Moses Lake tennis seventh at Inland Empire
The Chiefs Alyssa Tucker hits a backhanded return to her opponent in the match against Chiawana last Tuesday.
SPOKANE - The Chiefs turned in one of their best performances of the season at the 66th annual Inland Empire Tournament in Spokane over the weekend.
Moses Lake finished seventh out of 44 teams that participated in the event.
"This is the best finish we've had since I have been here," coach Jon Wrigley said. "We set a goal the night before the tournament to finish in the top 10 and we were able to do just that."
The tournament is open to any schools east of the Cascades, so the Chiefs had to wade through plenty of talent to place as high as they did.
The boys were led by the No. 2 doubles team of Josh Black and Drew Perez who defeated Pullman's Michael Cassleman and Patrick Dreger 6-0, 6-2 to finish in third place.
Moses Lake's No. 3 doubles Tiernan Hall and Tyler McFarland placed sixth after dropping their match to Mukthi Kakkadepu and Jonathan Peacock, 3-6, 3-6. Cody Jones, the Chiefs No. 1 singles took fifth with a three set 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Hunter Levy from Moscow.
"Our No. 2 doubles ended up losing to the eventual champions this weekend," Wrigley said. But they ( the boys doubles teams) have looked strong all season and I expect them to make a good run at districts. But it's going to be a dog fight."
Becca Byam and Annalise Odegaard, the Chiefs No. 2 doubles, led the way for the girls with a third place finish. They beat Whitney Bertelsen and Brianna Butler from Selah in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Moses Lake's No. 1 doubles team of Courtney Kunjara and Ece Yilmaz dropped their semifinal consolation match to Allison Boyton and Melody Qui from Richland, 3-6, 4-6. The two then lost their match to Chelsea Heimbinger and Maddie Weaver from Lewis & Clark 0-6, 4-6 to finish in eighth place.
"I thought the girls played well, but we are still trying to figure out the best combinations," Wrigley said. "We should have it figured out by the time the district tournament begins."
Moses Lake ends the regular season on the road at Eastmont in Wenatchee May 5. The district tournament takes place May 12 and 14.
The time and place has yet to be determined.