Gator tennis finishes season unbeaten; postseason up next

By CASEY OLSON

The Mirror

The Decatur boys tennis team made it a perfect 2005 Thursday with a 4-1 victory over the Federal Way Eagles. The win ended the Gators’ regular season with a 14-0 league record and the South Puget Sound League South Division championship.

The attention now shifts to the postseason. The SPSL Tournament got underway Friday at Auburn High School and will conclude today with individual championships in singles’ and doubles’ action. The top-seven finishers from the entire 22-team SPSL will advance to the spring’s West Central/Southwest District Tournament. The Class 4A State Tennis Championships will be played in May.

Two-time defending state singles champion Chris Rice from Decatur advanced into the quarterfinals of the SPSL South Tournament without even playing a match. As the No. 1 seed, Rice earned a bye through the first round of action and Curtis’ Mike Hwang defaulted to Rice in the round of 16. Rice took on Bethel’s Josh Pinyard Monday (after press time) with a berth into the semifinals on the line.

Other Federal Way school district players advancing into the quarterfinals included Jefferson’s Colin Okazaki and Decatur’s Kevin Hilden in singles’ action and Decatur’s Travis Wagner and Tim Blackner, Beamer’s Colin Zalewski and Brian Shaw, Federal Way’s Jake Stewart and Brian White, TJ’s John Poore and Chris Yoon and Decatur’s Fabian Saenz and Lawrence Lin in doubles’ play.

Cross Country

The cross country postseason kicks off today with the SPSL Sub-District Meet at Spanaway Lake Park. The top-eight teams from the 22-team SPSL advance to the West Central District Meet.

The Sub-District Meet should be a showdown between the Thomas Jefferson and Tahoma girls’ teams. The Raiders won the SPSL South title for the fifth-straight season and Tahoma cruised to the North Division championship. The two teams met earlier in the regular season with Tahoma coming out victorious.

Jefferson junior Kenna Patrick will be looking at a repeat sub-district championship today. Patrick won the individual race last year as a sophomore.

Golf

The Decatur girls golf team could have clinched at least a tie for the SPSL Central title yesterday (after press time) with a victory over the Auburn Riverside Ravens. The Gators entered the match tied with Auburn. Both had identical 10-1 records.

Decatur downed Auburn Mountainview Thursday at Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club, 71-16. Junior Jenna Rochelle earned medalist honors with a 6-over par 42 to earn 19 team points and single-handedly beat Auburn Mountainview. Sidney Solomonson followed with a 44 and Caitlyn Egge shot a 59.

The two-day SPSL Medalist Tournament will get underway Tuesday at the Gold Mountain Golf Course in Gorst. The top-17 finishers will advance to the Class 4A State Tournament in the spring.

Swimming

The Thomas Jefferson girls swim team improved to 8-1 with a 117-48 win over Spanaway Lake Thursday. The Raiders ended their SPSL South season yesterday against Federal Way (after press time). Curtis has already clinched the league title with a perfect 9-0 record.

The Raiders got individual victories from Amy Friedhoff in the 100-yard butterfly (1:06.24), Justina Coe in the 100 back (1:11.63) and Tasia Esparza in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.78). Jefferson also all three relays.

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com

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