Eagles honor seniors in final home meet

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles competed in their final two home matches facing Manson Monday and Liberty Bell Tuesday. The senior class was honored Tuesday for their accomplishments, and Eagles Head Coach Lee Leavell said it was a great moment to appreciate this special group of students. 

“It’s been an experience that I don’t think I’ll ever forget... (They’re) a class that’s going to be a defining moment in my career,” said Leavell. 

For the Eagles boys one of the top matches from Monday was from the number one singles player Xavier Ewing who played against the returning state champion Ben Rasmusson from Manson. After a tough battle, Ewing ended up taking the win 8-5. 

The rest of Soap Lake’s boys singles gained dominant victories as Francisco Ortega finished 8-0 and Christian Minneker went 8-1 against his opponent. 

On the girls side, the top match for the Eagles came in the number two doubles spot, where Tanya Zubritskiy and Janessa Knutson, who normally run singles, teamed up. Zubritskiy and Knutson battled hard and earned an 8-0 victory for Soap Lake’s girls team. 

Valentina Soltero and Sanza Gonzalez came close for Soap Lake in second and third singles, but ultimately both players fell just short 6-8. 

“It was really good,” said Leavell. “Manson has historically been a very tough team, so I was super happy with that on Monday.” 

Coming into Tuesday’s senior night matchup against Liberty Bell, Ewing faced a familiar opponent in Gavin Blank who he beat in the third-place match at state last season. In Tuesday’s matchup, Blank earned a 6-8 victory. 

With Ewing beating Rasmusson from Manson and Blank beating Ewing, a three-way tie for the number one seed in the league has been established. 

“We’ll see how that works out; they all have a pretty similar record,” said Leavell. “Kind of made things more complicated, but also just kind of highlights how tough our league is. It should be pretty interesting come postseason to see who comes out on top.” 

Ortega also had a close matchup against another state participant from Liberty Bell but fell 4-8 in second singles. One thing Soap Lake’s coach said he noticed during both Ortega and Ewing’s matches was that both players climbed back after getting down early and kept the game alive. 

The lone victory for the Eagles boys came from Minneker in third singles with an 8-4 victory over Liberty Bell’s Zach Dubowy.  

“Christian did really well there, he has turned into a phenomenal player, and I like that it’s happening in his senior year,” said Leavell. “Super happy with him and all the things he’s doing.” 

He said both the boys doubles teams fought hard in their matches but unfortunately fell in both. 

For the girls, Knutson earned the lone victory of the day over a tough Zoie Dubowy, from Liberty Bell in first singles. This matchup remained close between the two players, but the Eagles junior player gained the victory 8-5. 

“That was a big win for Janessa,” said Leavell. “I was super proud, probably the best I’ve ever seen her play.” 

The rest of the girls team fell in the remaining matchups of the day with Zubritskiy coming just short of a win in second singles with a final of 6-8 and Sanza Gonzales falling 1-8 in third singles. Both doubles teams fell in their matches, putting the Eagles once again at 1-4. 

“Liberty Bell is just a super tough team; their doubles team is a top tier team, and they’re just a pretty good team all in all,” said the Eagles coach. 

Despite coming off tough losses, Leavell said the Eagles have responded well and are working hard to be ready for the start of postseason next week and that taking losses late in the regular season will provide good insight for where they need to be in districts. 

For players like Ewing and Ortega, Tuesday’s losses were the first league losses of the season. Leavell said that with this loss he has already noticed a weight seem to be lifted off their shoulders and expects them to play more freely in the postseason. 

“While all these matches matter, they’re not the ones that matter the most,” he said. “We’re going to get more opportunities and now you have a little bit less stress to kind of go into it, so you can just play your game.” 

The main focus for each of his players moving forward is to have them give their all on the court in every match from here on out, said the coach. 

“You want to look back on it and say, ‘I did everything I could. If it didn’t go my way, it wasn’t for a lack of effort,’” he said. 

In celebration of the seven seniors for their senior night Tuesday, Leavell said the tennis courts had a strong community support from Soap Lake.  

“I had a lot of parents come, and a lot of teachers, administration and a bunch of community members as a whole come out to support the seniors,” said the coach. “I just want to thank the community for showing up in a big way and showing support, not just for tennis, but for these kids. Super appreciative of them and just happy to be part of this and happy to be coaching for a community that cares so much about their kids.” 

For those seven seniors, Xavier Ewing, Francisco Ortega, Christian Minniker, Jocsan Sancez-Cruz, Riley Frazier, Jade Lopez and Tanya Zubritskiy, he said that being a part of their lives as both a coach, a teacher and the senior class advisor has meant everything to him. 

“They’re just such a good group of kids and them letting me coach them and spend time with them over the years has meant the world to me,” said Leavell. “It’s a group of kids I’m going to miss a lot.” 

The Eagles have one more league match on the road against Tonasket Thursday at 4 p.m. Following Tonasket, the players get ready for district play next week. 

Results 

Monday 

Boys

Xavier Ewing (SPLK) def. Ben Rasmusson (MNSN), 8-5 

Francisco Ortega (SPLK) def. Ryan Lee Fritzinger (MNSN), 8-0 

Christian Minneker (SPLK) def. Ethan Camacho (MNSN), 8-1 

Carson Steiner/Hunter Lyann (MNSN) vs Jocson Sanchez-Cruz/Jon Knapp (SPLK), 9-7 

David Didok/Jose Mejia (SPLK) vs Marcos Verdusco/Gabe Cameron (MNSN), 8-2 

Girls

Maggie Gasvener (MNSN) def. Trinidy Dugrenier (SPLK), 1-8 

Saulia Sharon (MNSN) def. Valentina Soltero (SPLK), 6-8 

Caris Sandidge (MNSN) def. Sanza Gonzalez (SPLK), 6-8 

Karly Naranjo/Aaliyah Torres (MNSN) def. Riley Frazier/Jade Lopez (SPLK) 

Janessa Knudsen/Tanya Zubritskiy (SPLK) def. DOUBLES NAMES UNAVAILABLE (MNSN), 8-0 

Tuesday 

Boys

Gavin Blank (LBTY) def. Xavier Ewing (SPLK), 6-8 

Levin Lott (LBTY) def. Francisco Ortega (SPLK), 4-8 

Christian Minneker (SPLK) def. Zach Dubowy (LBTY), 8-4 

Ryland Marcus/Dante Ramos (LBTY) def. Jocson Sanchez-Cruz/Jon Knapp (SPLK), 5-8 

Liam Kiefer/Soren Strauss (LBTY) def. David Didok/Jose Mejia (SPLK), 2-8 

Girls

Janessa Knudsen (SPLK) def. Zoie Dubowy (LBTY), 8-5 

Mira Hirsch (LBTY) def. Tanya Zubritskiy (SPLK), 6-8 

Cuileann Wilmott (LBTY) def. Sanza Gonzalez (SPLK), 1-8 

Kara McMillan/Zephyr Woras (LBTY) def. Riley Frazier/Jade Lopez (SPLK), 0-8 

Charlotte Foley/Geovana Perez (LBTY) def. Trinidy Dugrenier/Valentina Soltero (SPLK), 2-8 

   Tanya Zubritskiy from the Eagles stands with her family who brought her a variety of baskets with treats to honor her final home match as a senior.
  

    Soap Lake’s Christian Minneker, right, stands on the court with his senior basket and rose in hand Tuesday afternoon.
  

    Jocsan Sanchez-Cruz from Soap Lake holds his senior basket as the team celebrates his accomplishments over his career as an Eagle.
  

    Xavier Ewing from the Eagles stands with his loved ones on the tennis court as they honor his senior season.
  

    Riley Frazier from Soap Lake stands with her family on the court as they celebrate her senior season.
  

    Eagles player Francisco Ortega is honored on his senior night Tuesday.
  

    Jade Lopez from the Eagles holds her senior basket surrounded by community support during the Eagles senior night.