The Northeast A League’s Most Valuable singles player will get a chance to see how that honor plays out on the state stage.
Medical Lake’s Noah Ray earned that right last Saturday when the Cardinals’ senior finished second in the 1A/1B/2B regionals played at Mead High School. Ray lost to his recent NEA nemesis, Joel Cladera-Garcia of Riverside, 1-6, 1-6, who beat him in district play as well.
Ray will be joined by the doubles teams of Trevor Nilles and Daniel Miller, as well as the girls’ twin sister duo of Sydney and Lyndsey Cazier who finished fifth and will go to state at the Yakima Tennis Club as alternates.
“We are extremely proud to have one player plus two alternate teams make it to the state tourney,” co-head coach Jake Wesselman said.
Ray opened with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Nik Chaudhery of St. George’s and breezed past Deer Park’s Tyson Lim in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.
“Noah had a great draw due to his previous hard work at the district tournament,” Wesselman said.
Nilles and Miller lost to the eventual tournament runners-up from St. Georges 5-7, 3-6 in their opening match, but earned an outright shot at state with a win in their second, 6-3, 6-1 over Washtucna-Kahlotus.
In that third-place battle, Nilles and Miller were defeated by Chewelah 1-6, 6-3, 5-7, but scored a pair of 6-4 victories over Lakeside to nab fifth place and the alternate doubles slot.
The Cazier sisters opened with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win over Davenport but lost their next two matches to eventual second place Freeman and Wilbur-Creston before earning the trip with a win over Davenport.
“The girls had a bit of a roller coaster tournament, they struggled to find and sustain their rhythm in each of their matches,” Eliassen said. “However, when they were playing well, they were playing really well,” she added.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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