BREMERTON — The Olympic League had yet another good showing at the West Central District III tennis tournament this weekend, advancing all of its entries to state.
Singles players Marissa Nemeth of Olympic and Karly Rojas of North Kitsap will play at the 2A state tournament in Seattle, as will the doubles pairs of Emry Bohlman and Sydney Troy (Olympic), Grace Hansen and Jamison Jacobson (North Kitsap) and Geneva Newell and Noelani Barreith (North Kitsap).
The state tournament takes place May 24-25 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Washington.
“I told my kids all year long that it’s more difficult getting out of our league than it is to get to state,” said North Kitsap head coach Jordan Prince. “That’s based on how this tournament has shaken out in year’s past.”
That’s the way it went again in 2019. Nemeth went to the district finals and placed second as she was bested by Foster’s Ana Rios, 6-4, 6-0, in a rematch of last year’s state semifinals match.
Nemeth will face Ashlynn Hall of Selah in the first round of the state tournament.
Troy and Bohlman will be joining their teammate after taking third in the district tournament. The duo defeated Hansen and Jacobson of North Kitsap in the third/fourth place match.
“I’ve had hotel rooms for six months, so I was expecting we would go,” Olympic head coach Jeff Trainer said.
Hansen and Jacobson ended up with one of the toughest draws in the district tournament, ending up on the same side as state title contenders Jessica Dietzman and Kalli Wiker of Sequim and then having to face Troy and Bohlman of Olympic. But they move on to face Nina Vongsaly and Katrina Kutz of Sammamish at the state tournament.
Rojas rebounded after losing to Rios in the semifinals to defeat Summer Olsen of Port Angeles, 6-0, 6-1, to finish third in the singles tournament. Her first opponent at state will be Piper Rylander of Columbia River
Newell and Barreith suffered an early three-set loss to eventually second place finishers Stella Fosberg and Chloe Watson of Highline, but rebounded to finish in fifth and reach the state tournament. Their first opponent will be Macy Hampton and Julissa Cantu of Othello.
“These last two weeks they’ve really put it all together,” Prince said.
— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.
Olympic’s Marissa Nemeth reached the district finals and finished second in the West Central District III tournament. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
North Kitsap’s Geneva Newell and her partner, Noelani Barreith, rebounded to finish fifth at the district tournament. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
North Kitsap’s Geneva Newell and her partner, Noelani Barreith, rebounded to finish fifth at the district tournament. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
