By PAUL DELANEY
Staff Reporter
While the mission was accomplished on one hand, the goal of Medical Lake's Bri Bazo to medal at the state 2A girls' tennis tournament ended a bit abruptly.
Bazo , the Lady Cardinals' senior, and only player from the school to earn a state tournament berth at the Nordstrom's Tennis Center at the University of Washington, lost in Friday's first round to Emily Carbaugh of Ellensburg, 3-6, 2-6.
In round two, Bazo faced Jayne Thomas of Burlington-Edison and dropped that match in straight sets as well, 2-6, 1-6.
“Her playing style just did not suit Bri's preferred playing style,” Bazo's coach, Dawn Eliassen said of Bazo's first round match against Carbaugh. “Bri likes to hit with a lot of pace and the gal she played just pushed the ball back. So there was never anything for Bri to work with.”
It's hard, the coach said, to work with a ball that just bloops back at you.
“Carbaugh never made any mistakes because she never took any risks,” Eliassen said. There are very few strategies that work against players like Carbaugh because they cover the court so well, the coach explained.
Carbaugh anticipated really well, Eliassen said. And Bazo tried a number of different strategies, none of which worked. “She's played pushers before but this was the best of them,” Eliassen said of Carbaugh. “She's a decent player.”
The loser-out match against Thomas presented Bazo with an entirely different set of challenges.
“She was exceptionally tall,” Eliassen said of Thomas, and subsequently when she came to the net Thomas didn't leave a lot of space to get shots around. That match looked better, Eliassen said. “The playing styles matched up better.”
Another wrinkle that may have played a role in Bazo's quick exit was her matches were played indoors, something that is not done on a regular basis. One of the intimidating factors, Eliassen pointed out, was having people on a balcony looking down at the players, a distraction that just cannot be put out of one's mind.
“The whole atmosphere (of the state tournament) can be a little bit overwhelming on the subconscious level,” the coach said. “I think that factors in.” Medical Lake was also the little fish in the big pond too, Eliassen thought as she saw schools from some of the biggest cities in the state competing.
“They were (pretty much) all big city schools,” the coach said. “I would imagine Medical Lake was the smallest school in the tournament. We're itty-bitty.” So all things considered, “I'm not at all disappointed,” Eliassen said. “Her goal was to get to state and there's only 16 girls who do; that's a huge accomplishment.”
All Great Northern League players except Clarkston's Elise Rooney, who finished third and was the highest of any eastside competitor, lost in the first round of play, according to Eliassen.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected]
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