Girls tennis places third at Districts

The Lady Outlaws tennis team finished third at the 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 3 Championships held at Black Butte Ranch on Thursday and Friday, May 12-13.

North Bend took top honors and St. Mary's was runner-up. Sisters placed third, and Klamath Union and Henley tied for fourth.

Sisters' No. 1 doubles team of Elise Herron and Jen Houk placed fourth at the tourney and will advance to the state championships next week.

Herron and Houk (not seeded) defeated Chloe Wilson and Danielle Jones of Hidden Valley 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday, in their first match of the tournament. The duo went on to upset the No. 3 seed from Henley, Kay Fernlund and Alex Yancy with scores of 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

Herron and Houk lost to Alden Caldwell and Anna Thorndike of St. Mary's, 1-6, 1-6, in the semifinals and then lost 6-7, 0-6 to Camille Deming and Quinlyn Deming for a fourth-place finish.

"Elise and Jen were outstanding," said Coach Marti Dale. "They stepped up their communication, found their opponent's weaknesses and played on those weaknesses. They kept up their footwork and endurance throughout the whole tournament and didn't let down."

Lauren Rudinsky and Olivia Miller (No. 2 doubles) won two matches and then lost 6-1, 6-1, in the quarterfinals to Caldwell and Thorndike of St. Mary's.

"Lauren and Olivia played well in the first rounds and the lost a tough match to St. Mary's," said Dale. "They kept up their net play and when they did get opportunities to set up a play for each other they were successful in winning the point. Thorndike and Caldwell were strong players and out-lobbed them and didn't give them a lot of opportunities."

Amity Calvin (No. 2 singles) won two matches and then lost in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-0, to Kylie Woodman, the No. 3 seed from North Bend.

Dale was pleased with how far her team and the program have come in the last few years.

"This is the first time in five years we've had girls come up through the program, committed to improve their skills and game and make it to the state finals. We've been building the program and now we're at the point we have state qualifiers. Third place is the best finish we've had in five years and overall, the girls stepped up their game. They played with sportsmanship, attitude and seriousness, and their level of play was outstanding throughout the whole district tournament. I'm very proud of the girls and what they've accomplished."

The State Tournament will be held Thursday through Saturday, May 19-21, at the University of Oregon's tennis complex.