Huskies send three girls to state tournament

YAKIMA — After a tough battle through the 2A District 5 tournament, the Othello Huskies girls tennis team became district champs. Along with the title, the Huskies will be sending Shaylee Freeman and Faith Risenmay for girls doubles and Olivia Harris for girls singles to the state tournament. 

“It just feels so surreal,” said Huskies Girls Coach Priscilla Tovar. “From the beginning of the season, I knew I had a strong team and I knew any of them could make it to state.” 

On the doubles side, Othello sent three teams to the district tournament, which included Shaylee Freeman and Faith Risenmay, Alexa Peterson and Hazel Roylance and Amber Freeman and Addie Roylance.  

Shaylee and Faith entered districts as the number one seed after going undefeated all season. The girls continued this streak into the first round against Prosser where they earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory.  

The number one Huskies duo went on to the quarterfinals where they earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Grandview.  

Going into the semis, Shaylee and Faith faced the fifth-seeded Hull and McLain from Selah, where the two teams battled it out. The match was close as the teams went into a tiebreaker in the first set where the Huskies won 7-6 (10-8) and then Shaylee and Faith secured victory in the second set 6-3 to head into the championships. 

“After that match, I knew my girls were on to state regardless, so I was able to breathe a little bit,” said Tovar. 

The battle was not done yet as Faith and Shaylee faced the number three seed Kyra Hurley and Jaide Lopez from Toppenish in the championship match Tuesday afternoon. The coach said both teams fought through the heat while it was at its peak and all four players were exhausted, but the Huskies rallied to win 6-2, 6-4 to become the girls doubles District 5 champions. 

“It was great tennis; it was great to watch,” said Tovar. “Both teams played amazing at the net, they had great strokes, long rallies, it was an honor to play Toppenish and I’m just proud of my girls. They took district champs.”  

Amber Freeman and Addie Roylance entered the tournament as one of the lower seeds where they started off their tournament bid in the play-in round against Selah. The duo earned a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory over their opponent to qualify for the first round of districts. 

The first round of districts for Addie and Amber was a close matchup against their Ellensburg opponent where they gained a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win to make it into the quarterfinals. There the Huskies duo fell to the number three seed Kyra Hurley and Jaide Lopez from Toppenish 6-2, 7-5. 

Entering in as the fourth seed was Alexa Peterson and Hazel Roylance, who started their bid in the first round with a win over Toppenish 6-1, 6-4. The two Huskies fell in the quarterfinals after a hard-fought match against the fifth seeded Bri Hull and Lyla McLain from Selah 7-5, 6-4. 

“I was just proud of them overall for making it that far, and it was amazing,” said Tovar.  

For singles, the Huskies sent Olivia Harris and Meila Zuidema into the district tournament. 

Meila Zuidema started out the tournament in the play-in round where she earned a 6-2, 6-2 victory over her Toppenish opponent to qualify for the first round of the tournament. The following round, despite taking a loss to the number one seed Hannah Sonichsen from Prosser, Tovar said she was proud of the skills that Zuidema displayed. 

“Meila battled hard ... It was just so fun to watch her play,” said the coach. “It was probably one of my several highlights of the tournament.” 

Coming in as the third seed in the tournament, Harris won in the first round against Selah, 6-3, 6-0, then moved on to play in the quarterfinals to win 6-3, 6-0 over her Prosser opponent. Harris faced the second-seeded Rylie Carter from Toppenish in the semifinals where she earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory over her opponent. 

“(Carter) is a beast and Olivia played a heck of a game,” said Tovar. “To me, that felt like the championship game. The way they were hitting with each other, and Olivia, she just blew everyone away.” 

The girls singles championships were between Harris and Sonnichsen from Prosser. Sonnichsen came out on top to win 6-4, 6-1 to become the district champion, while Harris took second. Both Harris and Sonnichsen have qualified for state. 

“We were just so proud of Olivia,” said the Huskies coach. “She has her ticket to state regardless of how that match went, so she ended number two.” 

The Huskies overall finished first with a total of 18 points beating out Toppenish who took second with 11 points. 

“I’m so proud of them just for fighting all season. We had this goal since the beginning to be back-to-back league champs and then we also said, ‘This year we want to be district champs as a team as well,’” said Tovar. “For my girls to be able to see that through, to fight hard in the district tournament and get that title, I’m just so proud of them.” 

For the three Othello players moving on to state, Shaylee Freeman, Faith Risenmay and Olivia Harris, the Othello coach said she wants the focus for the next week before the state tournament to be getting back to the fundamentals and keeping up the players’ strong mental fortitudes. Ironing out these aspects of the game to ensure the players are at their strongest is something that will be crucial to their success against other top opponents in the state. 

As Othello prepares for their trip to state, Tovar said she wants to thank her husband, the Huskies Boys Coach Caleb Tovar, and her sister Yanitta Coleman, who is the Huskies JV Coach, for their continued support throughout the season. Caleb and Coleman will continue to support the team as they ride along to the state tournament. 

“It really takes a village, and I couldn’t do it without them,” she said. 

The Huskies head to the WIAA State Tennis Tournament at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, May 22 and 23 with matches starting at 8 a.m. 

    Huskies number one doubles team, Shaylee Freeman and Faith Risenmay, hold up their medals after taking first in the doubles tournament and becoming 2A District 5 champions.
  

    Olivia Harris from Othello keeps her eye on the ball during a home match this season. Harris took second in the District 5 singles tournament and qualified for state.
  

    Othello’s Hazel Roylance prepares for an incoming serve in a home matchup earlier in the season.
  

    Huskies player Alexa Peterson watches the ball as she gets ready to hit it back to her opponents.
  

    Meila Zuidema from the Huskies gets ready to serve the ball in a matchup earlier in the season.