By Michael Carman
Peninsula Daily News
SEATTLE — The Sequim duo of Jessica Dietzman and Kalli Wiker won the state 2A tennis championship Saturday afternoon.
Dietzman and Wiker beat Samammish Nina Vongsaly and Katrina Kuntz 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match.
It was the second year Dietzman and Wiker played Vongsaly and Kuntz for the state championship. Last year, the Samammish duo won.
Three North Olympic Peninsula doubles teams and one singles player placed at the Class 2A State Tennis Championships at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington on Saturday.
The Wolves’ boys doubles duo of Blake Wiker and Thomas Hughes placed seventh and Sequim’s Damon Little and Liam Payne ended up eighth.
Dietzman and Wiker bested W.F. West’s Sydney Cameron and Jisu Han 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals Saturday morning to get into the championship match.
The Wolves’ pair won two matches Friday, defeating Kerea Sinclair and Lillian Hyde of West Valley Spokane 6-1, 6-1 and edged Bellingham’s Louli Ziels Britney Butcher 6-4, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
All three area boys doubles teams plus Port Angeles singles player Hayden Woods reached the second day of play.
Wiker and Hughes opened with a straight-set 6-3, 6-0 win over Ephrata’s Clay Johns and Nathan Todaro before getting tripped up 6-1, 7-5 against Bellingham’s Owen Morrison and Colm Schaefer in the the quarterfinals.
Wiker and Hughes beat Wapato’s Humberto Hinojosa and Naujae Pineda 7-5, 6-1 Saturday to reach the fourth/seventh-place match but were beaten 6-4, 6-3.
The Wolves’ No. 2 doubles team of Little and Payne fell 6-1, 7-6 in their state opener to the Columbia River tandem of Nate Kessi and Wilson Keller, survived a three-set match a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 against Washington’s Ariano Chavez and Kyle Whitemarsh and defeated R.A. Long’s Ethan Chung and Brady Anderson 7-5, 6-1 Saturday.
Little and Payne were tripped up by Pullman’s Andy He and Tim Watts 6-0, 6-2 in the fifth-place match to take eighth.
Woods eighth for PA
Hayden Woods finished eighth overall in what Roughriders coach Brian Gundersen described as a “stacked singles bracket.”
Woods dropped his first round match to Masato Kuroshima of Ephrata, 6-3 6-1 but rebounded with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over Ethan Dillon of Tumwater and a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Derek Kropp of Ridgefield to reach the medal round.
Woods fell to Foss’ Jake Martin 6-2, 6-3 in the fifth-place match to finish eighth overall.
He and Watts also knocked out Port Angeles doubles duo Bo Bradow and Milo Whitman earlier Saturday.
Whitman and Bradow lost to identical twins Calvin and Colby Vuong of Liberty 6-0, 6-0 but won a thrilling two-set match over Xavier Garza and Aaron Gonzalez of Wapato, 6-4, 7-5 Friday.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how all three of them competed this weekend against the best Washington state has to offer,” said coach Brian Gundersen.
Girls singles
In 2A girls singles play, Port Angeles’ Summer Olsen went 1-2, falling in the first round 6-0, 6-0 to Liberty’s Luciana Sobrino and dropping the first set to Ashlynn Hall of Selah before rallying for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Olsen fell 6-0, 6-4 to an Olympic League opponent in North Mason’s Makinna Skjonsby on Saturday.
Class 1A
YAKIMA — Chimacum’s Renee Woods and Grace Yaley competed at the Class 1B/2B/1A State Tennis Tournament at the Yakima Tennis Club.
The Cowboys pair defeated St. George’s Grace Generous and Maria Madero 6-1, 6-0 to open the tournament, lost 6-1, 7-5 to Stella Johnson and Megan Evans of Cascade and were ousted in a 6-2, 6-3 loss to University Prep’s Audrey Anderson and Lindsey Walters.
Woods and Yaley won league and district championships this season.
“They finished the season 17-4 with their only losses to Sequim [state finalists Dietzman and Wiker] twice and twice at state,” Chimacum coach Dave Porter said. “Both girls are seniors and were a pleasure to coach and they will be missed next year.”
Sequim’s Jessica Dietzman and Kalli Wiker won the girls Class 2A State Doubles Championship on Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington.
