Pirates, Bulldogs tune up for tennis districts

By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Thursday, May 01, 2008 | No comments posted.

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Marshfield’s girls tennis team got in one final tune-up match with host North Bend on Wednesday and then loaded onto a bus for a trip to the district tournament at Ashland.

After beating the Bulldogs 5-3, Pirate coach Angie Kemp said she’s excited to see how her team does in the district tournament.

“We’ll see how it goes when they get down there,” said Kemp, in her first year as coach.

She’s most looking forward to how her doubles teams perform, especially the top squad of Leslie Silver and Nicole Zyta, who enter as the No. 4 seed.

“I’m just happy I got them seeded,” Kemp said. “They’re strong players when they’re on.”

Zyta and Silver, who topped North Bend’s No. 1 doubles team 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday, said they are excited about the potential of reaching the state tournament.

“If we play our game, we should do fairly well at district,” said Silver, who advanced to state with a different partner last year. “We have to stay focussed and be confident in our strokes.”

Zyta said that in addition to being friends off the court, she and Silver are a good pairing on it.

“We work well together,” she said.

“We complement each other,” added Silver. “We’ve done pretty well.”

The Pirates duo lost just one league match this season.

To qualify for the state tournament, the teammates have to at least reach the semifinals in a district that includes the other Midwestern League schools, Ashland, Mazama and Klamath Union.

While Silver and Zyta have the best chance to get to state, Kemp said the Pirates’ other doubles teams also could win some matches.

Nikki Gross and Chloe Danielson, Marshfield’s No. 2 squad, is in the same corner of the bracket with the top seeds, but also with the No. 4 teams from several other schools, which means the Pirates could win a few matches.

Marshfield’s other doubles teams are Kaitlyn Richmond and Amber Owen, and sisters Mallory and Alex Crane.

The Pirates also got a singles win Wednesday by Jannicke Weddegjerde, who topped Kaja Gresko in three sets.

Any Marshfield players who advance to the semifinals will compete again next Friday in Eugene in the final rounds of the tournament.

North Bend, meanwhile, plays its district tournament next week at Black Butte in Central Oregon.

Bulldog coach Simmie Muth said the chance to play outside Wednesday after too many indoor practices in the school’s gymnasium was a big plus for her team.

“It’s a good match for us to have right before district,” Muth said. “Our four singles are pretty strong and our doubles are doing a lot better this time around.”

The Bulldogs kept several of the doubles matches much closer than the first time the teams met last week.

Gwen Rogers and Brianna Blaser had a tight first set with Zyta and Silver, while Lisa Wiggins and Keeandra Rodriguez took the first set to a tiebreaker against Owen and Richardson.

“It’s nice the girls can see how much improvement they’ve made,” Muth said.

North Bend’s singles wins Wednesday came from Amanda Keith, Mallory Crocker and Andrea Tison.

Crocker beat close friend Brittany Morris on Wednesday.

“I’m really excited (about district),” she said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

She said Wednesday’s match, too, was fun, despite the windy conditions at North Bend.

“She’s my really good friend — I play with her in the summer,” Crocker said. “We have fun.”

The girls laughed at some points where the wind had a significant impact on the ball’s flight as Crocker took a 6-2, 6-1 win.

“I played well for the conditions,” she said. “That was a good match to finish off the season.”
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