SEATTLE — Sequim doubles team Brandon Payne and Matthew Richards couldn’t shake off the rust of a seven-month long wait and fell in two matches at the Class 2A state boys tennis tournament at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the University of Washington campus at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Payne and Richards fell in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to Ellensburg’s Coleman Schnebly and Erik Hurson in the first round.
The Wolves’ pair then fell in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to Ryan Gudbranson and Nathan Eliason of Tumwater.
The boys tennis regular season and league and districts tournaments are played in the fall, but the state tournament isn’t contested until late spring.
Payne and Richards finished fourth at the West Central District tournament in November.
