Medical Lake's Ray motivated for 2018 season by state play

Medical Lake's Noah Ray concluded his trip to the state 1A tennis tournament in Yakima with a 1-2 record and accolades from the Cardinal coaches who watched him play in 2017.

Ray, a junior, lost his opening match to the eventual fourth-place finisher, Will Owen of Seattle Academy, 1-6, 2-6. He stayed in contention with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tommy Vargas of LaSalle. He fell, however, in an elimination round to Tonasket's Caleb Hardesty in straight sets, 2-6, 2-6.

"I felt that Noah played some of his best tennis this weekend," co-head coach Dawn Eliassen said. "He played smooth and confident in all three matches; it was the first time this season that he's had tough competition match after match."

Despite the high-level of opponents, Jake Wesselman, the other co-head coach, saw a side of Ray he also liked.

"He looked more relaxed, confident and more focused than any other tournament," Wesselman said. "He realized that the competition from other tennis programs is real and that motivated him for next year."

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].