Marcinkowski forced to become realist
Gonzaga Prep’s Alex Marcinkowski’s stated goal for his final trip to the State 4A boys singles tennis tournament is to bring home the second-place trophy. It’s not so much a lowered expectation as it is an acceptance of reality. The No. 1 singles player in the state, Mitch Stewart of Federal Way, is also the No. 1 singles player in the nation in his age group.
To reach his goal, Marcinkowski must reach the singles final Saturday at the end of the 4A singles and doubles tournaments, which will be held in Richland, split between the Columbia Basin Racquet Club and Richland High School.
His first step is a first-round match with Alex Lee of Thomas Jefferson on Friday.
The Lewis and Clark doubles team of Luke Brittan and Jordan Strandness open the boys doubles tournament in Richland with a first-round match Friday with Aadil Diwan and Randy Hyunh of Kentridge.
In the girls tournament in Richland, McKenzie Draper of Mead plays Lauren Thornquist of Auburn and teammate Micca Motzer plays Kristina Stevanovic of Mount Rainier in singles action Friday.
Dana Norris and Heather Birge of Mead play Alli Baitsta and Gemma Robinson of Olympia in a first-round doubles match.
In the 3A tournament in Kennewick, at the Tri-City Court Club and Kamiakin High School, Austin Carlin of Mt. Spokane opens singles play when he faces Jordan Richardson of Lakes in a first-round match.
In Seattle at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, the 2A tournament sees Clarkston’s Ryan Adams opening singles play against Ethan Romney of Sammamish.
The girls singles tournament has Callie Hanson of East Valley opening against Cecilia Vu of Evergreen while Stephanie Her of Pullman opens against Mattie Wilsie of Franklin Pierce.
In the boys doubles action, Joseph Chung and Jamison Simanson of Pullman face E.J. Troutman and Auden Schilder of Bellingham to open the tournament Friday. In girls play Kianna Arthur and Rachel Folsom of Clarkstron face Maddie Roberts and Marijo Manaois of Washington, while Shayla Robinson and Brittani Harvey of Pullman face Yen Le and Esperalda Bailon of Foster.
At the Yakima Tennis Center, the 1A/1B/2B tourney finds Max Mielke of Davenport opening the boys singles tournament against Chad Raven of Cashmere while Michael Hamilton of St. George’s faces Even Valentine of Charles Wright, Mark Hay of St. George’s plays Manuel Perez of Liberty Bell, and Jaime Aragon of Riverside takes on Nick Marchi of the Bush School.
In boys doubles play, Hunter Barr and Anton King of Medical Lake open against Frank Rosas and Dillon Morrison of Chelan, Nathan Furbeyre and Peter Worrall of St. George’s open with Griffin Welsh and Tyler Sam of Charles Wright, Daniel Gimble and Jacob Martin of St. George’s faces Brian Norwood and Adam Ross of Cashmere, and Collin Kirk Patterson and Mason Miller of Chewelah faces Mac Hewitt and Pranav Harikrishnan of Overlake.
In the girls singles tournament, Tracy Melville of Lind-Ritzville-Sprague plays a first-round match against Molly Kenoyer of Cashmere, Megan Beyers of Tonasket takes on Samantha Weeks of Annie Wright, and Darby Pierce of St. George’s faces Hayley Newman of South Whidbey.
In first-round doubles play, Becka Kenney and Bethany Kofmehi of Chewelah take on Zoe Cheeseman and Luisa Cardenas of Okanogan, Tenika Smith and Ryann Richmond of Chewelah take on Tasha Kowatsch and Sammy O’Bryan of Cashmere, and Kelly Melville and Alanna Wheeler of Lind-Ritzville-Sprague face Tess Radisch and Amelia Weeks of South Whidbey.