The Thomas Jefferson Raiders are officially the best tennis team in the South Puget Sound League for the second year in a row.
The Raiders won the 18-team SPSL Tournament Monday at Auburn Riverside High School after finishing unbeaten during the regular season. Jefferson finished the three-day tournament with 40 points to outdistance second-place Mount Rainier, who finished with 31 points. Puyallup was third with 25 points and Beamer finished in fourth-place overall with 22 points.
The doubles team of Cindy Park and Crystal Lee rolled through their bracket to win the SPSL championship. Park and Lee downed the Kentridge team of Kyana Esber and Katie Ly in the final, 6-2, 6-3, Monday afternoon
Park and Lee didn’t lose a set during the SPSL Tournament. The team also beat a Puyallup duo in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-3, Monday.
Park and Lee will now be the SPSL’s top seed into the West Central/Southwest District Tournament, which will take place May 17-18 at the Capitol City Club in Tumwater.
Beamer’s Jenny Hoefel and Kiele Bowman also qualified for districts in doubles after finishing in third place at the SPSL Tournament. The Titan pair lost to Esber and Ly in the semifinals in a rugged three-setter, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, before coming back and beating Puyallup’s Jamie Larson and Lindsey Walker in the third/sixth match, 6-2, 6-2.
Jefferson’s Toni Mullen and Rileigh Qualls will also play at districts, as will Nichelle Song and Gloria Oh.
Mullen and Qualls finished fourth after beating Kentwood’s Nguyen and Charlton in the fourth/seventh match Monday, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. Song and Oh grabbed the eighth-seed after winning two-straight loser-out matches.
The top-nine finishers Monday advanced to the West Central/Southwest District Tournament.
On the singles’ court, Beamer’s Lindsey Tyson and TJ’s Michelle Lee also qualified. Tyson finished up in fifth place and Lee will be the SPSL’s sixth seed.
After losing in the quarterfinals, Tyson won two matches in a row, including a three-setter over Kentridge’s Jessica Lam in the fifth/eighth match, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Lee advanced into the semifinals before losing two-straight matches to finish in sixth place.
