The Mercer Island boys and girls tennis teams once again had strong showings at the 3A state championships. Though for the first time in six years, both teams didn’t leave with the top prize.
The Mercer Island boys claimed their sixth-straight 3A state crown, besting runner-up Seattle Prep by six points. The Mercer Island girls were runners-up to the Interlake Saints, who advanced three qualifiers to the final day of the tournament, one more than the Islanders, for the top team score.
Although the second-place showing ended Mercer Island’s seven-year title reign as 3A state champs, Mercer Island coach Carol Gullstad said she was thrilled with how her players performed.
“We’re feeling super happy,” Gullstad said. “Last year we had four that we were able to take into state. To have half and still finish second is an extraordinary achievement. It felt like a total team victory, we were elated.”
From left, Fiona Brasfield, Sammy Sweet, Mercer Island girls tennis coach Carol Gullstad, Caroline Hamilton and Chloe Gage (photo courtesy of Grace Bethards).
Caroline Hamilton and Sammy Sweet won the 3A girls state doubles title, defeating Interlake’s Lina Larson and Jessica Liang 6-3, 6-0. It was the duo’s third consecutive win over Larson and Liang dating back to the league championships.
“There’s a lot of superstition that it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row,” Gullstad said. “They did it at KingCo, districts and very soundly at state. It was an exclamation point.”
“It’s a really good way to end my senior year,” Hamilton said. “We came in second the past two years, it was fun to win.”
Also for the Islander girls, Fiona Brasfield and Chloe Gage placed sixth in doubles. Brasfield and Gage advanced to the semifinals, where they fell to Hamilton and Sweet. In the third-sixth match, Holy Names’ Caroline Hennes and Sara Skrobut outlasted Brasfield and Gage 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.
The Mercer Island boys tennis team claimed its sixth-straight 3A state championship May 28 in Kennewick (photo courtesy of Grace Bethards).
For the Mercer Island boys, Christian Anderson and Chris Elliott were runners-up in the 3A doubles bracket. Garfield’s Oscar Burney and Brad Huffaker won the state title in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
Ben Bethards and Jarod Wong placed fifth in doubles. After losing their first match, the duo won out in consolation, defeating Columbia River’s Owen Carlson and Nathan Crary 6-2, 6-4 in the fifth-eighth match.
Jake Bethards and Caden Condor placed sixth, advancing to the semifinals where they fell to teammates Anderson and Elliott. Seattle Prep’s Matt Zech and Alex Blattner defeated Bethards and Condor in the third-sixth match 6-2, 3-6, 7-6.
Also competing for the Mercer Island boys in the singles bracket was Nils Harder, who advanced to the 3A quarterfinals.
Mercer Island boys tennis coach Ryan Pang said his team bringing home the state title this year was a “huge accomplishment.” None of Mercer Island’s district qualifiers had any prior postseason experience beyond competing in the KingCo tournament, and top singles player Brandon Wong dropped out of postseason play before districts took place.
“I felt the competition for doubles was pretty good,” Pang said. “We had a lot of good senior leadership and good role models to set the tone for the entire team for the district and state tournament.”
