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Eagle River High junior Tucker Reed readies for a return of service during the first round in a boys doubles match during the Region IV tennis tournament held Friday at the Alaska Club North. Reed and partner Paul McDonogh lost to the West High pair of Taylor Hodges and Vanbasten Maulingcar, 6-0, 6-0.
Photo By DAVID MORSE
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The Chugiak High School Mustangs and Eagle River High School Wolves tennis teams played their roles as spoilers, with both teams advancing into the second round of the Region IV tennis championships held at the Alaska Club North Friday and Saturday.
“We had teams in four of the five divisions advance into the second round,” said Chugiak coach Sally Cook.
The Mustangs finished one point out of a three-way tie with East and Dimond, placing fifth in a tie with Service, with seven points. Eagle River placed seventh, with four points.
The Mustangs seniors made their presence known with Kathleen Judd in singles, along with Brett Meddaugh in doubles, and mixed doubles teammates Matt Bottini and Kayleigh Vergnetti. Chugiak matched the accomplishment made by another mixed doubles pair only two years ago.
Chugiak junior Noah Wimer also won his first-round singles match. Meddaugh was matched up with junior David Smith in doubles, as were Michael James and Colton Fullmer, both juniors, who likewise won their first-round bid to move into the second.
Cook said the duo of Vergnetti and Bottini, seeded first in their division, made things a little too exciting in both of their matches Saturday.
“They made every second set exciting, but they came away with a pair of straight-set wins,” said Cook, referring to the team's 6-1, 7-5 win over Service in the semis, and 6-2, 7-6 win over West in the finals.
“It was very nice to see our senior members going out on top,” Cook said.
The coach said one of the nicest compliments paid to the team was bestowed by one of West High's head coaches Ron Holmes.
“Ron gave Matt a real genuine congratulations after the match,” said the Chugiak coach, adding that the pair displayed class in winning. “A lot of people were really glad that they won.”
Eagle River coach Matt Crockett said his seniors helped to provide his best finish in his four years at the helm.
The Wolves moved players into later rounds in three of the five divisions, he said.
Senior Nishant Ambasht gained a first round win over Dimond's Michael Yoo, in dramatic fashion, Crockett said, coming back to win the second-set, 6-1, and force a third-set 10-point tiebreaker.
“He was down 6-0 and still came back to win — it was unbelievable,” the coach said. “He's really great at controlling his nerves. That must be the way he is in the classroom as well, when he sets his mind on something.”
Other first-round wins were recorded by boys doubles players Adam Neal and Quinn Williamson, both seniors, along with the fourth-seed girls doubles team of Shelby Fuller and Katie Fogg.
“It worked out the way they were seeded, I guess,” Crockett said of the Fogg and Fullmer duo.
The team played well in the semis, eventually losing to the ultimate champions, Karissa Saber and Marketa Wittochova, 6-3, 6-2, matching their best challenge of the tournament.
“I thought that Shelby did a great job, serving and on her overheads, and that Katie did a great job at the net with her volleys,” Crockett said. “They were both really into the match.”
Crockett said the pair would represent Eagle River in this week's state invitational tournament, although possibly not together. He announced his delegates to include Fuller, Fogg, Sarah Martinson and Ashley Mauger for the girls, along with Quinn Williamson, Paul McDonogh, Nishant Ambasht and Adam Neal for the guys. All are seniors, except for Fuller, a junior.
Chugiak coach Sally Cook said that her school's representatives are Kathleen Judd, Robin Standley, Megan Stahl and Kayleigh Vergnetti, along with Matt Bottini, Dylan Fullmer, Brett Meddaugh and Michael James. Fullmer, a sophomore, didn't play in the Region IV tournament, as he had left the state on vacation.
Both local coaches, Crockett and Cook, nominated two players from their teams for the Cook Inlet Sportsmanship Award. Ashley Mauger and Adam Neal were nominated for Eagle River, while Matt Bottini and Dominique Ugarte were listed for Chugiak.
Players chosen were East High's Kyle Cox, and Bartlett's Delaney Scott, both seniors.
West High won the team championship, with 16 points, one better than South. South won the regular season title, going undefeated.
South won three of the five titles, with Emma Lewis winning girls singles, Felix Egbert and Cal McKim taking the boys doubles, and Karissa Saber and Marketa Wittochova taking the girls doubles. West High junior David Cotton won the boy's singles title with a 6-3, 6-3 nod over Service's John Park.
Dimond High won the team's GPA award with a 3.92 average.
The State championship tournament will be held at the Alaska Club's North and East locations, with action Friday and Saturday, with 16 schools represented.
