Renninger, Aparicio take 4th in state tournament / Tennis

By Jim Waller • May 27, 2018 1:30 am
Coupeville’s Payton Aparicio, left, and Sage Renniger, right, pose with South Whidbey’s Alison Papritz, second from left, and Mary Zisette at the state 1A tennis tournament. The Coupeville pair placed fourth in the tournament while the Falcons finished second. (Photo courtesy of Ken Stange)
Coupeville’s Payton Aparicio, left, and Sage Renniger, right, pose with South Whidbey’s Alison Papritz, second from left, and Mary Zisette at the state 1A tennis tournament. The Coupeville pair placed fourth in the tournament while the Falcons finished second. (Photo courtesy of Ken Stange)

Coupeville High School seniors Sage Renninger and Payton Aparicio trimmed their fine high school tennis careers with a fancy bow, taking fourth place in the state 1B/2B/1A doubles tournament Friday and Saturday, May 25 and 26, at the Yakima Tennis Center.

The pair have teamed up since beginning their high school careers four years ago and won three Olympic League doubles titles along the way.

In this year’s state tournament, they lost only one of four matches, falling to defending state champions Amanda Lin and Maria Russinovich of Overlake in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in the second round. The Overlake duo went on to win their second straight championship, defeating South Whidbey’s Alison Papritz and Mary Zisette 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 for the crown.

Renninger and Aparicio opened the tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Chelan’s Sierra Rothlisberger and Madeline Peebles.

After losing to Lin and Russinovich, the Wolves, coached by Ken Stange, posted a comeback win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Kendra Gray and Gillian Hartman of Lakeside (Nine Miles Falls).

Renninger and Aparicio then whipped Elizabeth Grubb and Katie Keiffer-Jenkins of Chewalah for fourth place.

In team scoring, Coupeville placed in a tie for eighth with 8 points; Cashmere and Overlake shared the title with 11 points.

The fourth place was the best by a Coupeville tennis player since Taniel Lamb and Mindy Horr finished second in 2005.

Stange said the “bumps and bruises” Renninger and Aparicio suffered as freshmen resulted in “a bunch of wins.”

“Before arriving at the state tournament this weekend, they played six state doubles teams from 1A and 2A schools,” Stange said. “That experience, along with countless hours of extra work, brought them to the big dance.”

“It’s been a delight to work with Payton and Sage, two of the calmest players I have ever know,” he added. “I’ve worked with some talented young women over the last 13 seasons; Payton and Sage are the most talented pair I have ever seen at CHS.”