the District 1A Tennis Tournament at South Whidbey High School Tuesday, May 13.

The Wolves need to win two consecutive matches Friday, May 16, to earn a trip to tri-district.

Tuesday’s district action was played in high heat and a number of players were forced to default because of the exhaustion or dehydration, but all the Wolves were well-hydrated and completed their matches, according to coach Ken Stange.

Hanigan won 6-0, 7-6(12-10) in the first round over South Whidbey’s Kendra Warwick. After an easy first set, Hanigan needed to break serve to force a second-set tiebreaker.

Hanigan then fell to Blaine’s Saskia Dolk 6-1, 6-4.

Dolk went on to claim first.

Next, Hanigan stopped Friday Harbor’s Yasmin Sarah 6-1, 3-2. Sarah retired from heat exhaustion in the second set, Stange said.

Hanigan will play Nooksack Valley’s Abbie Steele at 11 a.m. Friday, May 16, in Coupeville. If Hanigan wins, she heads back to Langley for a winner-to-tri-district, loser-out match.

Thorne and Ginnings dropped their opening match to state veterans and eventual district champions Amelia Weeks and Tess Radisch of South Whidbey 6-2, 6-0.

The Wolves bounced back for a 6-3, 6-3 win over a pair from Friday Harbor.

“They (Thorne and Ginnings) were playing well together,” Stange said. “They have good chemistry. In particular, they are quite supportive of each other.”

Thorne and Ginnings then upset the tournament’s second seed, another Friday Harbor team, 6-7(4-7), 6-4, 6-0.

“It was some of the best tennis either of them has ever played,” Stange said.”They cruised in the final set, even though both of them were exhausted from playing six sets already. I’m very proud of their effort. They deserved the win.”

Thorne and Ginnings travel to South Whidbey Friday and need to win two more matches to earn the district’s No. 2 seed into tri-district.

In other action, Coupeville’s Maureen Rice lost a play-in match to South Whidbey’s Colleen Groce 6-2, 6-2.

Sydney Aparicio and Sydney Autio lost 7-5, 6-3 in the first round to a team from Friday Harbor, then fell to a Blaine duo 7-6(7-1), 6-1 and were eliminated.