Mercer Island tennis wins KingCo title, starts postseason

Capping off another successful regular season, the Mercer Island girls tennis team moved into the postseason last week. After finishing the regular season undefeated at 14-0 and earning another league title, the team moved into the KingCo tournament at Skyline High School last Saturday.

“This is when our sport shifts into more of an individual sport,” said head coach Mindy Blakeslee. “However, I am really trying to promote the team aspect and am hoping that many of the girls will come out to cheer us on. The ‘tournament’ team I’ve chosen is Nora Tan and Ellie Rudee [for singles], and Chelsea Bailey/Julia Schubach and Julia Zook/Kelly Crandall [for doubles].”

Of the season so far, Blakeslee said things were going very well and that she had enjoyed her first season as coach.

“I am feeling really good and have loved the experience,” she said. “Like any new venture, the season has had its ups and downs, but I think, overall, it’s been positive for both the girls and me.”

The KingCo tournament began on Saturday, May 8, and continued on Tuesday, after Reporter deadline, because of weather delays.

Blakeslee said on Tuesday morning that Tan had advanced to the KingCo singles final, which takes place this evening. Rudee was in the semi-finals in the consolation bracket after losing to the No. 2 seed Maria Jouravleva, of Juanita in the semi-finals on Saturday.

In the doubles competition Bailey-Schubach were in the doubles final on Tuesday at Skyline, while Crandall-Zook were in the consolation bracket.

Blakeslee said both Tan and Bailey-Schubach were qualified for next week's district tournament, but that she hoped the remaining team members could qualify as well.

Contact Mercer Island Reporter Reporter Megan Managan at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com or (206) 232-1215 ext. 5054.

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