Tonasket tennis players do well at jamboree

“We did really well. I was really surprised at how well the team did, especially considering the weather they’ve been practicing in,” Laura Temby, head coach, said. “My singles players did exactly like I thought they would and my doubles players exceeded expectations.”

Each singles player and doubles team played one game against Pateros and one game against Omak. For the boys the number one singles player, Brett Hendrick, the number two singles player, Lee Leavell and the number three singles player, Carl Bharucha, each won both of their sets.

For the boys’ doubles teams, the number one team was Vasyl Sheppela and Chris Martini.

“Neither of them had ever played tennis before March 2 and they played against experienced teams and lost but I was very pleased with how they competed,” Temby said.

The number two doubles team was Russell Perry who first played with Martini and won and then played with Sheppela and lost.

“[Perry] played really well,” Temby said. “I think over the course of the season, he’s going to be real competitive.”

For the girls, the number one singles player was Joylnn Sullivan who won both of her sets. Temby said she was a little out of competitive shape but played well. Melissa Martinez was the number two singles player played.

“[Martinez] played exclusively doubles last year and she managed to win both of her sets at the jamboree,” Temby said.

The number three singles player, Natasha Vargas, was an upper JV player last year.

“She just isn’t ready to compete at the varsity level where she doesn’t have much experience,” Temby said. “She played well and served well, but she lost both of her sets.”

The number one girls’ doubles team was Ashlyn Salzman and Cayla Monroe.

“They played very competitive against Pateros and the Omak team was the most competitive on the court,” Temby said. “I was pleased with their effort.”

The number two girls’ doubles team was Flor Maldonado and Michelle Timmerman who are both freshman that have never played before.

“They won their first set and lost their second set in a very close tie-breaker,” Temby said. “For the first tie breaker in a high school game, they handled the stress quite well. I was really surprised with how well they played considering they’d never played before March 2.”

On Thursday, March 26, the team plays at home against Liberty Bell.

“Liberty Bell’s girls are typically quite strong but I think our singles girls are solid and the doubles team will be very competitive,” Temby said. “On the boys’ side, I think our singles line-up is very strong so I think we’ll do just fine.”

On Saturday, March 28, the team plays at home against Omak.

“The key match for the boys’ should be [Hendrick] playing against his relative Tyler Hendrick,” Temby said. “They’re both very competitive with similar styles so I think that will dictate how the rest of the match will go. I think our girls’ singles will perform quite well and our doubles teams will be very competitive, especially at the number two slot.”