Brent Baker / staff photo – Tonasket’s Cayla Monroe serves during district tournament on Saturday, May 19.
OMAK – Tonasket’s Anthony Verhasselt overcame a semifinal loss to win out through the consolation bracket and earn a return trip to the state 1B/2B/1A state finals next weekend.
Verhasselt, seeded fourth entering the two-weekend district tournament, lost his semifinal match to Manuel Perez of Liberty Bell, but bounced back to defeat Omak’s Greg Sklar in straight sets in loser-out, winner-to-state match.
Verhasselt led Cashmere’s Warren Rorbertson 6-1, 3-0 when Robertson bowed out due to injury. Both advanced to the state finals.
On the girls side, only the top three advanced to the finals. So when Megan Beyers and Cayla Monroe dropped their third place match to Mikela and Tasha Kowatsch of Cashmere, it was more costly than if they were in the boys doubles bracket, where the top four earned state finals berths. Beyers and Monroe’s fourth place finish only earned them alternate status.
They started the day with a split set loss to one of Chelan’s two state qualifying doubles teams in the semifinals and came back to win a loser-out match in straight sets.
Michelle Timmerman won her opening match on Saturday, eliminating Chelan’s McKenna Hawkins 7-5, 6-1. Emma Palumbo, also of Chelan, later beat Timmerman by the same score in another loser-out contest.
The state finals are Friday and Saturday, May 25-26, at the Yakima Tennis Center. Verhasselt will play his first round match against Keith Bighorn of Goldendale.
More from Week 1
Oroville’s tennis season ended in the first week of district competition, May 12.
Menze Pickering was the lone Hornet to pick up a district tournament win, defeating Pateros/Brewster’s Betssy Hernandez in the opening round. Chelan’s Hawkins knocked Pickering out in a second round match.
Also competing in girls singles were Ashley Marcolin and Maddie Richardson, both knocked out in the first round by Chelan opponents.
In girls doubles, Megan Mieirs and Jenavonne Glover were beaten by a team from Liberty Bell, while Angela Nelson and Meagan Moralez fell to a Marchand Renald and Michaela Newton of Tonasket.
In boys singles, Joseph Sarmiento lost his opening match to Micah Murphy of Cascade, while Ronel Kee was defeated by Liberty Bell’s Carlos Perez.
A Tonasket result not reported last week: the boys doubles team of Colton Leep and Walter Marks defeated a pair from Entiat before losing their second round match to Jordan Hertlein and Hayden Behrens of Okanogan.
