MIHS girls net 3A state tennis team championship

Published 7:00 pm Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Mercer Island High School’s 3A state girls tennis foursome already knew it had won the team title heading into the doubles final.

The Islanders were also guaranteed a doubles crown since the local duos of Mia Kinney and Jayne Tintle and Sarah Garton and Kara Hillberg were set to face off in the final on May 23 at the Vancouver Tennis Center.

When the final ball bounced across the net, senior Kinney and junior Tintle were crowned state champions after registering a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory.

In the team realm, Mercer Island took the top spot with 23 points as Bellarmine Prep followed close behind with 20 points in second.

“It was really exciting. We came off of a really strong finish at district,” said Mercer Island head coach Shelley Whelan, whose team placed first at the district tourney with juniors Garton and Hillberg taking first and Kinney and Tintle taking third in doubles.

With both Islander duos competing in the state final, Whelan and her assistant coach Erica Baska decided not to coach and just watch the girls play.

“The only thing I was really hoping was that the girls felt like they played well and that they could feel like they left it all out on the court. And I think that both teams felt that way,” Whelan said.

Kinney and Tintle rebounded from losing to a Sammamish duo at districts and earlier in the season by beating those netters in the state semifinals. Whelan said the Islanders had a tough draw to reach the final and won a pair of three-setters and a two-setter to bounce into the title match. The girls persevered through a lot of adversity to get to that point and compete against their teammates, the coach said.

“(It was a) very exciting outcome for them,” Whelan added about Kinney and Tintle, who have been doubles partners for the last two seasons and provide crucial support for each other.

Whelan said the champs are entertaining to watch and unleash positivity on the court with Kinney possessing a solid backhand and Tintle putting the ball away at the net.

Garton and Hillberg were the Islanders’ No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, respectively, during the regular season and paired up to reap success in the postseason. They won three consecutive two-set matches to reach the state final.

“Kara has a really attacking style. Sarah kind of likes to be the one back feeding deep balls so that Kara can be the one at the net putting the ball away,” Whelan said.

BOYS

On the Mercer Island boys’ side at the 3A state tournament in Vancouver, the locals placed third in the team standings with 21 points. It was tight at the top as Shorewood won with 23 points and Interlake took second with 22 points.

MI junior Joe DeGracia placed second in singles, sophomore-freshman duo Vinny Bang and Lucas Pae took sixth in doubles and senior Rhodes Tacher placed ninth in singles.

After winning three straight two-setters, DeGracia lost to Interlake’s Deepinder Singh, 7-5, 6-4, in the final. DeGracia, who won state as a sophomore and placed second as a freshman, is a nationally-ranked top-200 player in his age group.

“We are so grateful to have Joe on the team,” said head coach Jacquie Hartmann, adding that he and Singh have been rivals for the last three seasons. “Everyone in the 3A conference really respects Joe because of his sportsmanship, because of his team focus. He is so humble and down to earth and is always looking for ways to help people around him.”

With three two-set wins under their belt, Bang and Pae withdrew from the tourney before their semifinals match because Pae became ill.

Bang and Pae played stellar tennis all season because “they know what each other are going to do and they’re able to adapt to what’s happening on the other side of the net,” Hartmann said.

The only match they lost this season was at districts to the eventual state champs Aidan and Owen Conley of Eastside Catholic. “But they were the only ones to take a set off of them. That tells you the high level of tennis that they play,” Hartmann said of her MI duo, noting that Pae is a “sparkplug” and Bang is consistent and sets them up for points.

For supporting his team and other players throughout the tourney, Bang received the 3A state tournament sportsmanship award.

Tacher grinded it out on the court at state by notching a 2-2 record and playing seven sets on the first day.

A week earlier, the Islanders won the district team title to set the stage for their state appearances.